CEGC MEETING MINUTES

September 23, 2025

 

With the end of summer comes the start of the new Garden Club year.  President Becca Settles welcomed all 52 members in attendance and thanked Joan Smith for opening her lovely home to host our first meeting. Becca spoke about events of the upcoming year, including our biannual auction, which helps fund numerous philanthropic projects. Also, the Garden Club of Georgia, of which we are a member club, will celebrate 100 years in 2028.  CEGC will make a donation to this event, and individual members also can contribute.

 

Membership Chair Jolie Maxwell reminded members to sign in for meeting credit.  As of the September meeting, we have six membership changes. Lisa Ogburn moved from Active, Cindy Jernigan and Jane Ridall moved from Associate, and Anne Irwin moved from Professional, all to Life Membership.   Ann Strader is rejoining CEGC as an Associate member. And Christy Roberts moved from Active to Associate member. Currently we have eight Associate members and two openings. Also, we have 12 Professional members and three openings. We have 47 Active members and three openings.  Consequently, we voted on Karen Riddell, Kitty Correll and Liz Schultz as new members.  A motion was made to accept all three prospective members and said motion was unanimously approved.

 

Becca reminded everyone that meetings are the fourth Tuesday of the month, with one evening meeting on the schedule.

 

Treasurer Allison Peavy reviewed the current budget and provided a handout on income and expenses. Membership dues are $60 for Life members and $170 for all other members, payable with cash, check or Venmo.  To date approximately half of club members have paid this year’s dues and our balance of funds is $24,711. Additionally, the biannual auction will be our main source of income in 2026.  Auction funds are used for grants, scholarships and beautification projects. A motion was made to pass the budget for planned programs and said motion was unanimously approved.

 

Secretary Dey Mathews moved to approve the April 2025 meeting minutes as they appear on the CEGC website. Said minutes were unanimously approved.

 

Horticulture Chair Lauren Jackson handed out copies of a September Perennial Shopping List for the Atlanta 30319 Area.  We are Zone 7A/8B, a great area for planting perennials.  Lauren noted that this year has seen an abundance of butterflies and hummingbirds. She suggested planting mums, asters, Japanese Anemones, Sedum and Toad Lily, and the time to plant is now. Lauren mentioned that perennials are known to “sleep, creep and leap” in their first, second and third years of growth.  They take time to thrive and flourish.  Lauren urged members to purchase plants from garden centers as opposed to big box suppliers.

 

Program Co-Chairs Jennifer Van Horn and Patti Thomas spoke about our first planned field trip to SCAD on Tuesday, October 28.  it will include a 360 4D experience, the Fashion Museum and Film Studio tour and a lunch with a panoramic view of Atlanta.  The trip limit is 40 people so members were urged to sign up soon.  A shuttle from Brookhaven to SCAD will be provided.

 

Our next home meeting is November 18 at Julie Train’s house.  Nancy Caswell will demonstrate local table scapes. December 2nd is our Mercy Care decoration project and December 4th is our holiday evening party at Erin Sjostrom’s house.  Our January 27 house meeting is being planned and our March 24 house meeting is Plate Decorating with Decoupage. April 28 is a field trip to Shepherd Center and May 12 is our Spring Luncheon, the last get together of the CEGC year.

 

Auction Chair Kim Huhman polled members about auction details and 72% of members preferred a Ladies Only auction.  The auction will be held Thursday, February 19th, with preferred donations being destination house rentals (beach, mountains etc.), reciprocal golf membership outings, theme parties, high end art and decor, wines and unique items.

 

Mercy Care Co-Chairs Diane Jones and Charlene Deborde spoke about the December 2nd decorating project. Members can sign up to help that day, bake for Mercy Care staff, and collect donations of coats and toiletries for the homeless.

 

Deb Proctor has joined the Board of the Cherokee Garden Club Library which is celebrating its 50th year as part of the Atlanta History Center.  The library has over 50,000 volumes including books, maps and prints, and is a repository for memorabilia from our garden club of 86 years.

