Boothbay Region Garden Club
Committees
The Boothbay Region Garden Club has fourteen committees, some of which help the Officers to organize and run the Club and some of which focus on community involvement and service. Members are invited to join any of these committees, depending on their interest and experience.
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These committees serve the BRGC directly:
Communications Group
Public Relations and Social Media
David Applegate
Our Public Relations committee works with our Social Media and Website committees to ensure that information about our community activities are shared with the greater community throughout the year. Our public relations
activities include our monthly meetings/programs, our Home and Garden Tour and our Holiday Festival fundraisers.
We maintain a Facebook page and started in 2023, an Instragram account. It can be reached directly at www.boothbayregiongardenclub.org and mainegardenclubs.org.
Website
Melissa Thornton
QUARTERLY ‘TRUMPET’ NEWSLETTER BECOMES EXPANDED WEBSITE
The Boothbay Region Garden Club newsletter, the “Trumpet” was published for decades on a quarterly basis, Jan, April, July and October. It was a compendium of information about the club, including Presidential and Committee updates, contact information for club leaders, important dates, articles and photographs about Garden Club projects and events, as well as items of interest to Club members.
In early 2023, the Boothbay Region Garden Club's Board unanimously ratified the proposal presented by Newsletter Editor, Melissa Thornton, to transition from the newsletter and the current, small informational website to an expanded and upgraded website which would serve as a full marketing and informational tool.
The two major goals of the expanded website are: 1) to incorporate all that the newsletter provided and all that the earlier website provided, as well as past, present and future Club information, in a much more frequent/ ‘real time’ format for members to access with ease, and: 2) to function as a marketing tool to raise awareness for all readers about the club’s mission, community projects, past and present goals and achievements, as well as to encourage prospective members to join and enjoy all the benefits of club membership.
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Yearbook
Kevin Bowler and Gloria Wakefield
Our annual yearbook is a comprehensive source of information about how our club functions and about our many ongoing activities for our club year, July through June. Our yearbook is a resource for:
-current and historical information about our club
-information about our club affiliates, NGC, NEGC, GCFM and our Medomak District Clubs
-Club awards and individual honors
-Elected Officers, Directors, Appointed Officers and their duties and responsibilities
-Standing Committees and Chairs
-Fundraising Event Committees and chairs
-schedules for monthly meetings and events
-horticultural tips and botanical quotes
-list of invasive and endangered plant species in Maine
-Boothbay Region Garden Club By-Laws
-Directory of Club Members
Many thanks to our committee photographers: Laura Blake, Judy Burgess, Linda Redman, Melissa Thornton and
Gloria Wakefield
Horticulture/Flower Design
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Horticulture resources for club members include:
-Garden Federation of Maine newsletter, prepared by Maine gardeners
-the University of Maine Extension service monthly newsletter
-frequent program presentations relating to horticulture
Our Club members have frequent opportunities to showcase their flower design skills throughout the year: Flower arrangements are provided by members at our monthly meetings; members prepare arrangements for the homes in our Home and Garden Tours; members provide holiday table arrangements, wreaths and holiday decorations for our Holiday Festival.
We often have flower arranging workshops and programs where our highly skilled flower arrangers educate the membership.
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Hospitality
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Abbie Shaw and Judy Milinowski
For our monthly meetings, the committee coordinates afternoon tea to be served before our program. Club members area assigned to serve as Tea Chairs to help create and hostess. The Chair coordinates the team’s responsibilities to include setup and clean up. An additional member is assigned to provide flower arrangement for the serving table. All members are assigned one month to serve on the Tea Committee.
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Membership
Sandra Abernathy
Our membership Chair welcomes new members to our meetings and maintains our membership roster.
Our club consists of three memberships categories:
A) Active members are those who are expected to participate in club activities by serving on a committee of their choice and attending a minimum of two club activities (outside membership meetings) every year. Active members hold concurrent membership in five organizations:
(1) the Boothbay Region Garden Club (2) the Medomak District in which our Club is situated; (3) the Garden Club Federation of Maine, (4) the New England Region; and (5) National Garden Clubs, Inc.
