Past Presidents President Years Served Fran Ackerly 2025- Sarah J. Olson 2023-2025 Sarah Stransky 2022-2023 Florence Leyssène 2019-2022 Susan Straten 2017-2019 Deborah Hirsch 2015-2017 Michele Quinn 2013-2015 Kate Khachaturian 2011-2013 Karen R. Whitehaus 2009-2011 Gretchen Prater 2007-2009 Firth Fabend 2005-2007 Rita Berkowitz 2003-2005 Sarah Stransky 2001-2003 Pat Green 1999-2001 Lynda Henderson 1997-1999 C.Y. Treene 1995-1997 Barbara Meyer 1993-1995 Barbara Etherington 1991-1993 Sue Swick 1989-1991 Mrs. Roger Wm. Young 1987-1989 Mrs. William A. Dodd 1985-1987 Mrs. John R. McGeown 1983-1985 Mrs. Frank P. Marano 1981-1983 Mrs. Thomas M. Wells 1979-1981 Mrs. Richard I. Bonsal 1977-1979 Mrs. K. Philip Dresdner 1975-1977 Mrs. G. Warren French 1973-1975 Mrs. Robert C. Dallery 1971-1973 Mrs. Russell M. Cook 1969-1971 Mrs. Duane E. Minard Jr. 1967-1969 Mrs. John T. Wooster 1965-1967 Mrs. George Oliphant 1963-1965 Mrs. T. Campbell Hooton 1961-1963 Mrs. H. Finney 1959-1961 Mrs. O.C. Kappelman 1957-1959 Mrs. Karl M. Mann 1955-1957 Mrs. H. St. John Webb 1953-1955 Mrs. Robert McNeil Jr. 1949-1953 Mrs. C. Colton Tuttle 1947-1949 Mrs. Charles G. Keller 1945-1947 Mrs. Ralph Bristol 1941-1945 Mrs. Sydney Fiske 1939-1941 Mrs. William Morgan 1935-1939 Mrs. Percy Allen 1931-1935 Mrs. L.N. DeVausney 1927-1931 Mrs. Preston T. Kelsey 1926-1926

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Flower Show 2022 Click on any of the images to see them larger. "HM" is short for "Honorable Mention." Division I - Design Section A: "All the World's A Stage" Class 1: "West Side Story" A Creative Parallel Design, staged on a 30” high dining table covered with ivory tablecloth. Four (4) exhibits staged in front of a black divider 36” high provided by committee. Staging panel and underlay required and provided by exhibitor, allowable space 32” high x 24” wide x24” deep. First: Michele Tomasik. (Also won Award of Design Excellence and Tricolor Award.) Second: Marie Donnelly Third: Cheryl Slutzky HM: Susan Brady Class 2: "Oklahoma" A Design, freedom of style and type, staged on a 42” high round black pedestal with 14” black square top, provided by committee. Staged in front of a sage green wall and viewed from front. Allowable space 26” wide x 26” deep, no height restriction. Underlay optional. First: Barbara Baletti Second: Cynthia Corhan-Aitken Third: Sarah Stransky HM: Victoria Herrera Class 3: "Madame Butterfly" An American Traditional Design on a 36” high round black pedestal with a 15” diameter black top, provided by committee. Staged in front of a sage green wall, allowable space 26” wide x 26” deep, no height restriction. Underlay optional. First: Patricia Rodio Second: Betty Murphy Third: Nancy Foster HM: Gretchen Prater Section B: "Revelations" Class 4: "Alvin Ailey" A Challenge Design, staged on 30” high x 18” deep conference table, provided by committee. Three (3) per table, allowable space 24” wide x 18” deep. Identical components will be supplied to exhibitors by consultant no later than August 21, except for fresh flowers which will be supplied September 14. Exhibitor must use a minimum of three (3) components provided. First: Sarah Olson Sarah also won Special Arts & Flowers Award Second: Carol Callahan Third: Susan Benner HM: Nancy Stroud HM: Floss O'Sullivan Section C: "Fascinating Rhythms" Class 5: "Symphony" A Low-Profile Design: a 3-D design incorporating three (3) or more design techniques (HB p.81-83). Techniques must be identified on a 3” x 5” index card. Completed design must be at least four (4) times as long and/or wide as it is high. Staged on a horizontal staging panel required and provided by exhibitor, placed on a 26” long x 16” wide x 7.5” high box provided by committee. Allowable space 36” long x 24” wide. First: Florence Leyssène Second: Brenda Bingham Third: Deborah Moran HM: Celia Radek Class 6: "Jazz" A Design, freedom of style and type, staged on a 30” high table covered with ivory tablecloth. Staging panel and underlay required and provided by exhibitor, allowable space 24” wide x 24” deep, no height restriction. First: Tova Narrett (also won Designer's Choice Award and the Barbara Slockbower Schaeberle Award Second: Susan Dumont Third: Marilyn Zaret HM: Sydney Milliken Class 7: "Hip Hop" A Multi-Rhythmic Design staged on a 42” high black pedestal with 14” square black top, provided by committee. Pedestals placed in the middle of the room. Designs are free standing, viewed and judged from all sides. Allowable space 26” wide x 26” deep, no height restriction. Underlay optional. First: Fran Ackerly Second: Barbara Baletti Third: Deborah Hirsch HM: Jessica Fleming Section D: “The Flower as Muse” Class 8: "Contemporary Art" A Tubular Design, staged on a mantel shelf, 