2006 September thru December Board and ... - Andy's Web Tools

Plainfield Garden Club Board MeetingSept.20,2006Attendance: Darlene Kasten, Phyllis Alexander, Mary Kent, Tucker Trimble, KathyAndrews, Lorraine Ciemniecki, Mandy Zachariades, Diana Madsen, Judy BuehlerPresident Darlene Kasten called her first meeting to order at 8:30 am at PlainfieldCountry Club. She welcomed all new board members. Darlene questioned whether ourmembership files were computerized. They would be easier & quicker to update if theywere.Treasurer: Phyllis Alexander reported that our money market balance is $16,945.12; ourchecking account balance is $5320.62. Total cash on hand as of 8/31/06 is $22,265.74.Due to the low interest rate on the money market account, she will research differentbanks & their interest rate for our business account.Drumthwacket: Mandy Zachariades reported that the theme will be an "Old FashionChristmas". The Plainfield Garden Club will be responsible for decorating the front porchwhich has a "Holiday Hunt" theme. (Pine cones, greens, fea\hers, etc. will be used in thedecorating) She passed around a photo of the front porch of Drumthwacket. Discussionfollowed regarding the funding of this project. It was decided that the profit from thedaffodil sale will be earmarked for this project.Horticulture: Mary Kent suggested that our club start the new year with an inhousehorticulture show in Sept. Many clubs have these shows every month. Members shouldbe collecting their own clear bottles & vases for these shows.Directory: Ramona Ferguson was responsible for the 200612007 directory. It wassuggested that in the future all info be given to her in May so a draft can be proofed inJune. Ideally the directory should go to the printer soon after that.Flower Show: Judy Buehler has a flower show planned for the Nov. meeting. She willmeet with her committee after the general meeting.Corresponding Secretary: There was a discussion as to whether the correspondingsecretary, Nancy Plumeri, should also be responsible for the directory. The secretarycollects all the info & sends it to the directory chairperson. For now it will remain as is.Shakespeare in Bloom: Mandy suggested that we incorporate a tour of 2 local gardenswith our Shakespeare in Bloom. For this to be a success, we would need 100%participation from our membership.Announcements: Nancy Plumeri & Lauren Shepard made 2 flower arrangements for theHistoric House Tour in Plainfield on Sept. 10,2006. They were displayed at the home ofJulie Shorlridge.

Other: The 2010 annual meeting will be held in N.J. Every Garden Club of America clubin N.J. will be assessed $75 per member to offset the cost. The Plainfield Garden Clubwill host the 2012 Zone IY meeting. We will need to start the planning for this two yearsin advance.The next board meeting is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 6 at 9:00 atn atthe FrelinghuysenArboretum.

Plainfield Garden Club General MeetingSept.20,2006President: Darlene Kasten called the meeting to order at 10:20 am at Plainfield CountryClub. She welcomed everyone back for the new year. 200612007 directories werehanded out. Darlene noted that extra copies were ordered this year. Our goal in the futureis to have the directory ready for print in June. She passed around committee sign upsheets.Minutes: The minutes from the June meeting were accepted as emailed.Treasurer: Phyllis Alexander reported that our money market account balance is$16,945.72; our checkingaccountbalanceis$ 5320.62.Totalcashonhandas of 813l/06is $22,265 .7 4 . Due to the low interest rate on the money market account, she willresearch different banks & their interest rate for our business account.Corresponding Secretary: In Nancy Plumeri's absence, Darlene read a thank you notefrom the Plainfield Historical Society for flower arangements made by Nancy Plumeri &Lauren Shepard for their Historical House Tour. She also read the thank you from thePlainfield High School student who was the recipient of our scholarship. She will attendthe College of New Jersey.Second VP: Mandy Zachariades reported that the theme for Drumthwacket is an "OldFashion Christmas". The Plainfield Garden Club will be responsible for decorating thefront porch with a theme of "Holiday Hunt". Money from the daffodil sale will beearmarked for this project. Since this is a civic project, the money allocated for Civicswill also be used for Drumthwacket. Shakespeare in Bloom will be held on June2,2007.Mandy is hoping to increase interest by including a tour of 2 local gardens.Civics: Bev Gorman reported that the Plainfield High School Atrium looks good exceptfor all of the trash. She suggested that we request that the students help clean up the trashin the future. Fall clean up at the Atrium will be in late October or early November.Conservation: Janet Burchett reported on the Monarch butterfly & the beetle that isattacking the purple loosestrife. She asked for feedback on the "doom & gloom"reporting & wanted to know if we were ready for more positive reporting'Flower Arranging: Judy Buehler & her committee will be meeting after the generalmeeting to discuss the November flower show, future classes & any new ideas'Garden History & Design: Julie Shortridge will be researching gardens for our possiblegarden tour in June.Horticulture: Mary Kent passed around the schedule for the Greenwich Garden Club. Sheis trying to schedule apropagation workshop at the Willow Wood Arboretum for

