Members of the Seagrove Garden Club have launched a new season of monthly meetings as the club prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2023.
Fall marks the end of the growing season but the start of monthly club gatherings that will feature creating charcuterie boards with edible flowers, fabulous holiday florals and the club’s major fundraiser in November. In 2023, decorating with hydrangeas, growing mushrooms and orchids, as well as learning about the underwater art garden off Grayton Beach, will be meeting topics.
Seagrove Garden’s annual holiday fundraiser, Gifting & Giving, will be held Nov. 9, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Sandestin Bayside conference room. After restrictions during the pandemic, guests are again invited to join the event which features holiday-themed silent auction items as well as a live gift auction with Kim and Keen Polakoff, followed by lunch.
Despite pandemic precautions that limited last year’s attendance, Seagrove Garden members raised nearly $14,000 which was donated to a dozen local charities to assist families in Okaloosa, Walton and Bay counties.
More than 50 club members attended the kickoff luncheon Sept. 14 and affirmed the election of Patsy Powell as the club’s new president. Powell succeeds Kathy Altonji who led the club through the difficult pandemic years. “The board and committees have been working hard to plan another great year and we hope every member knows they are a vital part,” said Powell. “We look forward to meeting new members and welcoming previous members back after a couple of challenging years.”
Next year’s monthly meetings will build to a fall celebration marking the anniversary of the club’s 1963 founding by Babe McGee, wife of C.H. McGee Jr., who helped his father with the early development of Seagrove Beach. Babe McGee launched the club by inviting a handful of ladies to her Seagrove home on Halloween 1963 and serving as club president for the first two years. From birds to bees, flower arranging to fashion, sea oats to sea turtles, few topics have escaped discussion at the hundreds of Seagrove Garden Club meetings held over the decades. The club’s early focus on sharing the culture and coastal flowers of the panhandle has evolved into a mission of giving back to the community. Seagrove Garden Club is a tax-exempt 501 (c)(3) non-profit.
“We are blessed with diversity of talent and hope everyone finds a place to share theirs,” Powell said.
The club’s weekly Flower Shuttle program is active all year, working with local florists and event planners to repurpose donated flowers into small arrangements delivered to residents at assisted-living facilities in Santa Rosa Beach. Arrangements are also created for the enjoyment of staff, patients and visitors at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital in Miramar Beach. Monthly club meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month from September to May, except for December.
Club membership is aimed at those who enjoy flowers, gardening, food and helping others. Annual dues are $30. For more membership information, please send an email to seagrovegardenclub@gmail.com
Author: SWal Life
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