54.5” high from the floor x 10” deep. Staging panel and underlay required and provided by exhibitor, allowable space 12” high x 12” wide x 10” deep, wall color is off-white. First: Fran Ackerly Second: Nancy Stroud Third: Susan Benner HM: Dorothy Meissner Class 9: "Impressionism" A Design, freedom of style and type, staged on a glass-topped shelf, 52.5” high x 10” deep. Staging panel and underlay optional, allowable space 12” high x 12” wide x 10” deep, wall and shelf color are off-white. First: Susan Straten Second: Michelle Quinn Third: Sarah Olson HM: Victoria Herrera Class 10: "Pop Art" A Creative Design, staged on a glass-topped shelf, 52.5” high x 10” deep. Staging panel and underlay required and provided by exhibitor, allowable space 12” high x 12” wide x 10” deep, wall and shelf color are off-white. First: Celia Radek (also won Petite Award) Second: Deborah Hirsch Third: Carol Callahan HM: Maria Matesanz Division II - Botanical Arts Section A: "Botanical Arts Design Class 1: "In Honor of Matisse" A Collage, an abstract design with a dominance of components arranged in a non-realistic manner, staged on a board not to exceed 16” x 20”, provided by exhibitor. May be exhibited horizontal or vertical on easel provided by committee and staged on a glass-topped off-white shelf, 52.5” high x 10” deep. All surfaces of board should be covered or painted, freedom of components, some plant material must be included. First: Marie Donnelly Second: Cheryl Slutzky Third: Barbara Baletti HM: Carol Callahan Class 2: "The Garden of Earthly Delights" A Pot-et-Fleur, not to exceed 14” long or wide, staged on a 36” high sage green pedestal with 16” square top provided by committee and placed in the center of the library. Designs are free standing, viewed and judged from all sides. (A Pot-et-Fleur (HB p. 94) is a design combining two (2) or more flowering and/or foliage plants with roots growing in soil or other medium. Fresh cut flower/s must be included. Dried plant material or natural components may be added for interest.) First: Cynthia Corhan-Aitken (also won Botanical Arts Design Award) Second: Susan Dumont Third: Sarah Olson HM: Nancy Stroud Class 3: "Frame Work" A decorated wreath (any shape), traditional or creative, provided by exhibitor, no larger than 16” x 16” hung on a green metal tripod provided by committee, staged on table 30” high provided by committee. First: Deborah Moran Second: Fran Ackerly Third: Sarah Stransky HM: Floss O'Sullivan Section B: "Botanical Arts Photography Class 4: "Rhythms in Nature" Image of plant(s) that illustrates patterns in nature. Color or Black & White. First: Sheila Curry Oakes Second: Betty Murphy Third: Sarah Olson HM: Michele Tomasik HM: Deborah Moran HM: Susan Yu Class 5: "Avis Campbell Jubilee" Celebrate Avis Campbell’s 70th birthday with your favorite image taken in the garden. Color or Black & White. First: Donna Karanja Second: Claire Stepleton Third: Barbara Baletti Class 6: "Poetic Reflections" Image of a botanical subject and its reflection. Color or Black & White. First: Sarah Stransky Second: Susan Straten Third: Sheila Curry Oakes HM: Donna Karanja HM: Deborah Moran HM: Maureen Sprong Division III - Education Exhibit 1: Native Trees, a Few Understories Small native trees are big contributors to a home landscape. By virtue of their smaller size, these trees are suitable for the residential scale and will create an intermediate layer between shade trees and shrub, perennial, and ground-cover plantings. There are many native trees to choose from which will provide interest throughout the year; with spring flowers to summer shade, autumn color, and winter silhouette. Native trees have evolved in the regions in which they grow, adapted to thrive in the local climate, and support pollinators and beneficial wildlife. Exhibit 2: Oh, Captain My Captain , ACG Bed Captains Share Their Stories This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Garden Club of Montclair’s Avis Campbell Gardens, located behind the public library in downtown Montclair. The Wheel of Life design creates distinct beds which are planned and maintained under the good care of GCM members—the Bed Captains. Here is an opportunity to learn about the plants you’ll find there: combinations and sources, maintenance considerations, and how the Captains pull together to keep color and bloom going from April to November. First: Celia Radek (also won Educational Top Exhibitor Award) Second: Maureen Sprong

