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Yes, I'm from Texas - thus the hat, but, my heart belongs to gardening. I served for
23 years in the military as a medic, retired from the USAF and settled in Arlington, TX for the next 25 years. My love of
gardening bloomed there and I cultivated numerous cacti and flowering plants over this period. My other love has always been soccer and I served as a player, coach, and FIFA referee/assessor over a 30
year period. I was a Texas state auditor, Insurance underwriter and school teacher during
my working career. My first wife, Jan passed away in 1999, and I sold everything, bought a trailer and hit the road
as a full time traveler. I now live in Yuma, AZ, with my wife, Georgia Brown. We still have an RV and do some traveling
in the summer, and will go on campouts one weekend each month with the Elks RV group in the winter months, but we consider
ourselves as full time Yuma residents. I am on my third year as President
of the Yuma Garden Club, and was the chairman of the AFGC annual convention in 2008. My
Goals as Western District Director: Be a positive liaison between the
AFGC and the Western District Garden Clubs. Promote continuing
education with youth and adults within our community. Encourage
our garden clubs to participate in Horticulture/Design programs. Encourage
our garden clubs to expand membership. Encourage plant information and
exchange between garden clubs and membership.
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Yuma Garden Club Member(s) of the Month
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Carol is one of our newer Yuma Garden Club members. Dee Sussman invited her to a club meeting and she
decided to join. We enjoy having Carol in our club because she is always willing to help and is so caring. She has been
active this year helping with our fund-raising events, such as the Home and Garden Show and our February flower show. She
likes learning more about gardening at our meetings and making new friends. Carol is a registered nurse and works for DaVita
Dialysis. She also finds time to be president of the board for the Child and Family Services organization and is a member
of Laureate Omega, a philanthropic organization. In between all these activities, Carol is also grandmother to three
special grand kids. Her
favorite flower is the daffodil and favorite tree is the oak. We are glad Carol has joined the club and appreciate her eagerness to participate in the club’s
many activities.
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JoAnne Mowczko
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JoAnne has been a member
of Yuma Garden Club for three years but has been gardening for many more! She is involved in Yuma Garden Club’s many
fund-raising activities (Yuma Tree Expo, Sanguinetti Garden fund-raiser, Yuma Holiday Bazaar, the Home and Garden Show).
She
completed the Master Gardener program last year and is enjoying learning more about gardening through Yuma Garden Club activities. JoAnne is involved in
the floral design activities of the club (February flower show and the Yuma Co. fair flower show). She
enjoys learning about floral design and entering her arrangements in these competitions. Being a high school biology teacher gives
JoAnne an extensive background useful in our gardening activities. She just returned from a six-week adventure into the rainforest area of Ecuador.
She was invited by the Achuar tribe to record their tribal history and create a tourist guide book for the tribe to use in
attracting tourists to their area. She has a variety of interesting experiences which occurred during her stay with the tribe. Her favorite flower is
the rose, her favorite tree is the Palo Verde, and her favorite shrub is the Fairy Duster. We are happy to have such a friendly
and knowledgeable member in our club.
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Gary Stowe
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Gary is a new member
to Yuma Garden Club and a great addition to our family of gardeners. He participated in our Yuma Tree Expo
and Home and Garden Show fund raisers. He helped at the rose pruning event at the Alma Schott Rose Garden
where the club pruned the numerous rose bushes. Besides gardening, Gary finds time to be active in the “Love on a Leash”
program which takes dogs to nursing homes. The residents love petting the dogs and he finds it rewarding
to see the happiness the program brings. Gary completed the Master Gardener program last year and is looking forward to learning more about
gardening through our club activities. His favorite flower is the rose and his favorite tree is any type of citrus. Yuma Garden Club is lucky
to have Gary as a member.
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Marilyn has been a
member of Yuma Garden Club since 1999. She is actively involved in all the club’s activities.
