Hampton Roads Garden Club
Membership Meeting Minutes
October 7, 2025
The Mariner’s Museum
Welcome/Call to Order
President Ann Fisher welcomed members to the meeting. Ann thanked Allison Clock for making all arrangements for our meeting and program today. She thanked The Mariner’s Museum for hosting our meeting and thanked Stacy Queensberry and Amanda Graham for the refreshments.
Last month the club voted to invite 4 new members to join us. All have accepted their invitations, but 2 had prior travel plans, so today we are happy to welcome two of them.
Trish Lively, Admissions chair, introduced Linda Doland and Shannon Martin to the club.
Recording Secretary, Jennifer Dick, called the roll. There were 40 members present.
A motion was made to approve the May minutes, since we forgot to approve them at the September meeting. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Mary Johnson presented 2 corrections to the September minutes. No other corrections were made. A motion was made to approve the September minutes as amended. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Program:
Allison Clock introduced Molly Trapani and Katherine English from The Norfolk Garden Club. They gave us a wonderful program and inspired us with ideas and techniques for creating holiday arrangements without foam.
Officer Reports
President’s Report-Ann Fisher
Ann thanked the Fundraising Committee for planning and producing a fun and fabulous High Tea and Fashion Show on September 23rd. She thanked the committee members individually.
All district 3 Presidents will be meeting October 8, 2025, in Irvington to exchange project and fundraising ideas.
Ann reminded the club to tune in to Cultivating Conversations for “Fabulous and Festive Fall Containers” on October 12th with Patsy Smith, GCV Horticulture Chair at 10am on the GCV website.
Ann reported she will attend the 2025 Board of Governors meeting in South Hill, VA from October 14-15th.
On October 29th, Ann will be attending the 67th Conversation Forum in Portsmouth. She reminded the club it was not to late to register. Go to GCVirginia.org and look under events. A sign in sheet was passed around for those interested in carpooling.
The club was approached by the Ft. Monroe Authority and asked to provide small flower arrangements to place in the porta potties at their upcoming event, Ft. Monroe Forward on Oct. 23rd. The club has worked with the Ft. Monroe Authority in the past and feel this allows us to maintain a relationship with them. They welcomed a new director, Scott Martin, this year. If you are interested in helping, email Ann.
Ann and Carla Rice, President of the Huntington Garden Club, have been contacted by a member of the GCV Restoration Committee about potentially planting fall bulbs at Lee Hall. We do not have details, but if we can coordinate this, it may require quick action, so Ann wanted to let us know about the possibility.
Ann updated the club that the Bylaws Committee is still working on the updates, but there is an end in sight! They would still like to present them at the November meeting.
Vice President-Allison Clock
Allison also thanked hostesses for the refreshments today. She announced our November meeting will be held at the Sister Cities office in Newport News. The Garden Club of Virginia’s Restoration Chair, Deneen Brannock will be presenting.
Treasurer-Sam Bishop
The Towne Bank balance as of10/7/2025 was $59,060.53
Committee Reports:
Admissions: Trish Lively
No report.
Collections:
Daffodil-Sarah Huddleston
Sarah reported the bulbs will be available in November, hopefully.
Lily: Jenny Griffiths
No Report
Community-Sherry Maynard
Sherry announced that on October 21st at 9am, there will be the rededication of Alice’s Garden. Please RSVP to her if you would like to attend so that CNU can ensure there are enough seats.
Conservation and Beautification-Julie LoCicero
Julie reminded us that on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, the Garden Club of Virginia will host its 67th Annual Conservation Forum at the Woman’s Club of Portsmouth. The event, held from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, will bring together conservation leaders, club members, and community partners to focus on the successes and ongoing challenges of restoring and protecting Virginia’s waterways.
The forum will feature three distinguished speakers. Bill Street will highlight the improved health of the James River, Mary Carson-Stiff will address the pressing issues of climate change and rising sea levels, and Lacy Shirey, Executive Director of the Elizabeth River Project, will discuss efforts to reduce pollution in the Elizabeth River. While significant progress has been made improving the Elizabeth River, she will emphasize the continued work required to ensure long-term health.
In addition to the speaker program, attendees are invited to participate in a tour of the Elizabeth River Project’s Ryan Resilience Lab, an innovative space showcasing sustainable practices and community engagement. A casual lunch will follow the tour, offering further opportunities for networking and conversation.
The cost to attend the program is $40, with a slightly higher fee for those who wish to join the tour and lunch. Registration is available through the link provided in The Ivy Anchor newsletter, and carpooling arrangements can be made by contacting Julie.
Data Base Manager-Sherry Maynard
Sherry said she has officially taken over the database manager. Please continue to send all updates, communication, etc. to her so she can update the HRGC Blog, GCV website, and send out information to our Active and Associate members. Sherry’s email address is mmflowersva@gmail.com.