Yearbook Committee Reports Committees 2023-2024 — Floss O'Sullivan, Editor Our team’s focus this year was to support the Club’s environmental efforts and provide information as early as possible to the membership. To highlight pollinators and native plants in New Jersey, we were fortunate to use Claire Stepleton’s beautiful cover photo. It shows the Eastern Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes asterius), which is New Jersey’s state butterfly, balanced on pink Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata), a native plant in our state. Thanks to the hard work of all the Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs providing detailed information, the Yearbook Committee completed the 2023-24 edition by August 1. To promote use of the Club’s website and provide members with information as early as possible, we thank Sue Young for publishing all the Yearbook’s content by August 10. We printed the yearbook by August 23, mailed 50% and hand delivered 50% so members received their yearbooks by Labor Day in time for the start of the year. With thoughtful consideration about our environmental footprint and costs to produce the Yearbook, we decided to retire the standard printed edition of the yearbook. Instead, we will move all information to the Club’s website, which allows us to provide members with content earlier and place it in relevant subject areas. The Garden Club of New Jersey awarded the Club a Certificate of Merit with Gold Seal for the 2023-2024 Yearbook, with a score of 97 out of 100 points. Sincere thanks to the Yearbook team for another banner year. 2022-2023 — Floss O'Sullivan, Editor This was a banner year for our Yearbook, featuring the 70th Anniversary of Avis Campbell Gardens and Arts & Flowers: A Design Specialty Flower Show. To celebrate, we featured Claire Stepleton's photo of Avis Campbell Gardens on the cover, Victoria Herrera's colorful artwork and explanations of these events on the inside cover, and Karen DeLuca's 70th Anniversary marker and brand-new Club logo. With the Club's growth in members and the robust calendar of events, there was much to communicate to Members meeting in person once again. The Committee Reports are an indication of the dedicated contributions of the Chairs and Vice Chairs, and we thank them for their timely, accurate content. The Garden Club of New Jersey awarded the Club a Certificate of Merit for the 2022-23 Yearbook . The Yearbook team was instrumental in developing a style guide, bridging content with the website, reducing print costs, and hand delivering close to 60 percent of the 146 Yearbooks to save on postage — all by late August, well in time for our new Club year. Thank you team! 2021-2022 — Claire Stepleton, Editor Thanks to timely responses from Committee Chairs and other contributors, we were able to print and distribute 190 Yearbooks last August, well before the first program. Ongoing COVID-19 concerns did not keep this Club from scheduling engaging Programs,Workshops, Exhibitions, Gardening sessions, Garden Therapy projects, and other activities throughout the year. This quality content earned the Club a Certificate of Merit with Gold Seal from the Garden Club of New Jersey for the 2021-22 Yearbook. Karen Whitehaus, Fran Wong, Deb Hirsch, and I tried something new and hand-delivered Yearbooks to 34 of the 148 Members to save postage expense. I'm grateful to all Yearbook contributors for prompt, well-written information, schedules, and reports. Many thanks to Celia Radek for her extensive training and handholding, and to Janice Benton for her sharp-eyed editing and grammar skills. Fran Wong did a terrific job updating the bylaws and directory. Deborah Hirsch's input was key to ensure accuracy of Membership information. I'm also thankful to Florence Leyssène for her contributions and guidance. Last but definitely not least, my thanks and gratitude go to Karen Whitehaus for her excellent editing feedback and her assistance stamping and mailing the Yearbooks. There is no doubt that Floss O'Sullivan will do a fantastic job as the new editor of the 2022-23 Yearbook. 2020-2021 — Celia Radek, Editor Last summer, creativity and flexibility were the catchwords of the Committees that organized the gardening sessions, workshops, programs, and exhibitions that kept the Club connected throughout the year. The Committee reports in this Yearbook show an engaged, Active Membership despite the repeat of to be determined in last year’s calendar. One hundred and eighty-five copies of the Yearbook were printed and mailed to the Membership prior to the first Program meeting, presented on Zoom in September. The 2020-21 Yearbook was submitted to the Awards Committee of the Garden Club of New Jersey. The Club received a Certificate of Merit with Gold Seal and the Yearbook was forwarded to the Central Atlantic Region of State Garden Clubs (CAR) for national award consideration. The Club was honored to receive the National Garden Clubs, Inc., Certificate of Commendation, First Place for Club size 100 – 299 members. Congratulations to all as it is the work of the Club that is being recognized for achievement! Many thanks to all members who supplied the information, schedules, and reports that makes this Yearbook an important resource throughout the GC year; to Deb Hirsch and Fran Wong for Membership Directory updates; to Michele Tomasik for another fabulous cover image; to Fran Ackerly, Janice Benton, and Karen Whitehaus for their detailed proofreading; and to Florence Leyssène for her encouragement and leadership. I’m pleased to turn the reins over to the talented new editor, Claire Stepleton. 