She
enjoys our club’s monthly programs and the opportunity to learn more about gardening. Marilyn also
enjoys entering horticulture specimens in our February flower show and the Yuma County Fair flower show. Besides Yuma Garden Club,
Marilyn is also a member of Pecan Grove Garden Club and the Friends of Yuma Library Bookstore. She has
been vice-president of both organizations. Her favorite shrubs are the ‘Pink Bower’ vine and Euonymus. Her caring ways and ready smile make
her a club member that brings sunshine to our meetings.
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MARY LOU
MILSTEAD
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Mary Lou Milstead has been a Yuma Garden Club member for 13 years. During that time, she has had many leadership
roles in the club and in the Federated Garden Clubs of Yuma. She has been Yuma Garden Club's
vice-president, coordinator of the club's annual yearbook of activities, coordinator of the Alma Schott Memorial Rose
Garden, and a major contributor of floral designs at the Federated Garden Clubs of Yuma's flower show held at the Yuma
Co. Fair and at ArtBeat. When the Moody Garden was first begun, Mary Lou was in charge of designing
the sensory healing garden. She is a master gardener and is a wonderful asset to Yuma Garden Club. Being married to an air force pilot gave Mary Lou many opportunities to visit other countries
and learn new gardening and floral techniques. She enjoys
interacting with all the Federated Garden Club members and exchanging ideas and tips about gardening and floral designs. Her favorite tree is the European Chestnut and her favorite flower is the orchid. We are especially happy to have such an active and dedicated member in our club.
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Dorothy has been a member of Yuma Garden Club
for 10 years. Her love of gardening goes back to the wonderful years she spent on her grandmother’s
100-acre farm in Pilot Knob, Missouri. The farm would have rivaled Martha Stewart’s huge acreage.
They grew everything from blackberries, vegetables, and asparagus to an entire fruit orchard. Besides
growing their own produce, they also raised chickens, pigs, and had dairy cows for their own butter and milk.
A small creek running through their property helped keep their milk and butter cool in the basement of their home. It
was also the flower gardens on the property that taught Dorothy a love of nature and gardening. She remembers
all their lovely roses and iris blooming and the other flowers in bloom which added spring color to the garden. Dorothy’s
husband spent 20 years in the Navy, giving Dorothy the opportunity to travel to various cities in the states and in Germany
and Japan. When he retired from the Navy, they owned a business which repaired office equipment.
Once retirement came, they loaded up their motor home and traveled, ending up in Yuma. Dorothy
was a Girl Scout leader for 13 years and was introduced to Yuma Garden Club by Mary Lou Milstead when they met at the Yuma
Home and Garden Show. She enjoys creating floral designs and has had winning arrangements at the Yuma Co.
Fair’s flower show. Her favorite tree is the oak and her favorite flower is the lilac. Dorothy
enjoys participating in Yuma Garden Club’s activities and also participating in their flower shows. She
has held various offices in Yuma Garden Club and, at present, is the treasurer. We are especially lucky
to have such a hard worker and enthusiastic member in our club.
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Fred is one of Yuma Garden Club’s newest members, although he has been a gardener for a long
time. He especially enjoys vegetable gardening and is a member of the MGM Garden Club. At the Moody Garden, he
maintains an interesting array of vegetables and loves showing them off to groups that tour the garden.
He has participated in the Sanguinetti Garden fund-raiser and clean-up programs. He enjoys entering horticulture specimens
in the Yuma County Fair Flower Show sponsored by the Federated Garden Clubs of Yuma.
Fred’s favorite flower is Washington’s state flower, the Western Rhododendron. His favorite tree is the
Corkscrew Willow, and favorite shrub is the wild Huckleberry. Fred likes Yuma Garden Club’s friendly
people and is excited to become an active member for many years to come. We are happy to have such a pleasant and hard-working
member. |
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Helen Drummond has been a Yuma Garden Club member for four years. She became involved
with the club when she began moving to Yuma with her daughter for the winters. When Yuma's
temperatures begin to rise, Helen travels to Colorado, where the climate is much better for summertime gardening. Both Helen and her husband were educators during their working
careers. They lived in Yuma for 15 years where her husband was superintendent of the San Pasqual School
District and she was a first-grade teacher in the Crane District. After retiring from teaching, they were
involved in the motel business and then finished their working careers teaching in America Samoa. Helen’s favorite tree is the birch and her favorite flower is the rose. She enjoys the friendliness of our garden club members and the
opportunity to learn new and interesting gardening ideas at club meetings.
