2016 Spring Annual Meeting: Alexandria

December 9, 2022

The 96th Annual Meeting of the Garden Club of Virginia was hosted by the Garden Club of Alexandria at the Old Town Hilton on May 9-11, 2016, co-chaired by Catherine Bolton and Jennifer Kelley. Photos

The GCV Board of Directors met Monday, May 9 at the Hilton Hotel. President Jeanette Cadwallender welcomed Board members and noted accomplishments and milestones.

Executive Director Lynn McCashin reported that data conversion for Raiser’s Edge NXT was completed in mid-April, and three staff members completed 18 hours of online training and spent two days with a data conversion specialist from Raiser’s Edge. Newly hired Director of Development Lexie Haglund begins her job on May 16.

Lynn reported the KVH Committee is discussing house appraisal (replacement vs. reproduction values) that have an impact on insurance, depending on how GCV wants to be insured. Short- and long-term maintenance and repair plans were also under review by the committee. A priority list of work will be created that will allow the Development Committee to explore funding options.

Treasurer Betsy Worthington presented the 2016-2017 budget and summarized performance of investment accounts.

She continued, “As you know, we consolidated all of the GCV accounts about eight years ago and, at the time of consolidation, we had a surplus of funds that we knew would be depleted over time. The time has come.
“Our operating budget is dependent upon the income from membership dues, Annual Fund and a draw on the Endowment not to exceed 5%.

“The bottom line is that our operating expenses are increasing while our income is stagnant or decreasing. There are several possible solutions to the problem, not all of which can be addressed today, or for that matter, by the Finance Committee.” Betsy then listed some possibilities: increase our dues; increase Annual Fund donations; take a 5% draw instead of the usual 4-4 ½% draw this year to meet the proposed budget; decrease program spending; explore income-producing events such as flower shows or workshops; explore travel programs to produce income; and review staffing and salaries. The Finance Committee looked at the budget line by line, made some changes and cuts to budget requests, and voted to approve up to a 5% draw to produce a balanced budget. The proposed budget was approved by the Board as presented.

Second Vice President Anne Cross reported that a new Parks Committee has been created, to be chaired by Jeanette Cadwallender — a result of the dissolution of the “Partnership for Parks” by Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Molly Ward in January. Rather than work through the partnership with a goal of providing interactive exhibits at certain state parks, the GCV will work directly with Virginia State Parks and use our gift of $100,000 a year for five years from the proceeds of HGW to make gifts to projects at parks anywhere in the state. Clubs may bring the projects to the attention of the committee or requests may come directly from a park where there is no nearby club.

Following business reports, the meeting was adjourned.

Attendees gathered Monday night at Mount Vernon for cocktails, a tour of the gardens led by Dean Norton and Dutch treat dinner.

Tuesday morning optional tours included Green Spring Gardens.

President Jeanette Cadwallender called the Annual Meeting to order Tuesday afternoon and introduced Lisa Mountcastle, president of the Garden Club of Alexandria, who began, “Welcome! I know I’m in Alexandria but I almost want to say welcome to Seattle. It has rained nonstop here for three weeks! But we feel so lucky that the rains held off for our tour at Mount Vernon last night and again at Green Spring Gardens this morning. Mother Nature heard our prayers! We are thrilled to have you all here in Alexandria.”

Jeanette began, “The 2020 vision that is guiding us towards our Centennial celebration is not simply a way to celebrate who we have been as a club since 1920, but establishing the club we will be for our next 100 years. In no way does this diminish the work we do. We remain guided by a very strong mission statement, ‘to celebrate the beauty of the land, to conserve the gifts of nature, and to challenge future generations to build upon this heritage’. I remain grateful to all of you, the members of the Garden Club of Virginia.”

Executive Director Lynn McCashin reported that Lexie Haglund has been hired as Director of Development and will begin on May 16. Lexie has been a Development Officer with St. John’s College, Santa Fe campus. She has served as a database manager, has experience with Raiser’s Edge and will be able to lead us going forward. Three staff have cross-trained on basic elements of Raiser’s Edge, which included 18 hours of online training. Lynn was pleased to report that data conversion to the new system was completed in April.

