Post on 22-Sep-2020
After the many programs and events, attendees of the Central Region
Convention found new and/or renewed inspirations in Abe Lincoln’s
Hometown, Springfield, IL.
Abe, himself gave insights as to his life before traveling to Washington
DC.
There were leadership and awards workshops, reports from the state
presidents and CR Chairmen, table discussions lead by CR Chairmen
and tours visiting many of the historical places honoring Abraham Lin-
coln. Thank you to all who made the 2016 Central Region Convention
such coming wonderful event.
Looking forward to winter and the fast approaching New Year, it is
time to prepare and submit award applications for State, Central Re-
gion, and NGC Awards. The award application is the same for Central
Region and NGC Awards. Listings of all awards are on the CR and
NGC websites. State Presidents, CR Chairman, District Directors
please encourage clubs with projects to apply. There are so many wor-
thy projects garden club members are doing which only their district
and/or state hear about in reports or in newsletters. A word of encour-
agement to four or five chairmen and club presidents resulted in five
award applications. All five applications received awards at the Cen-
tral Region Convention.
Applications for the Award of Excellence and Award of Excellence for
State Garden Clubs are due before January 1, 2017. Member Award of
Honor applications should be sent to the State Award Chairman to be
submitted the Region Awards Chairman. The Region Awards Chair-
man forwards application to National Awards Chairman by February
20th.
Cont. pg.2
NGC Central Region Direc-tor’s Report Pgs. 1-2
The State We're In:
State President’s Reports
Pgs. 3-6
Garden Therapy Pg. 7
2016 Award Winners
Pgs. 8-9
2017 Awards Pg. 10
National Garden Club Week
Pg. 11
Membership Pg. 12
Native Plants Pg. 13
Smoky Bear / Woodsy Owl
Pg. 14
Unified Project Pg. 15
Scholarship Pg. 16
Schools Pg. 17
2016 Central Region
Convention Reprise Pg. 18-19
Contact Info & Next
Newsletter Deadline Pg. 20
“Cultivating Connections”
November
2016
Winter
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Thank you to the
Illinois Conven-
tion Committee
and the Hotel
President Abra-
ham Lincoln,
Springfield
(Doubletree by
Hilton) and its
staff .
They are to com-
mended for
providing a
friendly, helpful
venue for a won-
derful 2016 NGC
Central Region
“How do you plan to stay connected?”
CONNECTIONS IN ACTION
Remember to send flyers, programs, newsletters; etc.
with the CR and NGC Logos to Liz Murken by Decem-
ber 1, 2016 so she can compile NGC Award #25 Award
of Excellence for Regions. Thank you to all the of clubs
and members who have already incorporated the NGC
and CR logos on some form of publicity
Even after we put our gardens to bed for the winter sea-
son, garden club activities continue. This Central Re-
gion Director is most thankful for all of the Connections
Cultivated in 2015-2016 and looking forward to creating
more “Connections in 2017”.
Judy Newman
NGC Central Region Director
2
Wisconsin Attendees
2016 NGC Central Region
Convention
CONNECTED TO THE STATES WE’RE IN
INDIANA:
Hello from your gardening friends in Indiana. We are winding
down the gardens and projects here in Indiana. The Indiana Bi-
centennial is coming to a close for 2016. That means the two leg-
acy projects the Garden Club of Indiana was sponsoring is com-
ing to an end.
First, the floral tribute of yellow and blue flowers planted in
each of the 92 counties was completed.
Secondly, as I am writing this, the Blue Star Memorial dedica-
tion at the Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center will be com-
pleted on November 10 in Indianapolis.
All seven districts have hosted their fall district meetings with
much excitement and fan fair.
Additional Blue Star markers are scheduled in the future in
Munster, the Northwest District, and Sullivan.
We wish you much happiness and good health through the holi-
day season.
Jodi Meyer,
President, The Garden Club of Indiana
Iowa:
What beautiful weather we have had. Plenty of time to get every-
thing accomplished that needs doing. Iowa will be continuing to
work on planting native plants. We have encouraged our clubs
to beautify public places with native plants. We know they will
survive easier and longer in our environment. We are exploring
increasing our number of Blue star Markers. We installed a new
one in August and hope to install another in the Spring. We
were very glad that NGC Central Region succeeded in securing
our 501(c)3. We are encouraging each of our clubs to do the
same.
Loretta Daisy
President, Iowa Federated Garden Clubs, Inc.
