2013 Fall BOG: Danville

November 10, 2022

The 94th Board of Governors Meeting was hosted by the Garden Club of Danville on October 15-17, 2013, at the Comfort Inn, chaired by Anne Foster and Sue Lea. Read A Bit of History: The Garden Club of Danville written by club member Nan Freed for the Board of Governors brochure. Photos

The Board of Directors met Tuesday, October 15, 2013, for lunch at Santanas, followed by the business meeting. First on the agenda was a review of actions taken at an Executive Committee meeting that was held August 8, 2013, at the Kent-Valentine House. At that meeting, Ann Gordon introduced graphic designer Dale Edmondson, who reviewed the GCV graphic standards, including the proper use of the GCV logo and seal. He described the logo as the visual representation or, “the face of GCV.” It is a dynamic feature, not permanent, and could be changed at some time in the future. On the other hand, he said the seal represents the history, charter and legacy of the Garden Club of Virginia. It is static, permanent and constant. Dale was asked to draft a design that combines the GCV seal and the GCV mission statement. He was also asked to give the Virginia Historical Society the GCV logo for the VHS Digitization project and to communicate the appropriate use of the logo. Meg Clement and Margaret Bemiss will ask the VHS to replace the GCV seal with the GCV logo. Brief business discussions followed, and the Executive Committee meeting was adjourned.

After review, the Board of Directors approved minutes of previous meetings and moved on to current business. Financial discussions revealed member club confusion in reporting HGW income and expenses to the IRS. The Finance Committee agreed to develop guidelines for financial reporting and to clarify insurance coverage. The following statement was added to Policies and Procedures for member clubs, “Membership in the Garden Club of Virginia does not entitle member clubs to use the employer identification number (EIN) assigned by the IRS to the Garden Club of Virginia.”

Kent-Valentine House Committee Chairman Bebe Luck reported the irony that, in the past, the staff supported the efforts of the KVH Committee as it ran the operations of the house, but now the KVH Committee supports the staff that runs the house. She then recommended changes to the committee: eliminate KVH treasurer; eliminate maintenance; add hostess; change accessions to interiors; and hire a historic preservation interior designer when decorative changes are to be made. She reported plans to obtain estimates for the cost of the furniture appraisal with those costs to be incorporated into the 2014-2015 budget. Finally, she reported that the kitchen is in need of renovation.

A recap provided by District 3 Director at Large Candy Carden, the Garden Club of the Northern Neck, described the Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning activities,

“Later in the afternoon we boarded lovely buses to what would be a magical evening for Boots and BBQ down on the farm, the Gentry Farm, for a toe-tapping, finger-licking good time with plenty of cheer to keep the GCV chatter at a roar. The Danville girls’ magical powers did not stop there; they have husbands extraordinaire! These charming men served us wine, beer and punch then performed a Broadway-worthy production, “We Got This,” that was over the top. They even gave us a new name — GDGCV, which I am sure stands for Great Dames of the Garden Club of Virginia!

“Wednesday morning came early but our buses were awaiting and off for a tour of Danville. ‘The Wreck of the Old 97’ on your right, the city of churches surrounded our buses and the loveliest homes provided us a view of old Danville but “the future” was at our first stop — IALR, the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. The future indeed! Propagation, breeding, tissue cultures and words I cannot spell, much less pronounce, but it was truly where education is growing in forms that allow us to see the future for Danville and the world.

“Our next stop brought us to the loveliest rose garden at the Museum of Fine Arts and History at the Sutherlin Mansion which we could tour, followed by a delicious lunch. This magnificent mansion was the last capital of the Confederacy and a GCV Restoration site.

“Finally, time to get down to business. We were all sincerely happy to see Ann Gordon who greeted us warmly, as usual, and Jo Silvers, the president of the Garden Club of Danville who officially welcomed us as if we did not already feel welcomed!”

 

President Ann Gordon Evans called the Board of Governors meeting to order Wednesday afternoon and welcomed attendees. Executive Director Lynn McCashin presented a comprehensive review of GCV graphic standards. Read report.

