Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland : State Meeting 2017

Attendees met as usual at the Turf Valley Country Club. Marjorie and I were assigned to register District V. Near our table were some nice floral arrangement dedications.

(As usual, click to enlarge gallery photos. Click upper left side “x” to exit slideshow)

The business meeting began first and was restricted due to the small size of the meeting room relative to the large number who came to the state meeting. We delegates voted on the proposed changes to the By-laws and learned that CAR is undergoing an organization and name change to Central Atlantic Region-State Garden Clubs as of June 1. Time for awards and picture taking.

After the meeting there was a break until the luncheon and people roamed the vendor areas. There were some new ones added this year while some  vendors from previous years were not present.  I was glad to finally see someone with live plants there this year, which sold well and quickly.

There were offerings for the auction (after the program) on several long tables. Here’s what various districts/clubs provided:

The luncheon was excellent, the table arrangements were metal sculptures.

New officers were brought in: Diana Bonner is the new President. She was given the official pin by outgoing President Nicki Schwab.

Unfortunately, our table was in the back and I could not get any pictures in focus of our speaker, Collin O’Mara from National Wildlife Foundation, so I copped his bio from their webpage.

His talk covered how important it was for NWF to have ongoing partnerships with groups like National Garden Clubs because of our educational focus and work with children, the stewards of our future.  He addressed the work being done on behalf of pollinators, monarchs and wildlife by various groups, especially in building and maintaining habitats for them in our backyards, in neighborhoods, parks and advocating for the same on national level.