State Flowers
3
NGC Central Region
STATE WE’RE IN, CON’T
MICHIGAN :
Michigan has had many measurable successes including four new Clubs join-
ing our organization this year for a total of 165 Clubs with 5,977 Members. In
October, we completed our 90th Blue Star Memorial Dedication and had three
rededications. MGC awarded $20,000 in Scholarships of $1,000 each to 20
deserving students in our colleges and universities.
We have been practicing “giving back” to our Clubs by instituting a “Profit
Sharing Plan.” Districts and Clubs who host any of our Flower Show, Land-
scape Design, Garden Study or Environmental Studies Schools, Symposiums
or State Conventions who do a good job in advertising with increased attend-
ance over the proposed budget, receive a check upon completion. The State
Garden Club receives 50%, District 25% and the local club(s) 25%. Sixty-four
students attended Landscape Design Course I in the new series.
We continue to celebrate excellence through the Club of Distinction Award.
Levels of achievement include Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Double Dia-
mond and Triple Diamond. Points are given for Membership, Meetings and
Schools (hosting and attendance), Youth Involvement, Award applications,
Projects, Publicity, Communications and Contributions.
To achieve a stellar Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc. operation, we have recom-
mended to our members, the comprehensive 596 page Michigan Nonprofit
Management Manual for human resource administration, laws, regulations,
government reporting, filing, budgets, fund development, accounting, technol-
ogy, record keeping and evaluation.
Marilyn McIntosh, President
4
5
STATE WE’RE IN, CON’T
MINNESOTA:
Greetings from the State of Minnesota.
Together We Can Cultivate Connections by Leaping into Action
Thinking back on this year, we have accomplished great things. I wish to thank all our
members for their hard work. We supported and honored our Veterans by the Blue
Star Markers and the flowers to the veterans in the VA home. We held two Basic De-
sign classes and are planning the next in the summer. The Symposium had good at-
tendance from three states. Our booth at the Renaissance Festival netted the highest
sales ever. We had FUN at our Flower Shows, garden tours and plant sales. These are
a few of our activities. Did we accomplish everything on the wish list? No. These are
opportunities for the future. I look forward to next year challenges.
Betty Beck
President, Federated Garden Clubs of Minnesota, Inc.
Current NGC Central Region Director and the Seven State Presidents
STATE WE’RE IN, CON’T
WISCONSIN:
Greetings from the great state of Wisconsin! The members of the Wisconsin
Garden Club Federation (WGCF) have had a busy summer tending local com-
munity gardens and plantings. Many clubs post signs in their plantings to pro-
vide information about their clubs. Our WGCF project is Gardening for Good.
We collaborated with the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics on
their new Therapy Garden. Built on the sight of an old helicopter pad, the gar-
den design created obstacles with weight limitations and water control. It is on
the roof over the hospital’s radiology department. Professional gardeners de-
signed and installed the permanent plantings including trees, bushes, perenni-
als and a green roof. (Even the Little Free Library, located in the garden, has a
green living roof.) WGCF members happily volunteered their time, money and
talents to plant annuals in all of the containers. The plantings will be changed
out with the seasons. Our small effort and contributions encouraged a donor
to step forward to supply funding for the annual plantings in the future. We
hope to continue volunteering our time and talents designing and planting the
containers. Named the Hilary Grace Healing Garden, this beautiful setting is a
welcome respite for patients, staff and visitors. A hummingbird was even re-
cently spotted enjoying the sweet nectar of the blooms.
Other activities, on an organizational level, are the creation of our new full col-
or membership promotion brochure and the recently published Month by
Month Garden Journal. We have gone electronic with our quarterly newslet-
ter. This has met with mixed results and will continue to be reviewed to meet
our members’ needs. We have held Garden Study School Courses 1 and 2 with
courses 3 and 4 planned for April and September 2017. A Flower Show Sym-
posium is scheduled for August 2017. We continue planning for our Garden
Education Summit/Tri-Refresher/CR meeting in October 2017. We hope to
see all of you in Wisconsin Dells, next year.
6
GARDEN THERAPY
7
Many of the Garden Clubs in Central Region already work on projects which can be classified
as Garden Therapy. However, there may be many clubs which are seeking to become involved
in Garden Therapy as a club project. First of all, it is helpful to understand what comprises
Garden Therapy. Horticultural activities as a means of rehabilitative therapy date all the way
back to the 1800s to Dr. Benjamin Rush, who was the first to record the positive effect on pa-
tients with mental illness of working in a garden. After World War II, garden therapy gained a
wider acceptance as a form of treatment for an extensive array of diagnoses and therapeutic
options. A therapeutic garden offers a plant-dominated environment which offers color, tex-
ture and scents, all designed to stimulate feelings of comfort, and vitality.