Treasurer Anne Baldwin reported on the GCV interest-bearing operating accounting and the money market account and reported that GCV keeps Annual Fund monies from our last fiscal year in the money market account to use in meeting the operating needs of this current fiscal year. She then presented a clear description of GCV investments.

The GCV has funds that are managed and invested by Investment Management of Virginia with adherence to the GCV investment policy. The GCV no longer has a separate Investment Committee, so the responsibility for the oversight of these investments is handled by the Finance Committee. The members of the Finance Committee receive quarterly reports from IMVA and meet with them once a year to review our accounts. With the consolidation of our accounts, we found that we no longer had a need for the SEED Fund and the Board voted to move these funds at the fiscal year end into our GCV Endowment Fund.

We now have the GCV Endowment Fund, the GCV Conservation Fund and the Common Wealth Award Fund. The monies in these three funds are pooled for investment purposes, along with two restricted donations: a Symposia Fund and the Kent-Valentine House Fund.

Restoration has a separate investment account that is managed by Darrell & King in Charlottesville. Again, the Finance Committee receives quarterly reports from Darrell & King and meets with them once a year to review our account. The funds in this account are the proceeds from Historic Garden Week, in addition to donations, and are invested for use on current and future Restoration projects.

Development Committee Chairman Julie MacKinlay noted the “very handsome Green Arrow cards” placed at each attendee’s seat to describe a planned-giving program. She discussed continuing efforts to obtain sponsorships for GCV events and announced that Bartlett Tree Experts would be a sponsor for Historic Garden Week for the upcoming two years. Finally, she thanked attendees for exceeding the Annual Fund goal and singled out those clubs with outstanding participation.

The Lynchburg Garden Club president, May May Gay, gave a progress update on her club’s project at the Historic Miller Claytor House Garden Restoration in Riverside Park, recipient of the 2012 Common Wealth Award. She added, “Thanks to the Common Wealth Award, the Lynchburg Garden Club was able to breathe life back into the garden as well as Riverside Park! The house and garden have become an active venue for community events and private celebrations. This project has ignited a rediscovery and rejuvenation of Lynchburg’s Riverside Park.”

Historian and Custodian of Records Penny Dart announced an upcoming meeting for club historians at the Kent-Valentine House on November 13, 2013, with speaker Lee Shepard of the Virginia Historical Society.

The Gentrys, familiar to attendees following Tuesday night’s Boots and Barbeque at the Gentrys’ Farm, hosted attendees again Wednesday night, this time at their fabulous city home for cocktails. Then, a short ride to the Danville Golf Club where the dining room was shimmering with candles, beautiful tables and a delicious dinner, with the Danville husbands serving wine. The highlight of the evening was the announcement of the 2013 Common Wealth Award winner, the Rappahannock Valley Garden Club for its project at the Chatham Manor Garden, a historic home and garden in Stafford County. The award check in the amount of $6,500 will be used to restore and maintain the formal gardens designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman in the early 1920s and to repair statuary. The second-place award was presented to the Princess Anne Garden Club for its native plant landscaping project and exhibit updates at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach.

Thursday reports included a presentation by landscape architect Will Rieley, who described how old techniques are used in modern landscapes; updates from Centennial Chairman Anne Cross and Long-Range Planning Chairman Catherine Whitham; an announcement that Albemarle Garden Club garnered the win for the ugliest plant in the ugliest container; and finally, a delightful presentation by guest speaker Dr. Charles Stallard, President of the Southern Virginia Botanical Gardens, whose mission is, “To develop garden projects in a way that will allow local citizens to collaborate with us in their creation.” His organization is seeking partnerships with communities and organizations throughout this region. Dr. Stallard is a passionate gardener, educator, writer, fundraiser and an enthusiastic salesman. He is actively promoting a gardening lifestyle for everyone and public green spaces for every community.

On behalf of the Garden Club of Virginia, President Ann Gordon expressed thanks to Jo Silvers and the members of the Garden Club of Danville for hosting the 94th Board of Governors Meeting, chaired by Anne Foster and Sue Lea. She also thanked the members of Gabriella Garden Club for the box lunches and the Chatham Garden Club for the lovely flower arrangements throughout the hotel.