Penelope and Bonnie were the first Co-Presidents of the Village Garden Club of La Jolla (VGCLJ). Although not required in the ByLaws, Co-Presidency has proved to be popular. The club had grown so large and had continued to add committees and projects. It had become difficult for one president to stay on top of everything. In addition, we found that, during the two-year period, there were times when we could travel and still have one president easily available.
There were several changes in the Bylaws. The membership cap of 400 was re-established as a more workable number for our Club; the date for membership applications and renewals was brought forward from the May meeting to May 1, to allow the processing of data to be completed earlier; and it was clarified that all officer positions, with the exception of Treasurer, could be co positions.
During this time, the club moved towards the use of the computer for membership sign up and online payment of dues, as well as the use of signup genius for committees.
By 2017, insufficient parking in the parking structure became a serious problem. Nearby UTC parking was no longer available and carpooling was not seen as an acceptable option. However, the situation was significantly improved in 2018 with the use of valet parking to squeeze more spaces within the garage and in the adjoining parking lot.
The Sanctuary, with its comfortable seating, had been the primary space for our programs, but after Congregation Beth Israel’s insurance no longer permitted covering of the major Sanctuary windows, the excessive light from windows and skylight became an insurmountable problem for viewing speakers’ slides. We therefore decided to hold our programs, except those for floral designers, in the Social Hall which could be darkened, although the space was tight.
Several interesting local field trips were held, but disappointingly a popular 4-day trip to the Sonoma wine country had to be cancelled due to California fires. The amount of work organizing such travel trips led to the policy decision that allowed a member in the travel business to organize future travel without it being seen as promoting a member’s business.
We were delighted to have Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse, to speak at a Meet the Masters event in Balboa Park. Alice started the national movement to create gardens within schools. Our proceeds were given to our own Schoolyard Gardens Committee for distribution to schools within San Diego County.
New programs during this period were the production of a new cookbook, Our Favorite Things. Also, we participated in the nationwide program - Wreaths Across America where volunteers placed wreaths on Veterans graves in all 50 states. For each wreath our members purchased, our Club benefitted with a percentage returned.
We chose to share the responsibilities of the presidency by splitting the oversight of the committees between us. We found this made for an enjoyable and rewarding two years as co-presidents.