2015 Spring Annual Meeting: Norfolk

November 29, 2022

The Ninety-fifth Annual Meeting of the Garden Club of Virginia was hosted by the Garden Club of Norfolk May 12-14, 2015, at the Waterside Marriott Hotel, chaired by Pam Combs and Pam Reid. Photos

The Board of Directors luncheon and meeting were held Tuesday afternoon at the Marriott. President Jeanette Cadwallender called the Board meeting to order and introduced the guest speaker, Katherine Whitney of Warren Whitney, who discussed the strategic plan, which began six weeks ago. Katherine has spoken to 41 club presidents, to date, and shared feedback from those she has heard from. The process will take another six-to-eight months with a report expected in January. She then answered questions regarding our strategic plan.

Jeanette urged Board members to remember the Annual Fund in supporting the GCV and one another, adding that the GCV needs our financial commitment. Strategic planning is the way to our future and how we operate towards and through 2020.

Executive Director Lynn McCashin provided a comprehensive list of recent and scheduled activities and events at the Kent-Valentine House, remarking that kitchen renovations had little impact, and summarized meetings with Partnership for Parks and Keep Virginia Beautiful. She also reported that recent staff evaluations had revealed a pressing need to update staff job descriptions, as well as the employee handbook.

Development Committee Chairman Jean Gilpin reported the committee has coordinated a first grant application to Virginia Wine Board for $10,000 in support of a kick-off event in the fall of 2015 for HGW’s wine industry initiative. The committee continues to work closely with Bartlett Tree Experts in developing their partnership. Key company representatives receive regular updates of GCV activities and events that take place because of their sponsorship, and those that benefit from their sponsorship, and they are often hosted by the committee members at these events to discuss our shared mission. The committee will also continue to coordinate with Partnerships For Parks and Ruth Modlin Ellett.

Karmen Gustin presented the results of the Development Committee’s research into development software. GCV fundraising efforts have outgrown simple spreadsheet record keeping and, in order to continue to grow and to be effective, need donor software. Raiser’s Edge, a BlackBaud product, was selected as the best product for the GCV and the committee endorsed this selection.

Corresponding Secretary Linda Consolvo summarized pending updates to the GCV website layout that will include links to Centennial activities.

Admissions Committee Chairman Kris Carbone reported on a meeting in March at the Kent-Valentine House with Carolyn Wilkinson from New Kent County. Carolyn is enthusiastically starting a new garden club in her area. It is the committee’s hope that we can mentor this potential club into becoming a GCV member. Carolyn has hosted at earlier Historic Garden Week tours and, more recently, worked with Ashland Garden Club members. Another conversation occurred with a garden club member from the Shenandoah Valley who plans to present the idea to her club and will reconnect with the Admissions Committee if there is any interest. And lastly, plans are underway to reach out to garden clubs in Farmville and Buchanan.

Linda Consolvo moved on behalf of the Admissions Committee that the name of the Admissions Committee be changed to the Membership Committee to better reflect their work. The motion required no second and passed without objection.

Historian and Custodian of Records Janet Rosser reported she was exploring expedient and economical methods of converting GCV archives into digital format. With digitization of the Follow the Green Arrow volumes complete, she hopes to get our Historic Garden Week Guidebooks converted as well so that they will be easily accessible.

Annual and Board of Governors Meetings Committee Chairman Betsy Casteen reported gaps in the schedule where clubs responded they could not host a meeting, primarily being too small or lacking an appropriate venue. Jeanette remarked that as a statewide club, it is important that we travel across the state to visit areas represented by GCV clubs. Consideration will be taken as to how to help smaller clubs host events and meetings.

Attendees gathered Tuesday evening for cocktails and Dutch treat dinners at the Glass Studio of the Chrysler Museum of Art. Glassblowers demonstrated their skills throughout the evening as they created an exquisite vase adorned with a dogwood branch, gifted to the Garden Club of Virginia by the Chrysler Museum and the Garden Club of Norfolk in honor of its Centennial.

Wednesday morning activities included a tour of the Norfolk Zoo led by Marie Butler, horticulturist and landscape coordinator; a workshop at the Chrysler Museum led by Peter Breed of Orchid Classics; or a self-guided, “mini-mermaid” walking tour following the Cannonball Trail.

