August 22, 2025

Dear Mimosa Ladies, 

I hope you have all had a wonderful summer!!!  I cannot tell you how much fun I had being the Mimosa President last year! The year flew by! What a fun and incredible group of ladies we have in Mimosa!! It has been so wonderful to work with so many great family members and friends. What a talented group of members!!

First of all I want to thank everyone on last year’s Mimosa Board. You were all so easy and reliable to work with, and I could NOT have done it without such a MAGNIFICENT board!!!!  It truly was a team effort!! Specifically, I also want to thank Parker Tekin, Jinny Keough, and Aimee Nix for helping me navigate this year. It takes a village! I am filled with so much gratitude for all of you.

Our year of programs was educational and very entertaining! A huge shout out to our program chairs, Jennifer Raulet and Mims Hill for all their planning and hard work! They did a great job coordinating with all the hostesses and venues before the meetings!

We started the year at The Atlanta Botanical Gardens in September with a very interesting program from Fresh Harvest.  Our October meeting was a delightful work day in the Quarry Garden with a great lunch at the tree table. In November, Sarah Kennedy organized a very interesting meeting at the Beltline Quarry sponsored by the Path Foundation. Although  the weather was rainy, we had such a great  time, and the meeting was so informative! We started 2025 with our annual business meeting in January at The Atlanta Speech School, and Comer Yates gave us a great update about everything going on at the school! In February, Hillary Jackson came to show us her beautiful jewelry she creates with real flowers—very fascinating! Moving into the spring, we had such a wonderful meeting in March! It was so lovely to combine forces with Peachtree Garden Club and Cherokee Garden Club at The History Center! Lady Henrietta Spencer Churchill was such a treat and her book was gorgeous! Thank you to Mims Hill for inviting her to come!! Hopefully we can plan more joint events with Peachtree and Cherokee in the future!! Our April meeting at the Swan Coach House was very entertaining and informative to hear Campbell Vaughn’s presentation about the history of The Augusta National Golf Course. Finally, our May meeting was back at The History Center hearing Staci Catron’s presentation about her book Seeking Eden. A HUGE thank you to Parker Tekin for leading that meeting for me while I went to see Slater Nalley sing! Thank you Parker!

We also participated in some special projects throughout the year. Mary Mac Southerland and Sarah McElroy led our Amaryllis Contest-which is always entertaining! In December we decorated the Philip Dodd mausoleum at Oakland Cemetery as part of their Victorian Holiday Event. In January we participated in The Cathedral by Design event by donating two  floral arrangements designed by our very own Abby Echols!  In the spring we finished up with a work day in the Speech School Garden, and designed several pots in The Mimosa Garden. Lastly, Mandy Culpepper, Abby Echols, Mims Hill and Jennifer Raulet  provided a beautiful display of food and flowers in McElreath Hall for our fabulous joint meeting with Peachtree and Cherokee. I could not have asked for a more helpful and talented group of women!! 

Also, Mimosa decided and voted on adding five new members for the 2025-2026 year instead of three. Our five wonderful additions are Kim Nalley, Caroline Willis, Sally Griffith, Charlotte Few, and Taylor Custis. Rae Knox and Wawa Hines hosted a beautiful lunch at Rae’s house earlier this week to welcome them. Thank you to Rae and Wawa!! Please welcome these new ladies at our September meeting! They are all fabulous new members!

Last but not least, ya’ll are in for a treat to have Louise Moore as Mimosa’s next President! Louise is so easy going, tons of fun, and she has the best sense of humor! Louise will do an amazing job as President!

In closing, I was truly honored to be this year’s President. It was such a special, memorable experience,  and one that I will forever treasure. I am so grateful to be a part of this exceptional group of women. Mimosa began with a small group in 1928, and it is so awesome to see that Mimosa is continuing to thrive after all these years!! I am looking forward to another exciting year getting to be with all of you. Looking forward to September!

With so much gratitude,

Kendrick Williams