2019-2020 — Celia Radek, Editor In 2019, Yearbook production moved into the cloud. The online desktop publishing software, which can be accessed by PC or Mac operating systems, allows collaborative work on documents and easy sharing of draft content. Thanks to Fran Wong for researching the software which is now available for Club use through subscription. Future Yearbook editors will appreciate the easy transition from year to year. Printed at a cost of $925 for 210 copies, the Yearbook was mailed to the Membership prior to the first meeting of the Program year. The Yearbook was submitted to the Awards Committee of Garden Club of New Jersey for consideration and, in July 2020, the Club received word that the 2019-2020 edition was selected to receive a Certificate of Merit with Gold Seal. While the Award pays tribute to format and design, it is, first and foremost, the projects and programs of the Club that are being recognized for achievement. Many thanks to Committee Chairs for their Annual Reports and to the Committees for organizing the creative, fun, and informative Garden Club year; to Deb Hirsch and Fran Wong for keeping the Membership Directory updated and accurate throughout the year; to Michele Tomasik for her fabulous cover image; to proofreaders Fran Ackerly, Janice Benton, Lori Vik, and Karen Whitehaus for their collective eye for detail; and to Florence Leyssène for her good advice and much appreciated encouragement.

Flower Design Division Rules 2025-2026 Back to main Flower Design page. See also the online NGC Handbook for Flower Shows See Clerking Guidelines All Club Members are encouraged to enter flower designs in the monthly competitions as listed on the Flower Design page and in the Yearbook. RULES The NGC Exhibit Policies are printed in the Handbook for Flower Shows, Chapter 7, Exhibiting in the Design Division p. 79-81. Exhibitors may enter one (1) entry in Flower Design in each monthly competition. Designs should be dropped off downstairs in the Garden Club Room between 8:15am and 9:15am Designs must be picked up no later than 30 minutes after the end of the program meeting. Judging will begin promptly at 10am. Designs arriving late will not be judged. Decisions of the judges are final. Awards/ribbons may be withheld if not merited. Advanced registration with the Flower Design Chair is required no later than four (4) days before each Design Competition by emailing Flower Design Chair Barbara Baletti at bbaletti@me.com . Entry cards are available in the garden club room. Some plant material must be used in every design. Fresh plant material may never be treated; no artificial plant material is permitted in any exhibit. Refer to the NGC Handbook for Flower Shows pp. 80-81 for a complete list of plant material and non-plant material that is permitted and not permitted. Plant material on the New Jersey Conservation List may not be used unless it has been grown by the exhibitor or legally acquired and is so stated on an accompanying 3"x 5" index card. All plant material used in a design must be identified on a 3"x 5" index card and included with the entry card. Common names of plant material are acceptable. Plant material need not have been grown by the exhibitor. Exhibits must conform to the design type named in the schedule. Designs must be the work of one individual. (Exception: Companion Exhibits.) Flower Designs are judged using the Design Scale of Points found on p.130 in the Handbook for Flower Shows . For questions about rules, design schedule, or specific designs, please consult with Flower Design Chairs or club judges (Florence Leyssène, Debbie Moran, Brenda Bingham.) FLOWER DESIGN LEVELS Provisional: Flower Designs exhibited by Provisionals are critiqued, not judged. Designs do not qualify for points or awards. Provisionals who are interested in moving to the Novice Level MUST submit at least one design during their term. Novice: Includes those who have earned up to nine points in Flower Design. Novices are eligible to receive The Elsie Bristol Novice Award (see award description ). Intermediate: Includes Members who have