A therapeutic garden can offer a wide range of designs geared to facilitate interaction with the
healing elements of nature. Since there are many levels of involvement, depending on the lev-
el of impairment of the target group, a club’s project must take into consideration the level of
ability and activity the patients being treated can apply to the garden. For instance, many
clubs offer flower arranging to a local nursing home’s patients, as a way to bring the beauty of
nature within their environment. There are other clubs who work with the nursing home on a
grander scale to provide raised garden beds, with wide, paved pathways around the raised
beds to make the plantings accessible to even those residents confined to a wheelchair. Some
clubs involve the nursing home residents who are capable with spring planting programs, and
who assist with maintaining the beds throughout the growing season. Such gardens can be
placed where they are readily visible from the nursing home’s community rooms, so they can
enhance the environment of even those patients who cannot leave the facility.
A more ambitious project would be to work with a local botanical garden or park to establish a
garden designed to be appealing to those who are blind, as well as those with other physical or
mental disabilities. When planning such a garden, be sure to provide a firm surface for path-
ways, with a change in texture at the edges, to warn when people are veering off the path.
Paths should be a minimum of 5 feet wide for one-way traffic, and 7 feet wide for two-way traf-
fic. Avoid steep grades, and offer frequent seating options. Select plantings which present a
variety of textures, scents, and colors, while avoiding any plants with toxic elements. Water
features can also be incorporated to mask intrusive surrounding noises, such as street traffic,
and can provide a soothing sound to enhance the interest of the garden.
These are just a few suggestions for projects which can be undertaken to provide the therapeu-tic benefits of gardening to members of local communities. If you would like more infor-mation, please contact me at Sandra R. Wales, 563-299-1873, or wales@machlink.com.
HE
AT
H &
WE
LL
NE
SS
Central Region Awards, 2016
The following awards were presented in Springfield, IL at the 2016
Central Region Meeting.
Illinois
Award 2 Sharing our Gardens
4. Cress Creek Garden Club Dist. 2, Naperville
Award 6 Caring through Garden Therapy
1. Cress Creek Garden Club, Naperville
3. Garden Club of Decatur Dist. 3, Decatur
Award 8a Standard Flower Show Schedule
3. Twin City Garden Club, Urbana
Award 11 Sharing the Future
1. Garden Club of Decatur, Dist. 3
HM Cress Creek Garden Club Dist. 2, Naperville
Michigan
Award 2 Sharing Our Gardens
1. Tri Cities Garden Club, Inc.
3. Garden Club of Dearborn
Award 6 Caring Through Garden Therapy
2. Livonia Garden Club Dist. 1 Club 286
HM Garden Club of Dearborn, Inc
Award 8a Standard Flower Show Schedule
1. Muskegon County Garden Club
Award 8b Horticulture
1. Muskegon County Garden Club
Award 11 Sharing the Future
2. Meek’s Mill Garden Club Constantine
HM Garden Club of Dearborn
Award 12 Caring by Planting It Pink
1. Garden Club of Dearborn
3. Charlevoix Area Garden Club
HM East Jordan Garden Club, East Jordan MI
2016 AWARDS
8
Missouri
Award 2 Sharing Our Gardens
2. Mountain View Garden Club
Award 6 Caring Through Garden Therapy
HM Mountain View Garden Club
Award 7 Protecting Our Future
1. Mountain View Garden Club
Award 10 Sharing National Garden Week
1. Windsor Garden Club, Windsor, MO
2. Mountain View Garden Club, Mountain View MO
Award 11 Sharing the Future
4. Mountain View Garden Club
Award 12 Caring By Planting Pink
2. Mountain View Garden Club
Award 13 Sharing Native Plants
1. Mountain View Garden Club
Award 14 Celebrating Blue Star
1. Arrowhead Garden Club, Lake Ozarks, MO
Wisconsin
Award 5 Sharing with Habitat
1. Milwaukee Dist. Milwaukee
Award 8a Standard Flower Show Schedule
2. Floral Designers of WI, Brookfield
Award 8c Educational Exhibit
1. Floral Designers of WI
Award 9 Cultivating Community Plantings
1. Western Acres Garden Club, Menomonee Falls, WI
Award 11 Sharing the Future
3. Hill and Dale Garden Club, Elroy WI
Award 13 Sharing Native Plants
2. Elmbrook Garden Club. Brookfield
* First Place Winners are designated with blue.