Yuma Garden Club is happy to have such a sweet and caring person as Helen as one of our members.
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GEORGIA
BROWN
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Georgia
Brown has been a Yuma Garden Club member for three years. Being the wife of the Yuma Garden Club president, Cal Kelley,
has made Georgia a very active and dedicated supporter of the club’s activities. She played a major role in making
our Federated Garden Club’s State Convention, held in Yuma in 2008, such a great success. She
participated in the 2009 Yuma Tree Expo and Sanguinetti Garden fund-raiser. So far in 2010, she has participated in
the Yuma Home and Garden Show and the Yuma Artists Potpourri, where plants were sold by the Yuma Garden Club. Georgia
is our Recording Secretary this year and is doing a great job. Her favorite flower is any yellow rose, her favorite tree is the
Dogwood, and her favorite shrub is the Lilac bush. She enjoys being a garden club member because of the many great men
and women she has come to know. Besides the Yuma Garden Club, Georgia is also a volunteer for “Helping Hands”, a group
in the foothills of Yuma which drives elderly individuals to their appointments. Yuma
Garden Club is very lucky to have such a generous and sincere person in our club. |
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JANE
BUCK
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We would like to introduce one of our
newest Yuma Garden Club members, Jane Buck. Jane has been a garden club member since 1979, when she started as a member
of the Cedar Falls Garden Club in Iowa. She joined Yuma Garden Club this year and is already a wonderful supporter of
the club’s activities. Through
the years, she has been the state president of the Federated Garden Clubs of Iowa, webmaster, and District III director.
She was also the National Garden Clubs, Inc. website chairman for three terms and is currently their Invasive Plant Chairperson.
We are happy to have Jane’s
advice on floral designs, as she is a Master Flower Show judge and has even traveled to Brazil and Panama to judge flower
shows. Jane
spends her winters in Yuma and summers in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Her Iowa garden is going to be featured on the city garden
tour this July, so Jane will be hurrying back this spring to make sure everything is ready for this special event.
Her extensive talents and
knowledge of gardening will be put to good use in Yuma Garden Club. We are lucky to have such a sweet and caring person
in our club. |
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CHARLOTTE
COOK
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Charlotte
Cook has a long history with the Federated Garden Clubs. It all began when she and her husband moved to the tiny town
of Randle in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest of western Washington state. Although it was an isolated little town,
it had an award-winning garden club with three life master judges as members. The club, Illahee Garden Club, won first
place in the national flower show awards many times, and Charlotte enjoyed being a part of this active organization.
Charlotte was president of her garden club twice and was also a District Director. After 34 years in Randle, Charlotte and her husband moved to Zillah,
in eastern Washington. She joined the Country Garden Club and is an active member. She was Judges’ Chairman
for their recent Holiday Flower Show and was kept busy searching for nine judges to judge the show. In 2002, after attending flower show school, Charlotte became
an accredited judge and is now an accredited life judge. She has also been on the Washington State Board and was State
Awards Chairman. She is
kept busy with the three garden clubs she is an active member in. We are happy to have Charlotte join Yuma Garden Club
and appreciate all the gardening knowledge and support she has given our club. Her happy smile and pleasing personality
make her a wonderful addition to our club. |
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HELEN
BUCK
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Helen Buck has been a member of
the Yuma Garden Club for about ten years, ever since she asked her friend, Elizabeth Moody about roses. Elizabeth recommended
she come to a garden club meeting to learn more about roses, which Helen did, and she has been an active member ever since.
