Meeting Location: Atlanta Speech School

Recording Secretary: Beverly Briggs

Hostesses: Shannan Hill, Jennifer Hill, Molly West and Allison Felton

1. WELCOME AND CALL TO ORDER

10:52 Call to order and Nell Mitchell introduces Comber Yates

Speech School update – committed to children, value your partnership, grateful for space Mimosa has provided, school is thriving, overrun with applications, only preschool in US from 35 diff zip codes. 90% of the brain develops in the first 5 years. Country in mental health epidemic for young children. Children born during COVID having developmental struggles. Tens of millions have been raised in Atl to help children post COVID. Need for relationships with children vs discipline.

Louise, “This is the garden we support (motions out window) and we’re going to have a work day. We give annually to the Speech School and the Atlanta History Center.”

2. READING AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes approved without additions or edits.

3. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND MEMBER UPDATES

Flower Show: Feb 17th through the weekend at the Botanical Garden. Amanda holding a meeting after this one. Botanical Garden needs volunteers. Lots of opportunities and a sign up genius will go out. We compete in 2 events. Nancy Riser is spearheading.

Amaryllis Update: Have received a lot of submissions. Need best photos emailed to MM by mid Feb to assign awards. Please limit to two photos.

Spring Party is May 6th from 6-9 at the Echols.

• Any questions or thoughts reach out to Abbey directly. Ways to incorporate the old and the new: Members encouraged to bring desserts – if you make a special dessert, reach out to Abbey.
• Members are required to buy four tickets to every party through your first 50 years of membership. Three hundred dollars for 4 tickets. Tickets will be on sale through the website in March.

May Mahjong: Gathering will be for those that know how to play. Another session will be held for lessons for those that don’t know how to play.

4. OFFICER REPORTS

2nd VP Speech School: Alden Potts: Cathedral Design Show major success. Money raised for Global Village Project for refugees. Abbey Echols and her team blew it out of the water. A few spots are left on the calendar for next year meeting hosts.

Treasurer: Margaret Warren Summarizes financials

A few people haven’t paid dues

Same annual donations to Speech School and History Ctr. Maybe we need to consider some ways to increase these annual donations to account for annual rates of inflation.

Louise reiterates  – it’s not fair to Margaret to keep having to track down dues.

5. COMMITTEE REPORTS

Membership & Dues: 

This is such a great group of women! Need to figure out ways to get people more involved and create a sense of community by hosting in homes, attending meetings, doing garden work.

Per bylaws, the purpose of this club should be to to promote among its members a love for and an intelligent interest in the cultivation of flowers, of gardens and of landscapes, the beautification of local streets and highways, the encouragement of love of nature, and the conservation of plants and trees throughout the State of Georgia.

The Special Projects supported by this Club are the development and care of the garden at the Atlanta Speech School and the development and care of the Mary Howard Gilbert Memorial Quarry Garden at the Atlanta History Center.

We’ve been giving the same donations for 30 years and need to consider, as a club, bumping up those donations.

Proposing a Membership Committee to assess annual dues through a variety of methods including in comparison to other garden clbs. Consisting of the 5 most recent past presidents, this group will determine where money might be best spent (e.g. paid speakers, venues, etc) to strengthen our sense of community within the club and to best align to our purpose. Accepted with no objections.

Three spots for new members. Reach out to Louise if you are putting someone up and we will be posting a nomination form to the website.

New Member nominees must have 1 sponsor and 2 endorsers, each must have at least three years of membership to participate.

Classes of memberships.

• Member-Elect: new members are kind of on trial for the first 2 years. Bylaws require attendance to 5 meetings, working on Mimosa’s submission to the Flower Show and helping with the biannual party.
• Active: You are considered an active member in your third year for 15 years…
• Associate: year 16 through 25th
• Sustaining members are those in their 26th year to 50th. They are required to attend one meeting a year.
• 50 years or more earns honorary status with different perks and responsibilities. Professional and Non-Resident status have different requirements as well.\

Historian: Jenny Keough maintains the history of Mimosa started in July of 1928. Garden Club of Georgia started the same year. Shows family tree and wants to update that for our upcoming one hundred year celebration.

Original officers were known by their husbands names…Mimosa’s founding mothers include Havertys, Rhodes and Austins.

6. New Business

Nominating Committee comes up with the board. Shannan Hill nominates Jennifer Hill. Nell Mitchell nominated. Both approved.

Get together of the current board and the past three years of new members to discuss Mimosa, welcome and build community.

One hundred year party coming up in 2 years! Welcome anyone that wants to volunteer or be a chair of it.

Garden tour proposed for every other year to raise money. Alden suggests our fees could be higher. A higher financial commitment could equal a higher commitment and people might be more thoughtful about joining.

Next meeting is Feb 24th at the Chastain Horse Park.

7. Adjournment

12 Noon