President Jeanette Cadwallender called the meeting to order Wednesday afternoon and introduced the Garden Club of Norfolk president Gillian Cady, who offered welcoming remarks, “We have been honored to be affiliated with the GCV since 1920 and can now acknowledge that a fourth generation of GCN members is now proud to work with this great organization. Hosting this conference is the highlight of our centennial year’s celebrations. So, thank you to GCV for giving us the opportunity to host this meeting.”

Jeanette thanked attendees for their commitment in finding ways to make the old, new — for looking at new initiatives and evaluating the way we do business, saying, “the way we’ve always done it” must be defended or changed.

Following financial reports, Treasurer Betsy Worthington noted that the GCV cash and investment accounts represent almost 80% of our assets. The remaining 20% of our assets is the Kent-Valentine House. She then presented the new Handbook for GCV Member Club Treasurers.

Historic Garden Week Chairman Alice Martin reported 2015 tour increases in ad revenue, online ticket sales and overall attendance from 2014. After providing tour details, she closed with a quote from the May/June issue of Antiques Magazine.

“Garden tours are common enough, but none on the scale of Virginia’s Historic Garden Week, when volunteerism rises to the level of activism. Thirty-four hundred volunteers from garden clubs across the state come together for eight days every spring to coordinate 30+ separate tours that open some 250 of the state’s most exceptional gardens and residences to the public. For the garden lover this event is an unparalleled feast. For the state’s heritage it is a lifeline, as the proceeds are devoted to the preservation and restoration of historic public landscapes.”

Kent-Valentine House Committee Chairman Kay Tyler reported that the kitchen and butler’s pantry renovation, begun in early February, is nearing completion, and provided an overview of recent and scheduled interior maintenance projects. She met with Lynn McCashin, Anne Cross and librarians Virginia Cherry and Joan Pollard to discuss ways to make the library more functional and accessible for GCV members. Among their recommendations was a plan to move the library to the third floor, a proposal initially considered in May 2011 when the operations offices were moved to the second floor.

The following slate for 2015-2017 Directors at Large was presented by Nominations Committee Chairman Dianne Spence: District 2: Emily Reed, The Augusta Garden Club; District 5: Kate Williams, Leesburg Garden Club; and District 6: Pam Combs, The Garden Club of Norfolk. As there were no other nominations from the floor, a motion to approve the slate was passed.

Conservation and Beautification Committee Chairman Tuckie Westfall announced receipt of the first applications for the GCV Conservation and Environmental Studies Fellowship, with selection to take place on June 15. She then provided an update on the Dominion Power proposal to build towers across the James River.

Flower Shows Committee Chairman Lea Shuba read a heartfelt plea for members to be more supportive of flower shows, emphasizing the committee’s hard work in making improvements to shows and in finding ways to stimulate interest. She reminded attendees that the upcoming Lily Show, to be hosted by Fauquier and Loudoun Garden Club, will offer an additional horticulture schedule that does not include lilies! She then announced the Ashland Garden Club as the recipient of the 2015 Annabel Josephs Inter Club Artistic Award.

Awards Chairman Katherine Knopf announced two 2015 Common Wealth Award finalists to be voted upon in September: The Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention Center, submitted by the Charlottesville and Rivanna Garden Clubs, and the Discovery Museum Green Roof Top, submitted by the Winchester-Clarke Garden Club.

Journal Editor Karla MacKimmie reported that a well-attended workshop was held on an April 2. Featured speaker Bland Crowder, Executive Director of the Flora of Virginia Project and editor of Flora of Virginia presented, “When You Publish: Mission, Audiences, Quality & Feelings.” His presentation proved not only educational, but also humorous, as Karla noted, “Perhaps the title of Mr. Crowder’s column in Virginia Living magazine, ‘Odd Dominion,’ best exemplifies his sense of humor.”

Attendees gathered Wednesday evening for cocktails and the awards banquet in the Hampton Roads Ballroom.

The Bessie Bocock Carter Award for Conservation was awarded to The Mill Mountain Garden Club for their Scoop the Poop project.

On Thursday morning the guest speaker, Christine Morris of the Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Cities Project was introduced. She presented a slide lecture featuring selected resilient cities and how cities can adapt to the many stresses they face. Sixty-seven cities have been selected globally with another 33 to be named, enabling those cites to be eligible for funding. The city of Norfolk has water in places it has never had water before, and she discussed the focus on coastal, economic and neighborhood resilience in the face of rising sea levels.

Garden Club of Virginia landscape architect Will Rieley followed with a presentation on the agreements between Garden Club of Virginia and restoration properties regarding maintenance, lighting and guidelines that must be agreed upon.