earned ten or more points in Flower Design. Intermediate designers are eligible to receive The President's Trophy for Flower Design, Intermediate (see award description ). Advanced: Includes Members who have progressed from the Intermediate Level by earning 20 points and one blue ribbon within a three year period in Flower Design. Advanced designers are eligible to receive The Garden Club Award for Flower Design, Advanced (see award description ). Every member of this level is expected to exhibit once a year. Advanced Plus: A competitive level for those who have won The Garden Club Award for Flower Design, Advanced twice. Advanced Plus designers are eligible to receive the Elsie Bristol Flower Award, Advanced Plus (see award description ) for achieving the highest points score and the winning of one blue ribbon. Invitational: Open to nationally accredited judges, professional flower designers, and Members at the Advanced Level invited by the Flower Design Committee. Participants exhibit for educational purposes and are critiqued. POINT SCORING 1st Blue 5 points 2nd Red 4 points 3rd Yellow 3 points Honorable Mention 2 points Unawarded Exhibits 1 point Tea/Luncheon Table 1 point

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Explanation of Provisional Requirements back to main Provisional page Program Meetings are held monthly from September to April for Garden Club Members and guests. Speakers come with an extensive knowledge of subjects germane to gardening, Flower Design, Horticulture, and Botanical Arts. Meetings coincide with monthly Flower Design, Horticulture, and Botanical Arts competitions. A tea and social follow Program Meetings. Workshops are offered throughout the year to help Provisionals learn about Flower Design, cultivating and exhibiting Horticulture, as well as other topics related to gardening. Workshops are entertaining, hands-on, and fun. Avis Campbell Gardens & Grounds are the pride of the Garden Club. The Gardens are located at 60 South Fullerton Avenue and maintained by the Membership, both Active and Provisional. Volunteering time at Avis Campbell is an enjoyable experience. It is an opportunity to meet and work with other Provisionals and learn about gardening from our experts. Triangle Mall Gardens are the raised planting beds along Church Street in downtown Montclair. They are maintained in the fall and spring by Club Members with the help of Provisionals. The Business Improvement District (BID) partners with the Garden Club in supplying funds and maintenance assistance during the growing season. The Club has recently taken on the task of creating and maintaining the plantings at the traffic circle where Church Street meets Valley Road and Hillside Avenue. Garden Therapy is an opportunity to aid the physical, mental, and emotional health of persons in the community who are facing personal challenges such as physical disability, homelessness, or violence. We lead flower arranging workshops and other garden-related activities that inspire creativity and personal achievement for the individuals we serve. Flower Design is an integral component of the Garden Club. There are opportunities to create traditional designs, as well as those which express more "freedom of style", and exhibit in monthly competitions. You will learn through Workshop participation and the help of our expert designers. Provisional designs are not judged, but receive constructive comments. Horticulture involves the cultivation of fruits, flowering plants, vegetables, and ornamental plants with opportunities for Members to exhibit specimens from their gardens or potted plants from their homes. Our workshops will teach you to experiment and improve your own gardens. Clerking Flower Design, Horticulture, and Botanical Arts competitions include shadowing judges as they view all entries in the monthly in-house competition, recording their comments, criticism, points, and placing awards. The purpose of these requirements is to provide exposure to the important activities of the Club. We encourage you to attend Membership meetings whenever possible, to try your hand at additional Flower Design, Horticulture, and Botanical Arts competitions, and to partake in as many Workshops as you can. In addition, you might like to join in the seasonal decoration of Montclair History Center's Crane House & Historic YWCA or the biennial "Art in Bloom" exhibition at the Montclair Art Museum — two important civic events that are both meaningful and fun. 2025-2026 marks our centennial with many different events and opportunities planned. The more activities you become involved in, the sooner you become acquainted with other Members and begin to feel that you are a part of a wonderful organization.