She has been past Western District Director, Corresponding Secretary, and Recording Secretary for our club. Helen was
the state coordinator for the Smoky Bear/Woodsy Owl poster contest. She is also a regional life member of the Federated
Garden Clubs and an active member of the Yuma Orchid Society. Helen enjoys working with all the club members on various community service projects. She especially
likes learning more about gardening from our members and guest speakers at the meetings. She also completed the Master
Gardener's program. Her
favorite flower is the hibiscus and her favorite tree is the mesquite. Helen was honored by the Yuma Garden Club with
a Sissoo tree planted in her name at Desert Mesa Elementary School. Helen retired from elementary teaching and enjoys traveling when she finds
the time. She is also an avid reader. For many years, she was an active leader of a Girl Scout Club and taught
the girls flower arranging and gardening, along with other projects. Helen has four children, two boys and two girls, who visit as often as their
jobs allow. 2009
was a busy year for Helen. She participated in the Yuma Tree Expo, the Sanguinetti Fund Raiser, and the Home and Garden
Show. She also exhibited flower arrangements and specimens at the Federated Flower Show held during the Yuma County
Fair. Yuma Garden
Club is lucky to have such a sweet and caring member as Helen. |
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BEVERLY
PETERSON
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Beverly Peterson has been a member of the Yuma
Garden Club for nine years. She had just finished the Master Gardener’s program and wanted a gardening club to
join. She found Yuma Garden Club and has taken an active leadership role in the club ever since. In the past,
she has been Western District Director for the Federated Garden Club and recording secretary and treasurer of the Yuma Garden
Club. She is also a state life member of the Federated Garden Clubs. At present, she gives an inspirational reading
at each meeting. This year, Beverly
participated in the Yuma Tree Expo, the Yuma Holiday Bazaar, the Home and Garden Show, and was a presenter at one of our club
meetings. She gave an interesting talk about birds, butterflies, trees, and shrubs of the desert area. Beverly
entered both flower arrangements and plant specimens in the Federated Flower Show held during the Yuma County Fair.
Besides working with Yuma Garden Club, Beverly
is also a member of the MGM Garden Club which tends the Moody Garden. She plays the organ for her church and occasionally
writes articles for the Desert Gardener section of the local newspaper, the Yuma Sun. In her few moments of spare time,
she enjoys reading, knitting, and crocheting. Beverly’s
favorite flower is any fragrant rose, her favorite tree is the Red Maple, which she wishes grew in Yuma, and her favorite
shrub is the lilac. Beverly enjoys
our club because of the many friends she has made and the gardening information she has gained from our speakers and club
members. She says that the community service activities which the club participates in are worthwhile and enjoyable.
Beverly has been gardening since she was
a child. At that time, she lived in northern states and became acquainted with the plants grown in colder areas.
The last twenty years, she has been a resident of Yuma but still misses those northern plants which don’t like growing
in Yuma. Her hobbies are flower arranging, gardening, reading, crocheting, and knitting. She is a very busy
woman! Beverly is a wonderful member
of the Yuma Garden Club and we are lucky to have her. |
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TRUDY
GAUNTT
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Trudy Gauntt has been a member of Yuma Garden
Club for two years. She has become one of our most active and supportive members. Trudy comes from a long line
of farmers and gardeners and is very knowledgeable about gardening and enjoys sharing her knowledge with other club members.
She has lived in many different parts of
the U.S., as well as Chile. In every spot, she maintained a garden and huge amounts of potted plants. One of her
favorite pastimes is to find new seeds to bring home and try to grow. Her father told her that if she ever visited the
Rainforests, she would come back with all her pockets full of seeds! That is a true gardener. Trudy participated in the Sanguinetti Garden Fund-raiser and the Garden clean-up,
the Home and Garden Show, and was our September speaker, talking about how to propagate cuttings and correctly plant seeds
for quick germination. Trudy’s
favorite flower is the orchid, which is one reason she is also a member of the Yuma Orchid Society. She is the vice-president
and is enjoying the opportunity to meet with other orchid lovers and discuss orchids. Her favorite shrub is the Red
Bird of Paradise, a very popular shrub here in Yuma. Trudy
has been married for 43 years, congratulations! She has three children, two girls and a son, and nine grandchildren.
