The Garden Path

Along The Path

To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. - Audrey Hepburn

What a year! It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as your President. When Margaret Pierce called to offer me this opportunity in November 2020, I recalled the words of friend and GCH member the late Alice Thomas saying “Always say yes to any GCH job that you are offered. You will never regret it”. She was 100% correct. I will treasure my time spent with all of you. I believe we had a wonderful year together making a difference, learning new things, and having fun along the path.

I could write pages of thanks and praise for every member of our club, but space will not allow. I give special thanks to the terrific GCH Board of Directors - Estelle Lozmack, Renee Davis, Lynn Swanson, Patty Porter, Harriet Leavell, and Meg Tapp Not only did they support me, but they gave above and beyond to our club with their hearts and minds all year long.

I want to thank some ladies that worked behind the scenes, never taking the podium at a meeting, or leading us on the many adventures we had this year in Houston and beyond. Fiona Guinn was truly my right-hand lady, cheerfully getting out all the electronic correspondence to our membership. The Garden Path would not have landed in your inbox each month without the skills and patience of Wendy Dalton and Christine Underwood. We would not have had such lovely Advisory Board meetings without Farley Erikson and Wendy Fatjo. A huge thank you to Alix Nakfoor and Melissa Schnitzer who cheerfully ensured our General Meetings were held in beautiful locations with great audio-visual support and tasty treats. Our meeting speakers were graciously hosted by Karen Ytterberg and Melissa Grobmyer and our loving Hospitality team of Adele Bentsen, Susan Cravens and Mary Jornayvaz ensured the speakers were treated to small dinners in their honor the evening before their presentations. Janet Cravens and Cristi Harvey have captured our year in pictures which are featured in The Garden Path and on screen at our meetings. Civic Notes magically appears in your inbox due to the diligence of Katherine Lucke Judy Lee and Shirley Rouse have kept our fabulous website in great shape. Sheila Mayfield keeps our website calendar and ensures we can sign up for our events. These are just a few of the ladies who make all things possible for all of us.

Special thanks to my mentors comprised of Past-Presidents and long-time friends. Your unwavering support and sage advice has been invaluable to me. You know who you are.

Deadlines prevent me from writing this letter after what I know will be a successful Florescence- Metamorphosis Mundi Elam and Harriet Alexander have worked tirelessly since well before the originally scheduled date of April 2021. A huge round of applause to all who worked with them to ensure that we once again co-hosted one of the largest, most successful GCA Major Flower Shows in the country.

To borrow from Audrey Hepburn - I believe in tomorrow. As my year as your President ends, I will pass the “gavel” with great confidence to Estelle Lozmack She will be an outstanding leader as we kick off the celebration of our Centennial year. It has been a pleasure to work with her this year and quite a bit of fun to boot. The Garden Club of Houston will be in good hands.

With loving gratitude for all of you,