Fundraising-Teresa Robinson
Carrie Karnes on behalf of Teresa thanked our members and the “Fun”draising committee for a fantastic afternoon of goodies, bubbles and fashion. Our very own, Samantha Bishop, won the hat contest with her tea party hat. Carrie also reminded everyone of the flyer provided to Save the Date of February 17, 2026, for a fun Fat Tuesday fundraising event. Donations are currently being accepted.
You’ve Been Bloomed-Ann Moir
No report.
Historic Garden Week-Stacy Queensberry
Stacy announced and presented the 2026 Guidebook cover, which features a photo of the Governor’s Mansion at Colonial Williamsburg and features the Kings Blood Tulip. Stacy also has paper tickets available this year if you would like to get one as a gift.
The GCV HGW website is now updated with tour dates and 100-word descriptions of each tour. You may access that by going to https://gcvirginia.org/historic-garden-week/tours/hampton-newport-news/#tour Stacy thanked Molly Trant who wrote the 100-word description for our tour because it has generated some interest in our tour. Stacy received an email from HGW Director Karen Elsworth stating that a group driving vintage 1915 (and earlier) cars on a tour they are calling “Gardens and Byways of Virginia” is putting our Hampton-Newport News tour on their Itinerary. She stated that our tour pictures and summary has done an outstanding job of helping promote our area of Virginia!
Stacy asked the members for suggestions for presentations, demonstrations, or speakers on tour day at tour headquarters that might be enticing to people to attend. This year’s HGW flower is the Kings Blood Tulip and is in stock and available for order from Brent & Becky’s. She reminded members to use Blooming Bucks, so our club gets a percentage of the sale.
HGW Advertising and Sponsorships-Mary Johnson
Mary reported The Hampton-Newport News Guidebook Ads are ready to go to print. She thanked those businesses who generously supported HGW by purchasing an ad in the statewide guidebook. Our club was the third highest producer of ad revenue. Mary reminded us to support these businesses and their owners as much as possible and thank them on behalf of the club if you see the owners. Please send any contacts for our brochure to Mary Johnson or Pam Patterson and they will contact them about the sponsorship.
Guidebook Advertisers:
- Anderson’s Garden Center
- Awnings by Bigley (Joanna and Taylor Bigley)
- Ferguson
- The Gardener’s Workshop (Lisa Ziegler)
- Rooms, Blooms & More (Karan Mulkey & Allison Hund)
- Towne Bank
- VA Land & Home (Bo Parrish)
- Visit Newport News-Newport News Tourism Office
- W. M. Jordan
- 110 Gallery LLC (Karen Spaulding)
Charleston Bus Trip-Kristin Barnes
Kristin has been in contact with the Historic Charleston Foundation about this year’s tours and has set a date of March 23-26 for the trip. The details of the trip and the itinerary are in your email. $100 deposits are currently being accepted to secure your spot. It will open to others by December. This year their will be an optional tour of Magnolia Plantation.
Poinsettia Sale-Rita Quinn
Rita provided all members with their order forms, with a new QR code! Forms are due at the November meeting. Important reminder: Each member is required to either sell or donate a minimum of $50.00 towards this fundraiser. For those who prefer to simply donate instead of selling, that is fine and greatly appreciated. 100% of donations go directly to support the club. Check, Cash or Venmo is accepted. She asked the membership to please be thinking of new churches or businesses that she could contact about buying poinsettias this year. If you have a contact that you can pass on to Rita please contact her.
Yearbook-Sidney Jordan
No report
Annual Fund: Mary Johnson
No report
Nominating-Dale Banning
Dale reminded us that it’s that time of year again, to complete the Placement Interest Survey for 2026-2028. The HRGC Nominating Committee passed these out to all members in attendance. Please complete and return at the November meeting.
Peninsula Council of Garden Club-Martha Sides
Martha reported that the Hampton Roads Garden Club is responsible for providing the main entrée (tea sandwiches, ham biscuits, vegetable/fruit trays etc,) for the November 14 PCGC meeting. A sign-up sheet was circulated. The scheduled program, Fall and Holiday Flower Arrangements presented by floral designer Mr. Jeremy Schmidt will begin at 10am and is held at the Hilton Woman’s Club, 87 Main St., Newport News.
Photographer-Amanda Graham
Amanda reminded us of the current Autumn Photography Challenge. The categories are Class I: Critters-(non-domesticated) (color)- A portrait in an outdoor setting of one or more wildlife preparing for changing of the seasons and Class II: Autumn Hauntings (black and white)- Be it tombstone, statue or mausoleum, capture the architectural aspects in black and white detail. (No people please).
Announcements-Ann Fisher
Ann reminded members to read The Ivy Anchor for information about the club each month. Ann also wished all the October birthdays a very Happy Birthday!
Adjournment:
With there being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Ann Fisher.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jennifer Dick
Recording Secretary
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