2016 AWARDS
9
Any changes to the Award list will be made after our new Director is installed at
the NGC Convention to be published in the summer newsletter. Use the NGC
form to make application with a labeled folder and return envelope. This Sep-
tember date is necessary to have projects judged by the CR meeting in October.
State Awards Chairmen should send the 2016 Press Books by February 23 and
2017 Yearbooks by March 1. Each state should send one Yearbook from each cat-
egory for member garden clubs and may send one for group of member clubs or
states. (see pages 16-20 under NGC Awards) Please include an NGC application.
Member categories are as follows: 1 Clubs under 20 members. 2. 20-29 members
3. 30-44 members 4. 45-69 members 5. 70-99 members 6. 100-299 members 7.
300 or more members.
One Press Book per state should be submitted to be judged. Follow the guide-
lines as stated on the NGC website (gardenclubs.org). Please include the NGC
application.
Mail these to Sherry Wilson, 214 Lakeridge Road, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901. Any
questions please call me at 573-718-4421.
Check with your Youth chairman for Poetry, Essay, Smokey Bear and Frightened
Frog due dates.
Sherry Wilson
NGC Central Region Awards Chairman
2017 AWARDS
10
2017 Awards
for the Project Chairman should be postmarked
by
September 10, 2017.
NATIONAL GARDEN CLUB WEEK
11
Plan an event to celebrate National Garden Week in your community. Use your talents
imagination and creativity. I know you can do this.
Beautify a community Building with a bouget of flowers or a centerpiece in a prominent
place. Add signage and pamphlets with your clubs name and a contact person.
Sponsor a hand on make and take workshop for children or adults.
Have a wine tasting party with hourdervers and spread the word about Garden Clubs.
Whatever you choose to do enjoy it.
Share the news of the project with your local newspaper and T.V. Without recognition
no one will be aware of your club and what it has to offer. Be sure to promote your club
as well as Central Region and National Garden Clubs.
There is a Central Region Award 10-Sharing National Garden Week.
There is also a National Award #53 National Garden Week.
Information for both of these awards is on their Websites.
Leap into Action
and
celebrate
National Garden Club Week
June 4-10,2017
CE
LE
BR
AT
E!!!
Membership Thoughts & Ideas
As one travels from meeting to meeting, or from club to club, there is a common
thread: Where and how can we recruit members? Certainly there are the obvious
ways: have open events and invite the public; have a simple brochure made up telling
the who, what, when, where, why of your club and it’s meetings. Be sure to have cur-
rent contact info included, and FOLLOW UP!!! Next, have a small note, perhaps an-
chored with a piece of candy with contact info…and drop it in the shopping cart of
someone you see getting gardening type supplies at a nursery or box store…or better
yet, compliment them on their choices, be friendly, and invite them to a meeting.
Once they actually come to a meeting….remember some key points as club mem-
bers….be extremely welcoming, be sure they don’t go home empty handed…brochure
about your club, upcoming meetings and topics, contact info, or even a plant or floral
arrangement. Also…no bickering!! This sounds silly, doesn’t it? I cannot tell you how
many club meetings I have visited, even when there are guests present, and then been
dismayed at the “complaining or kvetching” that took place! Be positive…instead of
chewing on the downtown merchant about how they didn’t take care of a planter, en-
gage with that merchant and find out what can be done collaboratively to remedy the
situation! As our regional director, Judy Newman would remind us: CULTIVATE
those CONNECTIONS! Then, after the meeting, follow up and nurture that person to
come again…it may take several attempts, but won’t it be worth it!
Now: the real challenge is cultivating relationships with the Gen-X and Millennial
generations. They tick differently, but they so want to learn what we know and they
are quite sensitive to community and environmental concerns. Tap into that and take
advantage. Have a show and tell and take workshop…keep it brief, well organized…
i.e.: how to dig and divide plants…have them help at your civic garden space…and
then give them a plant to take home. If you are cleaning a blighted area, invite the
public to come and help. This may be the member of the future! These folks really
don’t want to sit through the tedium of a meeting (as they do this all week long at
work!) but getting into the dirt, or doing a public service for an hour or two could be
right up their alley! If you have a website for your club, or a Facebook page, put it on
there.
Consider a discounted new member rate of membership. If they come and partici-
pate actively in some community service project offer a half rate first year member-
ship. The investment could pay off nicely.
BE FUN~ everyone gravitates toward the happy and fun people in a room…look
around! So note that and BE FUN at your meeting, at your work day, etc. Dissuade
those old stereotypes and be pleasant to be around…and be inclusive to all.