 

Flower Show Chair Leanne Shaw announced the Atlanta Botanical Flower Show will be held February 20-22, 2026. The theme is “Chapeaux de l’Epoque.”  Each decade will have a hat theme and CEGC is entered in the 80’s decade with a western theme.  Member Diane Beck is a National Garden Club member, and she has agreed to help this year’s committee.

 

Toni Rhett is Co-Chair with Bonnie Copeland of a new committee - Bloom Brigade- which is a collaboration between CEGC members and HBNA members to plant and improve Historic Brookhaven common areas. Bloom Brigade has been given $5000 to refurbish neighborhood triangles, starting with the Blue Marker triangle on Brookhaven Drive.

 

Leigh Eigel spoke for Grants Committee Chair Tricia Rosenbaum about the calendar for proposing non-profits to be considered as grant recipients. Members may propose any non-profit whose vision and mission statement have a horticultural aspect. Proposals are accepted through December.  The committee will do site visits of proposed non-profits in January and February. Finally in March the committee meets and votes to award grants, and award recipients are announced to the club.

 

Deb Proctor spoke about our oldest philanthropy project: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home, a hospice run by Dominican nuns for indigent, terminally ill cancer patients.  Over the years we have raised over $65,000 for OLPHH, including building their Meditation Chapel, relandscaping grounds and decorating for the holidays. Currently we have $5000 in the budget to add lighting, irrigation and new plantings to the OLPHH grounds. The projected expenditure for this project is $4770.90.

 

Lastly Louise Hoff handed out a flyer for the Garden Club of Georgia Fundraisers. Members may purchase Amaryllis and Paperwhite bulbs, flower pot fall bulbs, and Three Rivers holiday wreaths.  All proceeds help Dogwood District programs.  Questions may be directed to Trudy Rudert, Dogwood District Co-Chair at 770-446-1428.

 

Becca thanked all attendees and the meeting was adjourned.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Dey Mathews

CEGC Secretary

******************************************************************************************

CEGC MEETING MINUTES

FEBRUARY 25, 2025

​

President Becca Settles welcomed all 55 members in attendance and thanked Liz Thorington for hosting.

 

Becca made a motion to have the previous month’s (January) meeting minutes posted on the website to be approved. Said motion was unanimously approved.

 

Horticulture Chair Lauren Jackson provided a handout on seed planting for our area Zone 8, and gave each attending member a packet of lettuce seeds to start a vegetable garden. Planting seeds can be done from April 1 - November 1, with arugula, carrots and radishes easy to grow in our zone.  Lauren encouraged members to try “growing your own salad “ and making her signature salad dressing (recipe provided in the handout) to top it. Lauren asked club members to consider participating in the “Heifer Fund,” an organization that supports people around the world experiencing food insecurity.  Buying $50 worth of seeds will help feed those who otherwise don’t have access to  healthy food on their own.

 

Treasurer Alison Peavy reviewed our current budget.  We have a balance of $35,446.00, including spring trip deposit monies.  Expenses coming up include Garden Club of Georgia dues as well as donations not yet paid out for programs we support.  Alison reviewed our Christmas 2024 expenditures.  With a $5 increase per person to attend the party, we were out of pocket only $200 to fund the party.  We hope the Christmas party will pay for itself going forward.

 

Alison also spoke about Venmo, which we have used to accept payment for garden  club dues and events. Venmo no longer supports organization accounts. Currently CEGC is looking into alternative banking apps such as Zelle (@ Wells Fargo) to accept member payments.  In the meantime, CEGC accepts personal checks for all garden club business payments.

 

Membership Vice President Jolie Maxwell asked sponsors to introduce our five new members. Erin Sjostrom was introduced by Leanne Goines. Lisa Wargo was introduced by Donna Davidson.  Liz Thorington introduced Betsy Wiens. Julie Train was introduced by Kim Boyd and Joan Smith was presented by Courtney Loudermilk. Jolie encouraged all club members to introduce themselves to new members to help them feel welcome.  Currently we have 11 prospective members on our waitlist.