The Medomak District organization consists of the following clubs: Boothbay Region, Wiscasset, Camden, Topsham, and Bath. Active members are welcome to attend any of the activities of these clubs and are encouraged to attend the District’s annual
meeting.
B) Associate members have been active members for fifteen years or more. They are entitled to all club privileges, pay associate member dues, and are not required to serve on committees.
C) Honorary members are those who the Club chooses to honor in recognition of his/her many years of contributions to our club. Honorary members do not pay dues.
Membership dues are paid at our annual meeting in June. To be considered an Active member, dues must be received before September 30th. Our members may also become GCFM Life Members and National Garden Club Life members.
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Nominating Committee
Susan Stapleton
The committee nominates and presents a slate of officers and directors at October meeting.
The committee requires two (2) board members and two (2) non-board members
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Program/Field Trips
Irene Fowle
Our club provides education, resources, and national networking opportunities for our members. The Program committee works with the President to secure speakers that relate to our annual theme and that promote the love of gardening, floral design, civic and
environmental responsibility. In addition, the Program committee schedules field trips to advance members' knowledge of gardening and conservation techniques throughout the area.
***This committee is listed under both categories, as Programs are offered to the Club members,
as well as to the public.
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These committees serve the community directly:
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Civic Development
Kevin Bowler and Karen Iliades
The Civic Development Committee creates and maintains public gardens in our community as well as beautifying the area public buildings throughout the Boothbay peninsula. In the spring, we plant annuals in window boxes and distribute them to public buildings in the Boothbay Region. In November, Christmas wreaths are decorated by our members at a workshop close to Thanksgiving and placed on forty (40) town monuments
and public buildings.
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Garden Therapy
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Jane Homer
Each month, the committee plans and provides activities for the residents of St. Andrews Retirement Village Gregory Wing and Safe Havens in Boothbay Harbor. The activities may include flower arranging, planting outdoor vertical gardens, painting, creating ways to feed the birds, and/or a craft which may be related to a holiday in the month. Prior to Christmas holidays, club members prepare Christmas tray favors for our area Meals on Wheels
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Program/Field Trips
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See Above
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Scholarships
Susan Stapleton
Boothbay Region Garden Club supports horticulture-based education and we provide
scholarships to students who share our interest. It is today’s students that will be the leaders
of tomorrow, ensuring the preservation of our natural resources of the planet Earth.
Applicants majoring in: Horticulture, Floriculture, Landscape Design, Conservation, Forestry,
Botany, Agronomy, Plant Pathology, Environmental Concerns, Ecology, Land Management,
and/or other garden fields are eligible to receive our club scholarships.
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These are Special Events/Fundraising committees:
Home and Garden Tour
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Ida Lancaster, Julie Krug and Ann Marie Mahoney
Annually, in July, BRGC offers our community an enjoyable opportunity to tour Boothbay peninsula homes and gardens that highlight the creative ways that homeowners are meeting the unique gardening challenges of our rugged coastal environment. The committee works with homeowners to preview and select homes and gardens to be included in this tour.
In addition, BRGC members serve as 'hostesses', parking monitors and bus organizers, and provide flower arrangements for each of the homes.
All members are encouraged to participate as “hostesses” and to provide flower arrangements. In partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, we look forward to a “sold out” fundraiser event each year. Proceeds from ticket sales fund our Youth Scholarship programs.
Holiday Festival
Carole McCormick and Kevin Bowler
Each winter we host a winter fundraising event, our HOLIDAY FESTIVAL. Members of this committee coordinate those preparations for the festival event; chair our Shop committees and serve as Shopkeepers during the Festival. Our club members present, for sale, homemade sweets at our Sweet Shop, gifts handmade from nature at our Nature’s Gifts shop, a collection of Gift Baskets from our Gift Basket shop, and our NEW shops—Deck the Halls and Comfort & Joy.
Proceeds benefit our community and our club by supporting the educational, environmental, and community service projects of our club.