Treasurer Betsy Worthington noted in the budget that dues income shows little change from year-to-year as dues have remained at $40 per member since 2008. This year, we had a nice surprise — ‐an unexpected profit of $10,400 from the GCV trip to India. In addition, the Finance Committee and Board approved a draw of up to 5% from the Endowment fund to provide the additional funds needed to produce a balanced budget.

Jeanette then called on former President Helen Murphy who gave a lovely tribute to Virginia Guild, GCV President 1990-1992.

Chairman of the Development Committee Jean Gilpin was asked to explain where money goes when someone contributes to the Annual Fund. Her report follows:

“I want to talk for a moment about our Annual Fund. Our spring appeal for the 2015-­‐2016 campaign will be in your mailbox soon. I was asked recently to explain where your money goes when you contribute to the Annual Fund. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to respond.

“The Annual Fund supports our operating budget. But what does that mean? It means that member clubs who are hosting flower shows receive financial support from GCV. It means that member clubs who are hosting Board of Governor and Annual Meetings receive support from GCV. It means that cost overruns from programs and workshops are covered by GCV. It means that we are able to continue communicating with our members through our website, as well as through our exceptional publications, the Handbook, the Journal and the Year in Review. It means that ongoing preservation and maintenance of Kent-Valentine House is made possible through help from the Annual Fund. It means that GCV has not had to raise dues to member clubs for nina years. In addition, we have a staff that relieves the pressure on our members. They handle the details, the registrations, the day-today operations. They make it possible for us to have the time to do what we love to do — restoration projects, gardening, horticulture and conservation events, and flower arranging. The Annual Fund contributes to all of this, and more. It helps to protect our Endowment and ensure that Garden Club of Virginia will be strong and viable for the next generation of leaders in our Commonwealth.

“I urge you to take this message back to your clubs, and to consider making a gift before our fiscal year ends on June 30.”

Jean then announced that in an effort to get to know our supporters on a more personal level, the GCV Board of Directors is hosting an appreciation reception to honor our major donors. This event, A Toast to You, will take place at the Kent-Valentine House on May 22, 2016.

First Vice President Nina Mustard presented the Strategic Plan and discussed implementation.

Historic Garden Week Committee Chairman Meg Clement reported preliminary figures were unavailable before describing three issues that have potential impact on HGW in a changing world.

First, a recent study conducted by researchers from Decide Smart and Richmond’s Future revealed that those communities encouraging outdoor and healthy lifestyle activities — hiking, biking, gardening — increase a region’s strength economically and culturally more than ever before. She was pleased that three 2016 tours encouraged biking as a means of transportation.

Secondly, she noted that our 2014 economic impact study revealed that our visitors enjoy patronizing restaurants and cultural attractions in our local communities. Nineteen restaurants advertised in the 2016 Guidebook, and numerous ads in local brochures were a source of income for local tours.

Finally, she said that every residence on the Virginia Beach 2016 tour was a Lynnhaven River Pearl Home, an award that reflects the homeowners’ commitment to protecting the Lynnhaven River watershed by utilizing rain barrels, native plants, composting grass and leaves and limiting the use of fertilizers.

She concluded by saying that HGW relevancy in local communities is more pronounced than ever before and that HGW staff and committee will continue to work hard to stay connected to these and other trends, encouraging clubs to do the same.

Restoration Committee Chairman Kim Nash began with brief summaries of major Restoration projects completed in the past year by the Garden Club of Virginia, notably the restoration of the grounds of the Historic Henry County Courthouse and the Kitchen Road project at Monticello.

She added that at its March 2016 meeting, in response to a request from the Director of the Executive Mansion, the Restoration Committee authorized Mr. Rieley to design a simple, welcoming garden to include commemorative information celebrating those who lived there and worked at the mansion during the governorship of David Campbell of Abingdon (1837-1840). It is to be called the Valentine-Jackson Garden because of letters which were discovered from two of the slaves who lived there to their families back in Southwest Virginia. Mr. Rieley’s reinterpretation of an original Gillette plan was a special gift from the Garden Club of Virginia. The work was carried out by the staff at the Executive Mansion, and the Restoration Committee will not be responsible for its oversight.