October. Pam Wilson will give the workshop which will include Freeman MedalWinners. We are entitled to one workshop ayear at a nominal fee. Instructions on how toplant the propagated begonias from June were passed out.Photography: Lorraine Ciemniecki discussed the theme for the February photographyshow which is "Life in the Garden".There will be 3 classes: People in the GardenAnimals or Insects in the GardenNovice ClassShakespeare Garden: Sally Booth reported that32 new miniature boxwoods werepurchased to replace the boxwood around the roses. Next month is the daffodil sale. 20tulbs will be sold at a cost of $20 per bag. Profits from the sale will be used to purchaseitems needed to decorate the porch at Drumthwacket. Discussion followed on theamount of weeds at the Garden. Susan Fraser received an estimate of $700 to havemulch spread on the Garden in late fall. She will continue to research the cost of having3-4 inchis of mulch. Sally & Mary feel that it is time for some new members to head theShakespeare Garden Committee.N.J. Comm ittee: E\zabeth Harbaugh urged the club to fill orft the grant proposals fromthe N.J. Committee. The proposals can be for anything that is needed by our club such asnew topiaries for the Shakespeare Garden. The proposals are due by November 1. Shealso collected money for the luncheon which will be held after the meeting on October 6at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum.Other: Tucker Trimble & Kathy Andrews presented Sally Krolt with the Club Medal ofMerit. Sally has been a member of the Plainfield Garden Club for 26 yearc' She hasserved as president twice & has chaired many committees during those years.Congratulations!The next meeting will be held on Friday, October 6 a/-the Frelinghuysen Arboretum.

Plainfield Garden Club Board MeetingOctober 612006Attendance: Darlene Kasten, Phyltis Alexander, Kathy Andrews, Lorraine ciemniecki,Mandy Zachariades, JudY Buehlerpresident Darlene Kasten called the meeting to order at 9:20 arr' at the FrelinghuysenArboretum. The minutes from the previous meeting were apploved with one correction'The theme for Drumthwacket is" An Old Fashiong! Christmas". Due to the short spanbetween meetings,there was not much to report'Treasurer: Phyllis Alexander reported that our money market balance is $16,965'71; ourchecking account balance is $+i:o.tq. Total cash on hand as of 9130106 is $21,095'90'Drumthwacket: Mandy zachariades reported that she & her committee are looking atplaces to buy the materials that will be needed to decorate the porch at Drumthwacket'Roping, wreaths, greens, feathers & pheasant birds are needed for this purpose' Mandywill contact christoffers Florist in Mountainside to ask fol their advise in purchasing thepheasants which seem to be diffrcult to find. Members willie asked to donate greensfrom their gardens. Nov. 27, 9:30 am we will meet at Drumthwacket to decorate thepor.fr. The-week before we will meet at Nancy Plumeri's hlme to assemble the wreaths& swags. our club will tour Drumthwacket on December 6 at 10:15 am for a specialpreview before it is opened to the public'Flower Show: Judy Buehler has planned a demonstration for a niche arrangement givenlf f.r.t ., Trimble on October 1^9 at 10:30 am at Judy's home' Those who have neverentered a niche anangement are invited to attend' The theme for the November flowershow is : Bountiful H"arvest. There will be 3 classes with up to 4 entries per class' Theclasses are: Niche - A Feast for the EyesPedestal - Falling LeavesTable Arrangement - Colors of Autumnon March 22,2007 two"women from the Garden club of Lenox, Mass' will give aworkshoP on Modern Design'Conservation: Janet Burchett & Kathy Andrews will be attending the Washington DC tripon Februar y 26 -28,2007 for the Annual GCA National Affairs & Legislation Meeting'Admissions: Kathy Andrews read letters of sponsorship for Gail Sloan' MandyZachariades is hei sponsol & Bernadette Neill is her co-sponsor'Shakespeare-in-Bloom: Judy & Mandy will check Brenda Anderson's garden as apossibility fior o;;;;en tour. Judy will contact Kathy Onieal to investigate the gardensat our fbrmer govelnor's home. Greg Palermo's garden is also being considered'Music, a plant sale, refreshments & vendors are also possibilities for raising money'william,s Nursery might give a demonstration on container planting'