The Garden Club of Montclair is dedicated to sharing knowledge and practice of conservation, horticulture, and the artistic use of plant material. We beautify the Township of Montclair and sponsor and support projects in the schools of our town. And, not least, we foster fellowship and friendship through our work and our social activities. Events & Festivities We’re celebrating our anniversary with events throughout the year. Check back often because, as you can see, event details are still developing. Our full Calendar with these and all other Club activities is always available HERE . February 2 1:00pm Anniversary Kickoff. The celebration gets underway with a delicious tower of 100 mini cupcakes at the January Program meeting February 11 6:00pm Club President Fran Ackerly, in partnership with the Adult School at the main branch of the Public Library, leads a flower design demonstration in time for Galentine's Day. March 17 1:00pm Club Member Karen Fricke will present “An Introduction to Native Gardens” at the Montclair Library Bellevue Branch. April 27 6:00pm Our gala 100-Year Brithday Party for Members and spouses/ partners takes place at the Montclair Art Museum. Offering small bites, libations, and fun with our friends, the event will include a viewing of a movie highlighting the impact of GCM over the decades, currently being filmed. May 13-17 All day While participating in Montclair Art Museum’s biennial celebration of floral design “ Art in Bloom” is a Garden Club mainstay, this year our Club will be one of the honorees at the MAM's spring benefit luncheon on May 14. A video presentation featuring the contributions of Julia Berrall and Howard Van Vleck will be featured throughout at the event. June Two guided tours of Avis Campbell Gardens will be offered to the public scheduled to coincide with peak rose bloom in summer and the great array of dahlia varieties blooming in fall. Dates to be determined. September 24-27 The Club will be presenting an NGC Standard Flower Show at Van Vleck House & Gardens entitled "A Century in Bloom." All our Members will be involved in creating the event to showcase Flower Design, Horticulture and more, under the leadership of Club Members Sarah Stransky and Karen Fricke. October In partnership with the NJ Tree Foundation, we will be planting ten trees in Montclair, one for each year of our existence. The location and date of planting of these trees has not yet been finalized. December Our celebratory year will come to a triumphant close at our annual Holiday Tea. The date has not yet been determined.

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Communications Committee Reports Committees Email reports are included by year, below. See also Potpourri editions and committee reports . 2024-2025 — Sue Young, Chair Over the past few years, the Communications team has focused on strengthening our website as both a digital archive of our Club’s history and the primary way we share current news with members. This year, to improve email delivery and avoid spam filters used by major providers, we successfully transitioned to a commercial email platform as our main method of sharing news while maintaining the website as a permanent record. We’ve also expanded into social media—thanks to the outstanding efforts of Amy South and Tracy Reilly —allowing us to connect with the broader community and attract new members. This was also the first year we offered an online printable PDF Yearbook, replacing the printed version we’ve used since 1950. Looking ahead, we’re developing systems to support Club Committees with their communications as they plan projects for our 100th Anniversary. 2024-2025 Committee : Janice Benton, Terri Breen, Karen DeLuca, Deborah Hirsch, Christine James, Floss O'Sullivan, Tracy Reilly, Ragna Sloane, Maryellen Stadtlander, Amy South, Karen Whitehaus, Fran Wong, Allyn Young. 2023-2024 — Sue Young, Chair We went a long way this year to achieving our goal of documenting all our activities on the website in words and photos. This would not have been possible without the amazing talents of the whole Communications committee, and of course our amazing photographers: Susan Yu, Barbara Baletti, Nancy Stroud and all the members who brought the activities of their committees to the whole membership. We have many plans for the new year, the most momentous of which is the transfer of the Yearbook to an online version with a shortened, printable PDF of the most popular sections. We are proud of our members who voted overwhelmingly to take advantage of the digital world and save the significant cost of printing the Yearbook. We will also be using “In the News” rather than traditional emails to notify members of upcoming events. And we plan to reach out more to the community through social media, attracting more visitors to our programs, and more members to our Club. Finally, our website address will change from https://gardenclubofmontclair.COM to https://gardenclubofmontclair.ORG (more appropriate for our non-profit status) and our email address will change to info@gardenclubofmontclair.org . After several years of a multi-pronged communication approach the board made the decision to consolidate communications to one source of communication which will be the website "In the News" emails. Potpourri and all announcements will come from our website address. Many, many thanks to Fran Wong who has managed the emails coming into and out of the Club for so long and who we are sure will continue to contribute her technical expertise to the committee and our members for many years to come. 2022-2023 — Sue Young, Chair This year we made a good start on our plan to record all our activities on the website. Seventy-five people have signed up to have these stories delivered to their inboxes the moment they are published. So far no one has asked to