One grandson is in Japan, and I bet Trudy will be headed that way soon to collect new and interesting seeds to bring back
to Yuma. Trudy says she enjoys being
with fellow gardeners in our club and learning new growing procedures and plants to try. She and her husband graciously
donated an evaporative cooler for our newly-constructed greenhouse and she is in charge of supervising the greenhouse activities.
Yuma Garden Club is very lucky to have such
an energetic and knowledgeable member as Trudy. |
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ELIZABETH
MOODY
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Elizabeth Moody, pictured on the left, is wearing her
creative hat
for the "Garden
Party" at Sanguinetti Garden.
On the right
is Elizabeth's daughter, Ruth Maguire. Elizabeth Moody
has been a garden club member for 59 years. Throughout her long association with Yuma Garden Club, she has been active
in leadership roles as well as participating in the various service and gardening activities sponsored by the club.
She has been past president of the Federated Garden Clubs of Yuma and is vice-president of the MGM Garden Club, which tends
the Robert J. Moody Demonstration Garden. Her favorite
flower is the rose, with Mr. Lincoln and Chrysler Imperial being her favorite. Her favorite tree is the Jacaranda and
favorite shrub, the Bougainvillea. Elizabeth enjoys
the opportunity Yuma Garden Club affords to learn more about plants, meet new people interested in gardening, and serving
the Yuma community. When Elizabeth moved to
Yuma in 1944, Alma Schott invited her to a Yuma Garden Club meeting. She said that the garden club members made her
feel so welcome that she joined in 1945. She has enjoyed her experiences with the Yuma Garden Club ever since.
This year, Elizabeth has been kept busy participating with the club at the Yuma Tree Expo, the Garden Party fundraiser
for the Sanguinetti Garden, the Sanguinetti Garden Clean-up, the Yuma Holiday Bazaar, the Yuma Home and Garden Show, as program
presenter for our club, talking about “Native Plants of the Yuma Desert”, and entering both arrangements and plant
specimens in the Yuma Federated Garden Club Flower Show held during the Yuma Co. Fair.
We are very lucky to have such a wonderful person as Elizabeth Moody as a member of the Yuma Garden Club |
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GEORGIA
BOLTON
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| Georgia Bolton passing out Kettle Korn at the Sanguinetti Garden Party. |
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Georgia Bolton
has been a garden club member for 42 years. She was an active member of the Parker Garden Club for twenty-five years
and joined the Yuma Garden Club seventeen years’ ago. She is currently the Corresponding Secretary. Her favorite flower is the rose, especially the Chrysler
Imperial, and her favorite tree is the Sweet Gum tree, native to her home state of Mississippi. She was given
a Sweet Gum tree as a birthday gift several years’ ago and has nurtured it into a twenty-foot tall tree, even though
it is not supposed to like the hot summer temperatures of Yuma. Each fall, its purple and red leaves remind Georgia
of her hometown of Noxapater, Mississippi. Her favorite shrub is the hibiscus. Georgia is an active member of the Yuma Garden Club and was involved with
the Yuma Tree Expo and Sanguinetti Garden fundraiser this year. She also created floral arrangements for the Yuma Co.
Fair and the Art Beat fundraiser for the Yuma Art Center. Georgia
said she enjoys the comradery of her fellow garden club members and the fun they have working on various projects throughout
the year. She said that the Yuma Garden Club offers many opportunities for her to learn more about gardening and flower
arranging. Georgia is a spry ninety-three-year-old
gardener with three grown children and eight grandchildren. She has been a home ec. teacher, an elementary school teacher,
and 4-H leader during her working career. Gardening, reading mystery novels, writing gardening articles for the local
newspaper, and painting desert landscapes are a few of her hobbies. At present, she is working with her daughter on
a non-fiction book about birds. Georgia’s
cheery smile welcomes everyone, and her up-beat attitude is admired by all who know her. We are lucky to have such an
enthusiastic gardener in our club. |
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