 

Trip Chair Mary Owen spoke about the upcoming Spring trip to Thomasville.  A second email finalizing trip details for members signed up for the trip is about to go out.

 

Tricia Rosenbaum spoke about potential grants…specifically to Shepherd’s Horticulture Program.  They have 8 raised plant beds, which have access on both sides for wheelchair-bound patients to enjoy them. Shepherd’s “House Therapy Program “ is vital to patients remaining active during convalescence.  With a $4,000 grant, this would replace one of the eight beds and jumpstart the program.  Last year we gave a grant to Skyland Trail’s Hummingbird Garden.  Tricia passed around a sign-up sheet for members to work on the Trail gardens Wednesday, March 19.  Participating members receive meeting credit for the day’s work.

 

Deb Proctor and Shea Rowley spoke about Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH), another grant recipient of CEGC.  We grant $1500 annually to this cancer hospice center and have been working with the Dominican Sisters who run the Center since 1939.  In 2029 we will celebrate our 90th anniversary supporting their cancer hospice program, including funding and planting their memorial rose garden and the memorial chapel. Deb spoke about the new OLPH Mother Superior, who has asked us to help with additional program needs, including landscaping and drainage issues near the prayer chapel.

 

Becca spoke about our April 22 field trip to Hills & Dales Callaway Estate in LaGrange, Georgia.  We will need a headcount 2 weeks in advance of the trip and an email with trip details will be sent out shortly.  Participation in this trip also counts as extra meeting credit.

 

Program Co-chair Jennifer Van Horn introduced guest speaker Ric Reitz, SAG member and actor/writer/composer/director who has worked in the Atlanta  film industry for more than 45 years.  Ric’s talk, “How Hollywood Came to Georgia “ charted the rise of the film  industry in Georgia following the ‘96 Olympic Games.  In 1997 Atlanta started losing film-related business because other cities like New Mexico and Los Angeles offered hefty tax credits and grants as incentive to base business in their cities.  Likewise, countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand supported all businesses promoting the Arts with similar tax credits.  Ric worked with other industry leaders to promote offering a 30% tax credit in Georgia to be competitive nationally and internationally to attract film business here.  Ric decided to “sell the state of Georgia” worldwide by creating the “Peach” logo and building our brand.  Developing a plan to market the Georgia logo, Ric presented it to then Governor Purdue and the state legislature. With national and international recognition, our state became a mecca for film business and grew to a 5 billion dollar industry.

 

Following Ric’s presentation, the meeting was adjourned, and lunch was served.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Dey Mathews

CEGC Secretary

**********************************************************************************************

CEGC MEETING MINUTES

JANUARY 28, 2025

​

President Becca Settles welcomed all 59 members in attendance and thanked Diana Conway for hosting the meeting at The Charles in Buckhead.

 

Inspiration Chair Melissa Longosz opened the meeting with a reading from the Brookhaven Bible Study group entitled “Broccoli,” an essay using gardening analogies as inspiration for good health.

 

Membership Chair Jolie Maxwell reviewed six changes to membership status.  Treacy Shaw moved from Associate to Life, with Life members being in garden club for 25 years  or being 70 years of age. Cindy Jernigan and Melissa Longosz moved from Active to Associate, as members for at least 15 years.  Jackie Greene moved from Active to Professional, as a member for at least five years and actively employed.  Trudi Bisciotti moved from Active to Nonresident and Elizabeth Sikes resigned in good standing.

 

With five openings in Active Membership, the following prospective members were introduced :

1) Erin Sjostrom, introduced and sponsored by Leanne Goines, along with Christy Roberts and Diane Moffett.

2) Lisa Wargo, introduced and sponsored by Melissa Longosz, along with Cheryl Durham and Monica Hinton.

3) Betsy Wiens, introduced and sponsored by Leigh Eigel, along with Liz Thorington and Toni Rhett.

4) Julie Train, introduced and sponsored by Ann Culley, along with Betsy Clayton and Kim Boyd.

