Seagrove Garden Club members celebrated the organization’s 60th anniversary with a showcase featuring a trio of favorite floral designers who created arrangements honoring the club’s rich history.
From birds and bees to sea oats and sea turtles, few topics have escaped discussion during the hundreds of meetings held since the inception of the garden club on Halloween Day in 1963 when Babe McGee invited a handful of ladies into her home to create a group that would enjoy fellowship and celebrate the culture of life at the beach. Her husband, C.H. McGee Jr., and his father were instrumental in the early development of Seagrove Beach.
“As we celebrate the 60th year of the founding of the Seagrove Garden Club, we can truly say, ‘we’ve come a long way, baby,’” club president Patsy Powell said. “Not only has our beautiful area changed and grown in the last 60 years but so has the outreach of our club.”
The club has evolved from a social group to one focused on giving back to the community. Members have raised $75,000 over the past five years to support dozens of local charities in Walton, Bay and Okaloosa counties, especially those that assist children and families. Seagrove Garden Club became a tax-exempt 501©(3) in 2019.
From a modest Christmas party, the club’s holiday gathering has grown into its largest annual fund-raising event with live and silent auctions. This year, Gifting & Giving was held Nov. 8 at Sandestin’s Linkside Conference Center.
“Over the years, our two community outreach programs have grown exponentially,” Powell said. “Our charity auction for needy families in the area continues to grow closer to $20,000 each year and we hope to reach or exceed that amount.”
One of the club’s most visible community activities, called Flower Shuttle, began more than a decade ago when members gathered to repurpose donated flowers and backyard clippings to make small arrangements to brighten the day for local hospital patients and residents of assisted-living facilities.
Today, with the generous support of Whole Foods, local florists, wedding planners and the Chapel at Crosspoint, members who meet every Monday morning are able to create and distribute more than 100 individual arrangements to Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital, rehab and cancer treatment centers and assisted-living facilities in Santa Rosa Beach.
In the early years, the group was small enough to hold its monthly meetings in members’ homes, but the roster has grown over the decades to include full- and part-time residents from Destin, DeFuniak Springs, Freeport and Panama City Beach as well as beachside communities along 30A and Choctawhatchee Bay. Monthly meetings and garden tours are held from September to May.
October’s celebration was held at Commelfo Restaurant in Miramar Beach. A trio of florists, Russ Barley, owner of Emerald Coast Flowers & Gifts of Freeport; Kirby Holt, owner of Blossoms in Chipley; and Tim Ryan, owner of 1920 & Co. of Santa Rosa Beach, shared creations using garden club colors and other favorite symbols. The showcase was followed by lunch created by Commelfo founder Vincent Musabirov as well as tributes to outstanding members.
Members began the diamond anniversary year in September with a presentation at Old Florida Fish House by Kari Leabo, owner of Southern Grace Lavender Farm, a Bay County family-run business with the distinction of being Florida’s first successful lavender farm.
Author: Sowal Editor
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