cancel! We are also using the website to collect dues and fees online, which is a big help to the Finance Chair. Over 100 Club Members have now signed up to use these options! None of this would have been possible without the photos and event accounts contributed by our members. Please everyone, keep them coming! In particular, many thanks to Susan Yu for her glorious pictures. I would also like to thank Floss O'Sullivan for her meticulous documenting of the competition entries, her videos that add so much to our workshops, and her quiet maintenance of the ever-changing calendar. Next year our committee will look at how to publicize our activities, so Montclair gets to know us better — and learn where the Avis Campbell Gardens are located! Email — Fran Wong Weekly email updates to Club Members, known as "e-blasts" are an important part of our Communications strategy. More than 50 email updates a year are delivered to the entire Membership on Wednesday mornings ranging from notifications of upcoming events, calls for volunteers, or Members who have passed. These year-round emails help drive attendance at Programs, Workshops, and Garden Therapy events, and help Members stay connected over the summer. With the website's "In the News" alerts, these weekly e-blasts, and the Potpourri newsletter published eight times a year, this three-tiered strategy helps keep members reminded, engaged, and up to date. If you want something sent to the Membership please submit it as you would like it to appear in a .doc file attachment to fewong@comcast.net. Photos should be sent as a separate JPG file. While PDF files can be sent, they will almost always be delivered as an attachment. The deadline for a given week is Monday at 11:59 pm, but emergencies can be accommodated as appropriate. 2021-2022 — Sue Young, Chair Thanks to the dedication of our previous creative Communications Chair, Amy South, and our technologically gifted President, Florence Leyssène, we can report that the Club flourished during COVID-19, thanks to the electronic tools of Zoom, email, the new website, and the extraordinary skills of our photographers: Barbara Baletti, Victoria Herrera, Wendy Stahl, Claire Stepleton, Michele Tomasik, Susan Yu, and many others. Early this year, like Punxsutawney Phil, we emerged cautiously from our lockdown to meet again for multiple events and to record these get-togethers on our new website. This website, which won the GCNJ's Hanover Garden Club Trophy (presented to a member club "for a successful, innovative project of merit that does not apply for an award under any other category") marks a new addition to our communication arsenal. As well as our informative weekly email (thank you Fran Wong!), and our rich and illuminating Potpourri (thank you Terri Breen, Claire Stepleton and Karen Whitehaus!), we have added many new features to our website, including last year's entire Yearbook. Our goal has been to make it easy for all our Members with varying levels of social media experience to: view the site on a phone or a laptop; access a constantly updated calendar; use a searchable directory of all Members, from Active to Provisionals to Emeriti; receive immediate posts about anything and everything in their email inboxes as events happen; browse through two years of committee reports; keep up with changing information about workshops and programs; watch sophisticated how-to videos (thank you Debbie Moran, Florence Leyssène, and Floss O'Sullivan!); enjoy slideshows and galleries of shared events; check out all award winners back to 1987 (soon to stretch to our founding in 1926); and feel comfortable that security has been upgraded to the highest level. Use of the site has been growing throughout the year, and we want all our Members to feel that our electronic forms of communication add to our central tenets of Education, Beautification, and Fellowship. Email — Fran Wong Even through the COVID-19 pandemic, The Garden Club of Montclair has worked hard to maintain an active calendar and keep its Members engaged. This necessitates adequate communication in order to be successful. Given the need to be flexible during the ever-changing challenges of maintaining the activities of the Club during the pandemic, weekly emails have become essential to keep the membership informed and up to date. Whenever possible, articles and notices are congregated to avoid encouraging a common habit of ignoring email due to high volume. Attractive stationery is used to bring attention to the content. When we send information, we want Members to read it! Every effort is made to make sure current email addresses are maintained and undelivered email is investigated and resent. Membership cooperation in notifying the Club of changes is always appreciated and is critical to the mission. Unfortunately, some Members have recently experienced delivery failures for unknown reasons. Some have found Club emails in their spam folders, but others have been unable to determine the problem. Members should expect a weekly update email between September 1 and June 1 and check their spam folder if necessary. Problems should be reported to the Club email address: gardenclubofmontclair@yahoo.com. Emails are sent on an as-requested basis during the summer months. Finally, incoming emails to the Club email address were distributed to the appropriate individuals for their action. 