5) Joan Smith, introduced and sponsored by Jane Ridall, along with Courtney Loudermilk and Mary Chambers.

Becca suggested that we move to approve all five prospective new members with one vote. Said proposal was voted on and all five members were unanimously approved.

Jolie said new members are now being given a “goodie bag,” including our thermal CEGC logo wine cup, as a welcome to the garden club.

 

Secretary Dey Mathews moved to approve the November meeting minutes as they appear on the CEGC website.  Said minutes were unanimously approved.

 

Becca reminded members that the Spring trip to Thomasville still has a few spaces available, and sign-up expires Saturday, February 1st.

 

Becca stated that Philanthropy Grant proposals currently are being reviewed and voted on.  The Executive Board agreed that Neighborhood Beautification Grants should be a separate line item in the budget. The Board reviewed two of these grant proposals: one for Carter Drive storm damage/repair and one for Vermont Park revitalization.  As a result, $6,000 in grants was approved : $2,650 for Carter Drive, $3,350 for Vermont Park and an additional $1,000 shared.

 

Currently we have $37,478.82 in our budget, including $4,000 in Spring Trip monies and $6,000 in grants. At this meeting raffle tickets are being sold for three floral arrangements made by Laura Iarocci.  All monies collected will be used for neighborhood beautification. Leigh Eigel mentioned that Toni Rhett and Bonnie Copeland will spearhead a new Neighborhood Beautification Committee.

 

Diane Beck spoke about the Georgia Daffodil Society Show at the Cathedral of St. Philip March 6-8.  Diane is a show judge and encouraged all members to participate and submit entries from their gardens.

 

Program Co-chair Jennifer Van Horn introduced our guest speaker, Laura Iarocci, founder of Faith Flowers. Laura has a floral studio in Virginia Highlands and is known for arranging flowers for weddings and special events. She has published a book entitled “Faith Flowers,” teaches classes on floral arranging, and leads annual flower tours throughout Europe, focusing not just on gardens but on local culture and lifestyle. In Fall of 2025 she will take a tour group to The Cotswolds in England.  In 2026 Laura will organize a tour to Belgium and The Netherlands.

 

Laura began her talk with tips on current trends in flower arranging:

- Sustainability, using more bio-degradable products to anchor flowers in arrangements, such as armatures of branches, oasis substitutes, greenery and branches.  Chicken wire, pin cushions called “frogs” and holly chapple pillows hold arrangements together and can be used over and over in lieu of oasis and one-time materials.

- Reflowering, breaking down floral arrangements made for special events and repurposing them for donation to charities and churches.

 

Laura made three different centerpieces for raffle. The first was asymmetrical, using pittosporum, camellia, bay leaf, campanula, “Free Spirit” rose, carnation and fringe tulips. Laura emphasized that “balance” is critical to creating a rich arrangement, making sure that the back of a floral design is as full as the front. She started at the center of the vessel and spread the arrangement  out from there, using greenery and flowers that were pliable to create soft lines.

 

Laura’s second arrangement was a decorative style which she nicknamed the “Birthday Cake,” using grapevine and curly willow as armature. In a low, clear green-wrapped vessel she inserted flowers straight up and down: Queen Anne’s Lace as anchor, carnations, fringe tulips, spray roses as filler and thistle for accent.

 

Laura’s third arrangement was a garden style centerpiece, using an elongated window box style planter filled with chicken wire armature in a “sausage” shape and horizontal orchid sticks as anchor. Lush natural greenery and delphinium, mother of pearl roses, lavender scabiosa, pale yellow lisianthus and Queen Anne’s Lace Green Mist created a rich, full arrangement.  Laura distributed a handout with instructions on how to recreate her floral designs.

 

All three arrangements were raffled off and winning members were Donna Davidson, Melanie Hong and Toni Rhett, who won the “Birthday Cake” on her actual birthday!  In all, the raffle raised $270 for Neighborhood Beautification.

 

Following the raffle the meeting was adjourned.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Dey Mathews

CEGC Secretary