Members of the Seedling Garden Club traveled to Brunswick on October 9 to attend the 67th Oleander District Annual Meeting. The meeting was held at the College Place Methodist Church. District Director Martha Cobb called the meeting to order, welcomed everyone and presided over the meeting. The meeting was opened with an inspiring inspiration by Chaplain Mary Virginia Keith. Reverand Jake Webster, Minister of The College Place Methodist Church, gave a warm welcome on behalf of the community.
Guest of Honor was Diane Hunter, president of The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. She made several special presentations and brought great greetings from The State Board. Martha Cobb introduced those seated at the Head and Honor Table. Former Oleander District Directors were seated at a reserved table and were recognized. Kay Peacock was honored to be among the six that were there, as she served as DD from 1999-2001.
The program was presented by Charles McMillan who is part of the Okefenokee Swamp. He gave a very interesting program on the "Importance of Land Conservation in Coastal Georgia”, stressing the need for Okefenokee to be protected. Members present were asked to sign a petition to be sent to Georgia Governor Kemp to sign legislation to permanent protect the Swamp.
Chaplain Mary Virginia Keith gave a very somber Memorial Service in memory of garden club members that have passed away this year. Using words from the poem "Flower Image" was very touching. It really described those that we have lost. Seedling was saddened to see our own Mary Ellen Smith's picture on the screen.
Awards Chairman Betty Benner and Co-Chairman Mary Ogden presented Oleander District Awards to clubs that had applied. Seedling Garden Club was presented The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. "Standard of Excellence" award in recognition of our many accomplishments for 2024 as detailed on the President's Report of Garden Club Achievements. Nancy Lisenby accepted on behalf of the club.
Seedling Garden Club donated a basket for the Basket Raffle. The club's theme was "Tea Time" for their basket and it was full of items for a tea. We also carried tabs for the "pull-a-tab" project collected for the McDonald House. These tabs are collected throughout the year and weighed for club competition.
Members of Seedling Garden Club attending was Wanda Ellis, Nancy Lisenby and Kay Peacock. The final credentials report reported that 157 members from 45 Oleander clubs were in attendance. We enjoyed the day seeing old friends and making new ones. The lunch was good, program very informative, viewing educational exhibits and hearing from different chairman's reports made for a long day, but enjoyable and educational.