2020-2021 — Amy South, Chair Traditionally, Communications reports on current and future Club activities but because of COVID, we were re-directed to design a process to share individual photos for competitions anonymously. We also worked closely with Workshops to help share communications regarding workshops and fabulous videos produced by Floss O’Sullivan, Florence Leyssène, and others. Floss O’Sullivan also created an invaluable step-by-step video tutorial on completing an entry form. I am so impressed by the energy and dedication of those who continued to create magic in Avis Campbell Gardens, the Triangle Gardens, Garden Therapy, Workshops, Programs, Youth, Open Gardens and more! Additionally, thanks to Deborah Hirsch, we were able to grow our Membership during a year of lockdown. Special thanks to the photographers who jumped in and shared photos: Barbara Baletti, Claire Stepleton, Susan Yu, Marilyn Zaret, Michele Tomasik, and others. My successor, Sue Young, helped us work around the frustrating challenge of an “absent webmaster” to post on our website a new dues renewal form with a Paypal link. She is very experienced with website design and her determination and wit will surely benefit the Club. It has been my pleasure to transition Sue and I look forward to staying on the Committee to help with the website rebuild. Recently, at the request of the Ways and Means Committee, we added a 'DONATE' button that will hopefully catch the attention of website visitors — more to come! Thanks to Celia Radek for supplying Yearbook content for the annual website update. Thank you to our President, Florence Leyssène, for her knowledge and leadership during this challenging period. Her knowledge and experience, coupled with a kind heart, have helped make all we do possible. I am thankful for this amazing organization and feel inspired by the talents, energy, and dedication of our members. My heart is exceptionally heavy when I reflect on the many losses and hardships this past year but my mind is bright with the future of our extraordinary Club. Thank you to all — it is my honor to have served as your Communications Chair and I confidently pass the baton to Sue Young. Email — Fran Wong The Club is fortunate to have a robust calendar and Active membership and this necessitates adequate communication in order to be successful. Given the need to be flexible during the ever changing challenges of maintaining the activities of the Club during the pandemic, weekly e-mails were instituted to keep the membership informed and up-to-date. Whenever possible, articles and notices were congregated to avoid encouraging a common habit of ignoring email due to high volume. Appealing stationary is used to attract attention to the content. When we send it we want members to read it! Email notices and reminders have become essential to keeping the membership informed and engaged. Every attempt is made to make sure current addresses are maintained and undelivered email is investigated and resent. Membership cooperation in notifying the Club of changes is always appreciated and is critical to the mission. Finally, incoming messages to the Club email address were distributed to the appropriate individuals for their action. 2019-2020 — Amy South, Chair Communications has continued to report to local papers, publications and social media regarding both our future activities and our accomplishments. lnstagram continues to be a very useful tool to spread word about events and highlight our accomplishments. We continue to use Smugmug for photo storage. I would like to thank Susan Yu, Marilyn Zaret, Susan Straten, Michele Tomasik, Barbara Baletti, and Victoria Herrera for helping cover photographing events. Claire Stepleton continues to provide wonderful, consistent support with photography and tech related questions. The temporary transition to Van Vleck for some of our events this year went smoothly in the communications arena. Attendance was strong for the fabulous Programs which might suggest that the publicity with the Montclair Local , Montclair Times , Baristanet , and Facebook was helpful. We supported some of our partners with advertisements in publications (Montclair Art Museum, Van Vleck, and 'May in Montclair'). Unfortunately, the pandemic brought a halt to all events (March -June) but we did submit a 1/8 page ad to the ·"We Care" section of the Montclair Local in support of the community and "May in Montclair". The website requires a considerable amount of time to be updated and I appreciate all the assistance provided by Claire Stepleton. We will continue to share interactive forms (dues and Annual Luncheon responses) and to take payment on line via credit cards (with a nominal fee) through the website. Some future goals are to increase Membership engagement with the website and to work with Claire Stepleton to update the History and Award information. Thanks to Celia Radek for supplying Yearbook content for the annual website update. This year was exceptionally complicated by Covid-19 and our temporary move to Van Vleck. I am thankful to Florence Leyssène for her knowledge and leadership as President during these challenges and I look forward to another year as Communications/Publicity VP. I am thankful for my Membership and feel inspired by the talents, energy, and dedication of Garden Club members. Email — Fran Wong The Club is fortunate to have a robust calendar and active Membership and this necessitates adequate communication in order to be successful. At least two blast emails were sent each month during the year. Whenever possible, articles and notices were congregated to avoid encouraging a common habit of ignoring email due to high volume. Attractive stationery is used to attract attention to the content. When we send it we want members to read it! Special invitations such as that to the Holiday Tea were also sent. Email notices and reminders have become essential to keeping the Membership informed and engaged. Every attempt is made to make sure current addresses are maintained and undelivered email investigated and re-sent. Membership cooperation in notifying the Club of changes is always appreciated and is critical to the mission. Finally, incoming emails to the Club were distributed to the appropriate individuals and Committee Chairs for their action.