On Monday, the GCV Board of Directors voted to release Historic Saint Luke’s from its obligations as a restoration of the Garden Club of Virginia. Kim remarked,

“This lamentable decision has been a long time coming. We were honored to work with the property to create a parklike setting to protect the nation’s only surviving original Gothic building from the encroachment of the 21st century. However, it has become clear that the expectations of the Garden Club of Virginia and church board’s plans for the property have diverged beyond any hope of reasonable realignment. The delegation from the Restoration Committee who met with the representatives of the administration of St. Luke’s recognized our discussion as cordial, frank and levelheaded. We applaud the positive enthusiasm of the board of Historic St. Luke’s but understand that they have no wish to be constrained by the agreement signed with us in 2006. In sum, all recognized that the time had come for us to part ways. Historic St. Luke’s assured us that they would continue to support the local GCV clubs as they assume full responsibility for the stewardship of this important site.”

The Research Fellowship subcommittee selected two outstanding sites for research and documentation for the 2016 program. The William D. Rieley site was Westover Plantation where research had been initiated by a 2015 fellow. The committee agreed that the wealth of material there provided potential for further research which should be continued. Eyre Hall, in Northumberland County on the Eastern Shore, was selected as the Rudy J. Favretti site. Unfortunately, when the subcommittee met to evaluate applications, it was decided that the particular strengths of the applicants did not adequately lend themselves to the needs of the properties. Therefore, the committee will focus its attention on the Historic Research Fellowship program for 2017.

Kim then introduced GCV Landscape Architect Will Rieley, who presented a slideshow featuring an overview of all restoration projects since 1929, which includes more than fifty projects.

Centennial Committee Chairman Anne Cross repeated the Strategic Plan goal, “to create a celebration which is visible and lasting; is statewide in its nature; unites member clubs and garners statewide publicity,” and reminded attendees that the Centennial will be a multifaceted celebration with an exhibition at the prestigious VHS and a publication about the Garden Club of Virginia and its work, nationally known speakers, parties and events — as well as the $500,000 gift to Virginia State Parks.

The awards banquet was held Tuesday evening in the beautiful Potomac Ballroom.

Business reports continued Wednesday morning. Nina Mustard presented an overview of the new website and explained the importance of responsive website design in viewing the site from mobile devices and in finding information using Google search engines.

Horticulture Committee Chairman Beth DeBergh announced recipients of the 2016 Horticulture Award of Merit: Nancy Dickerson, The Princess Anne Garden Club; Tamara Gibson, The Spotswood Garden Club; Janet Hickman, Hillside Garden Club; Missy Janes, The Fauquier and Loudoun Garden Club; Helen Junkin, The Princess Anne Garden Club; Linda Patten, the Elizabeth River Garden Club; Ann Reamy, The Rappahannock Valley Garden Club; and Casey Rice, Harborfront Garden Club.

Chairman of the Nominations Committee Dianne Spence presented the 2016-2018 slate of officers.

Tribute to Jeanette

Jeanette’s two years as GCV president were marked with astonishing accomplishments.

Under her leadership, major initiatives were outlined for a Centennial celebration that supported our mission and honored our history with Virginia State Parks; the Conservation and Environmental Studies Fellowship was created; the Conservation Educator Award was established; the 2016 Strategic Plan was adopted; a new, responsive design website was launched; “Admissions” became “Membership,” to reflect a stronger focus on members; orientations welcomed new members and steps were taken to nurture a potential new member club; staff policies and procedures were formalized; host clubs were encouraged to streamline procedures and received increased financial support; Raiser’s Edge development software was implemented; and three Restoration projects were presented.

Astonishing accomplishments, indeed.

Jeanette then read a clever introduction to incoming GCV President Nina Mustard. Nina shared a slide presentation celebrating Jeanette’s presidency and adjourned the 96th Annual Meeting of the Garden Club of Virginia.