My presidency began in 2005 and went through 2007. It was two years of joy with friends. We worked, but it was a pleasure, and we played with purpose. We met the most interesting, accomplished people, we traveled together, we gardened together, we had the most fun making floral arrangements together, we dined together, and we celebrated together.
The Village Garden Club’s purpose is to educate. The horticultural table is key to this effort. Adrienne Green conveyed to me the importance of good speakers. She said for me to get the speakers and not to worry about fees! So, if there was an opportunity to get an exceptional speaker, she would find a friend to cover the fee. With that, a great friendship was born! Good speakers put people in the seats, and we had 400 members to fill seats!
What distinguishes VGCLJ from other garden clubs is not only our size, but that we are inclusive, not exclusive, plus the diversity of our projects, and the quality of our programs.
At the beginning of each meeting there is a social period. VCGLJ was a really social group and there weren't extended opportunities to get to know each other. I was Ann Zahner’s vice president and program chair. Pat Miller was chairing the Jacaranda Committee. It was almost May and to celebrate the jacaranda trees being in bloom, we came up with a Jacaranda Festival and member luncheon to end the year. That was also the incoming officer’s installation. We extended invitations to all the former living presidents to join us.
Donna Derrick, Dorothy Carroll and Phyllis Sheldon (Julia Sheldon’s mother) came.
The following year, we held an end of the year luncheon and celebrated mother and daughter members, too, There were about 10/12 pairs of mothers and daughters. There is now an annual end of the year luncheon.
The first thing I did as the new President was revamp the existing Yearbook from basically an address book with a taped binder to a book with extended information sections and a more useable spiral binding. Barbara Berman and I literally spent all of July and August getting the details exact for over 400 members. Barbara was a fantastic editor. The following year included a great addition - member photos - thanks to the Herculean effort of Susan Oliver and her sister.
Having a special speaker warranted extending some La Jolla hospitality. We always had the speaker arrive a day early just to make sure they did arrive (your worst nightmare was a no-show speaker). We put them up at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club (usually courtesy of one of our members was also a LJBT Club member). Alice Harmon would greet them if they came by air and transport the speaker for their visit. Often they would get a garden tour to a member’s garden. That afternoon or evening the guest would meet with Rudy Vaca, our audio/visual tech and test the set up. Afterward, there would be a fabulous dinner at a member’s home. Lois Stanton would prepare the dinner and you really wanted to be included! Generally, this was a nice reward for hardworking board members. This was always a really special evening.
After the general meeting, we took the speaker and invited guests to the Marine Room for a (no host) lunch to unwind.
Members wanted a “hands on” experiences so following the General Meetings we added afternoon workshops. We had lunches delivered! Usually, these were limited to about 25 members related to the meeting topic.
I realized in order to have members show up for meetings and not tell you they have a dentist appointment, or a tennis lesson or that was their golf morning, you had to give them a job- a responsibility- you want them to make the Garden Club their priority! With such a large membership there needed to be lots of jobs! We expanded all the committees and set up a governing board with two meetings a year so everyone didn’t duplicate the jobs and committee agendas. Our ladies - and a few gentlemen - were not only social, but they also LOVED to shop! To augment the ways and means effort, Celia Henley and Lynn Sauer set up their “garden shop” for every meeting and paid the Club a percentage of the sales. The most fabulous thing about the VGCLJ was the talent and capability of the members. Whenever you asked to have anything done, members exceeded your expectations. Everyone always said “yes.”
To give extra financial support to the Committees, in the summer of 2006, Lucy Borsenberger filed papers with the State of California for VGCLJ to become a non-profit organization. We could now accept tax-deductible donations. This was a big step for the Club.
Ann Craig was my vice-president, which was pretty fabulous and lucky. She lives in ones of La Jolla’s great historic homes, which she generously lent to VGCLJ on many occasions. It pretty much was the “home” of the Garden Club for other than the general meetings.
I was lucky to be president of VCGLJ when California still had water to maintain grand gardens like Agatha Youngblood’s, Cally Crow’s, and Lani Freymiller’s, and Encinitas was still the flower growing capitol and rose gardens still existed. ️