\-lThe next board meeting is scheduled for November 15 at 8:30 am at Plainfield CountryClub.Respectfully Submitted,Lorraine CiemnieckiRecording Secretary

Plainfield Garden Club General MeetingOctober 6,2006President: Darlene Kasten called the meeting to order at 10:15 at the FrelinghuysenArboretum. She passed around a flier for a fundraiser for the Shakespeare Theater. Thetheme is "A Very Gory Affair" to be held Octob er 27 for a fee of $ 150.Minutes: The minutes from the September meeting were accepted as emailed.Treasurer: Phyllis Alexander reported that our money market account balance is$16,965.71; our checking account balance is $4130.19. Total cash on hand as of 9130106is $21,095.90. She passed around an article about the Student Conservation Association,which is supported by GCA & our club. We donate $250.00 per year to this organization.Some members wondered if this group could help with the Shakespeare Garden. SallyBooth informed us that they take on large projects & would not be available for our use.Second VP: Mandy Zachariades reported that she & her committee are researchingwhere to purchase the necessary items for our decorating Prpject at Drumthwacket.Members will be asked to donate greens from their gardens. Monday, Nov.27 at 9:30 amwe will meet at Drumthwacket to decorate the porch. The week before we will meet atNancy Plumeri's home to assemble the wreaths & swags. Drumthwacket will be open tothe publlc lll2g,I2l6,I2lI0,12ll3 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Suggested donation is $5.Ouiclub will attend a preview tour on Dec. 6 at 10:15 am with other participating clubs.This will replace our regular Dec. general meeting. Dec.18 is the schedule date todismantle the porch decorations. Members are researching gardens in Plainfield for ourpossible garden tour. This will be in addition to Shakespeare-in-Bloom. Shakespeare-inbud,the cocktail party the night before, will hopefully be held 'Civic: Elaine Welsh reported that the PHS Atrium was littered the following week afterour assessment. She believes that the students should be encouraged to clean it up & tomaintain it. Our goal going forward should be to wean ourselves from the maintenance,especially sincq the Shakespeare Garden requires so much of our time' Elaine & BevGorman will include Nina Weil in their plan to meet & discuss the future of the Atriumwith PHS administrators.Flower Arranging: Judy Buehler has planned a demonstration for a niche arrangementgiven by Tucker lrimble on Oct. 19 at 10:30 am at Judy's home. Those who have neverentered a niche arrangement are invited to attend. The theme for the November flowershow is: Bountiful Hirvest. There will be 3 classes with up to 4 entries each. The classesare: Niche - A Feast for the EYesPedestal - Falling LeavesTable Arrangement - Colors of AutumnSign up for the flower show will be online'oiuarcrr 22,2007 two women from the Garden Club of Lenox, Mass' will give aworkshop on Modern Design'

Shakespeare Garden: Sally Booth reported that the new boxwoods were planted. She tookthe old boxwoods for her own garden & plans to reimburse our club for them. She camewith the bagged daffodils for our annual sale. Next week they hope to remove thebay &rosemary from the garden.Admissions: Kathy Andrews encouraged everyone to consider sponsoring a newmember. Inviting friends to a meeting is a good way to start & spark some interest.Other: Lauren Shepard brought to attention that the November meeting date is incorrect.It should be November 15 not 16. Diana Madsen will read a fact about the GCA atevery meeting called "A GCA Minute".The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 15 at Plainfield Country Club.Respectfully Submitted,Lorraine CiemnieckiRecording Secretary

AttendanCe: l)arlene l(asten, fnyllls AleXanOeI, Kamy Anorews) Lorrallrs \-lslllusuKr,Mandy Zachanades, Judy Buehler, Mary Kent, Janet BurchettPresident Darlene Kasten called the meeting to order at 9:30 am at Plainfield CountryClub. Due to the commotion with the Flower Show, the board meeting was very brief.It was decided that whenever there is a Flower, Photography, or Horticulture Show theboard meeting would be held prior to the day of the general meeting.Admissions: Kathy Andrews recommended Gail Sloan for membership to the PlainfieldGarden Club. She is sponsored by Mandy Zachaiades, who has known her for 15 years,and co-sponsored by Bernadette Neill. Lorraine Ciemniecki made the motion to acceptGail & everyone in attendance agreed.Conservation: Janet Burchett talked about the GCA Position Paper 2006 regarding GlobalWarming. She also discussed the Zone IV clubs support of this resolution. As part of thiscommitment, the Plainfield Garden Club would support the NJ Global Warming Seminarin princeton in October 2007 . Our club would commit to a financial contribution befween$250-$500. If enough people attend the seminar we could possibly be reimbursed.Darlene Kasten made a motion that we endorse the Zone IV Resolution and KathyAndrews second the motion. Everyone was in agreement.Due to the holidays and our participation in the decorating of Drumthwacket, there willprobably not be a December Board Meeting.Respectfully Submitted,Lorraine CiemnieckiRecording SecretarY

