A meeting date of Sept. 11 served as inspiration for the first meeting of the Seagrove Garden Club’s 2024-25 season.
Air Force veteran Steven W. Dalbey recounted his 9/11 experience working at the Pentagon that tragic day for nearly 50 garden club members and guests gathered at Pazzo Italiano restaurant where they greeted the club’s new board, led by president Marie Spafford of Santa Rosa Beach.
Workers were aware that two planes had slammed into the World Trade Center towers in New York when, at 9:37 a.m., the Pentagon building shook, Dalbey said. He knew immediately that the shaking was unlike previous minor earthquakes and likely an act of terrorism. He ordered an evacuation of his office. Entering the corridor to leave, he remembers smelling smoke and jet fuel. Among the thousands killed that day were 125 Pentagon workers and 64 passengers on the hijacked airliner.
Despite the chaos as New York and Washington D.C., reeled from the attack, Dalbey said Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ordered Pentagon employees to return to their desks the very next day to show the strength of the U.S. military even as a fire continued to smolder in parts of the building. Dalbey also spoke at length about how many U.S. government agencies responded to the terrorist attack to better prepare and confront future threats, leading to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002.
In October, club members will see a different type of inspirational program, with a holiday decoration demonstration from floral designer Kirby Holt, owner of Blossoms in Chipley. In the new year, members will learn about healthy food options from Michelle Frickey, owner of For the Health of It. Other meeting topics in 2025 include the medical benefits of honey, a plant exchange and presentation from the Florida Native Plant Society and a tour of gardens at Watersound Origins.
In addition to an annual holiday fundraiser, members voted in September to resume Charity of the Month activity where members bring specific items to be donated to local groups. Members are encouraged to bring boxes of diapers to the next meeting which will be held Oct. 9 at Watersound Fountains. The club is also known locally for its weekly Flower Shuttle effort where members repurpose donated flowers into small arrangements that are delivered to numerous facilities in Santa Rosa Beach.
“As the new president of Seagrove Garden Club, I have high hopes for our members and new members to participate in giving back to our community through the gift of flowers. Repurposing flowers from events brightens the day of many recipients at senior living facilities, cancer treatment centers, the hospital and a rehabilitation facility,” Spafford said. “SGC is a great organization to meet new people and to give back.”
The garden club was established in 1963. Since becoming a tax-exempt organization in 2019, Seagrove Garden Club has raised more than $75,000 to support dozens of local charities in Walton, Bay and Okaloosa counties, especially those that assist children and families. For more information on Seagrove Garden Club activities and membership, please visit the Facebook page.
Author: Sowal Editor
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