Other thoughts or ideas? Email me, and we will post and share on the Central Region
FB page: nahmiasmud@gmail.com Sarah Nahmias, Membership Chairman
Mem
ber
ship
CONNECTIONS
12
Native Plant Gardening
Because we are told that ninety-five percent of land in the lower
forty-eight states is in development for agriculture, roads, and
buildings, native plants and animals are in trouble. Exotic spe-
cies have invaded our parklands, while pollinators like bees and
butterflies are in peril. Instead of wringing our hands, we can
make a real difference by creating native habitat in our own
yards. Native gardening is fun and empowering with stunning,
hardy native plants. Yet many of us do not understand the im-
portance of natives that support our pollinators. In the past we
have not designed gardens to play a critical ecological role in the
landscape, but we must do so in the future.
NGC has developed many classes and sponsored many speakers
who talk about these issues. It is important that we not only
create these native plantings but must continue to manage them
for everyone’s enjoyment and education. Some local landscap-
ing ordinances are often very specific about aesthetics and per-
mitted plantings. They often require wide expansive lawns with
narrow foundation plantings, demand a limited vegetation
height, and prohibit some native species such as Milkweed and
Goldenrods, among others. This must be challenged and
changed if we are to make a difference in protecting both native
plants and pollinators that need each other to survive. As gar-
deners, representatives of NGC/CR, and members of our own
state garden clubs, we must become stewards of our lands to
save biodiversity from extinction. First, we must commit to
learn. Then share what we know. Finally, stress the importance
of this issue through teaching. Leap into action. Cultivate con-
nections. Help accomplish this mission through membership.
Ronnie Dush
PLANT NATIVE
13
Central Region was well-represented in the 2016
Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl poster contest spon-
sored by NGC and the United States Forestry
Service.
This chairman appreciates the time club mem-
bers spent in getting Smokey Bear’s message
‘Only You Can Prevent Wildfires’ and Woodsy
Owl’s message ‘Lend A Hand, Care For The Land’
to students throughout Central Region.
The 2017 contest is underway once again for stu-
dents in first through fifth grade. Timelines and
complete rules are located at
www.gardenclub.org. For any questions, please
contact this chairman at smp9114@att.net.
Suzanne Potts
NGC, Central Region Smokey Bear/Woodsy Owl
Chairman
SMOKEY BEAR & WOODSY OWL POSTER CONTEST
14
Each state ‘s Unified Project chairman should send to me all the
information they have from their state where the NGC, Central
Region and their State Logo was used to publicize their event in
their state.
Please send to :
Liz Murken (at my winter address)
2844 Spinnaker Drive
Avon Park FL 33825
NGC CENTRAL REGION UNIFIED PROJECT
15
The Unified Project
deadline is
February 1, 2017
Plan a Blue Star Memorial Project
Check the website for additional information.
NGC Central Region members invest in our future with
their support and donations to the Central Region
Scholarship Fund. When a Central Region Life Mem-
bership is purchased, when a Gold CR Life Member-
ship Star is purchased, when a Memorial, Honorarium
or a donation to the Scholarship Program is made WE
make an investment for the future.
Each of the seven Central Region states: Illinois, Indi-
ana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin
is asked to submit a candidate for the Central Region
Scholarships. We use the same forms and schedule
as NGC. Very Easy: simply send a copy of your NGC
Scholarship Applicant’s forms for consideration to
Central Region Scholarship Chair:
Deannie Picciotti 2394 Sunset Bluff Dr. Holland, MI 49424 dmp77@charter.net 616-399-2323 Cell: 616-283-7744
Central Region Scholarships:
Sch
ola
rship
16
“Investing in Our Future”
Flower Show Symposium
Landscape Design School
Course III April 21-22,2017
Appleton, WI
Course IV September 8-9, 2017
Sch
oo
ls
17
Central Region Schools
“Planning for Our Future”
Gardening Study School
Flower Show Symposium
August 25-26, 2017
Milwaukee, WI
Design from 2016 NGC Central Region Convention
2016 Convention Reprise
18
2016 Convention Reprise
19
Please send articles and notices to:
Rene’ Lynch
NGC Central Region
Newsletter Editor
952-361-6393
reneclynch@aol.com
NGC Central Region, Inc.
Director
Judy Newman
cell 414-861-7134
newman9641@aol.com
Published by
NGC, Central Region, Inc.
Deadline for next Issue
February 25, 2017 20
Display from 2016 Central Region Convention