Plainfield Garden Club General MeetingNovember 15,2006President: Darlene Kasten called the meeting to order at 10:00 am at Plainfield CountryClub. She thanked Judy Buehler and her committee for their hard work in putting theFlower Show together. Darlene asked all who entered the show to please leave theirarrangements for everyone to admire after the general meeting. She welcomed thefollowing guests to our meeting: Gail Sloan, Patly Dunstan, Valerie Roger, and LoriSkorge.Minutes: The minutes from the October meeting were accepted as emailed.Treasurer: Phyllis Alexander reported that our money market account balance is$16,988.47; our checking account balance is $3106.29. Phyllis opened a separate accountfor our operating expenses which has a balance of $25.00. Total cash on hand as of10131106 is $20119.76.Corresponding Secretary: In Nancy Plumeri's absence, Darl8ne read a thank you from thescholarship committee of the GCA for our donation to the Interchange Fellowship.Second VP: Mandy Zachanades called for an emergency meeting after the generalmeeting regarding Drumthwacket. There was a change in the date for assembling theswags and wreaths for our project. Greens & wreaths would not be available until afterThanksgiving therefore our date to assemble our decorations will have to be determined.Mandy will put out an email, will ask for any & all greens from our gardens and will letthe members know where & when the assembling will take place. The most probable datewill be Nov. 26, the Sunday after Thanksgiving.Conservation: Darlene read the GCA Position Paper 2006 regarding Global Warming.Janet Burchett read the Resolution for ZoneIY Clubs on Global Warming. As part of ourcommitment to this cause, the Plainfield Garden Club would support the NJ GlobalWarming Seminar in Princeton in October 2001 . The GCA is hoping for 100%participation from the clubs inZone IV. Jeanne Turner made a motion that we endorsethe resolution and Judy Buehler second the motion. Janet will be looking for members forthis committee. Kathy Andrews gave a very helpful "Conservation Minute" regardingways we can personally conserve energy. They are as follows:1. Buy & drive cars that are fuel efficient2. Buy appliances that use green energy3. Change 5 light bulbs to Energy + light bulbs4. Know & support candidates that are concerned about the environmentFlower Arranging: Judy Buehler thanked her committee and all who entered the FlowerShow. She asked anyone who used a watering can to please retutn it to her as they belongto the garden club. Judy will be having a meeting with her committee regarding changing

the Flower Show to a different month. November seems to be a particularly busy monthand it took many phone calls to encourage members to enter the show.Horticulture: Mary Kent informed us about the Amaryllis sale. Ordering will be doneonline & must be prepaid. Paperwhites will also be available. Mary handed out FreemanMedal Winner seed plantings which will be used for the Zone IV plant exchange inSpring 2008.Photography: Darlene informed the members of an exhibit at the International Center ofPhotography in NYC. The exhibit rs Ecotopia and runs until Jan.7 ,2007 .NJ Committee: Elizabeth Harbaugh requested that we have 100% participation to the NJCommittee when they send out their annual letters after Thanksgiving. Our contributionsare greatly needed & appreciated. The NJ Global Warming Seminar is asking for a grantfrom the committee.Programs: Lauren Shepard reminded everyone that the December meeting has beencancelled & the Drumthwacket tour will be December 6 at 1 0: 1 5 am.Other: Darlene closed the meeting with her report from the $resident's Council Meeting.Everyone was encouraged to go to the GCA website and make sure your info is correct.The 2010 Annual Meeting will be held on May 14-15 at the East Brunswick Hilton. Thecommittee is looking for ideas for fun activities and possible gardens to tour in the EastBrunswick area. Ann Bigliani is looking for more participation from our zone for theHospitality Committee .2013 is the 100 Anniversary of the GCA. They are asking eachclub to update their history. The theme for the annual meeting in2001 is Bridge to theFuture. Any appropriate photos should be submitted by December 1, 2006. The GCABulletin is seeking advertisers to offset the cost of the publication.The December general meeting has been cancelled and will be replaced with the tour ofDrumthwacket on December 6 at 10:15 am.Respectfully Submitted,Lorraine CiemnieckiRecording Secretary