March Meeting Minutes

  1. WELCOME AND CALL TO ORDER

Kendrick Williams begins the meeting at 3:46pm.

 

  1. READING AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes from previous meeting approved.

 

  1. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND MEMBER UPDATES

–– N/A

 

  1. OFFICER REPORTS

 

Vice President: Louise Moore

–– Please let Louise Moore know what months you prefer to host a meeting. Spots are still available in February, March and May.

2nd VP Speech School: Alden Potts

–– The work day will be scheduled on either April 23 or April 30. Please stay tuned.

3rd VP quarry garden: Brittany Hill

–– N/A

Treasurer: Margaret Warren

–– N/A

 

  1. COMMITTEE REPORTS

Membership & Dues:

– Mimosa members voted and unanimously approved the 2025 membership from 3 to 5 people. 

– Mimosa members voted and unanimously approved to require all Member Elects to host after only one year of membership vs. two years. 

– Voting for new members will be held April 1-15 via the website. 

  1. Unfinished or New Business

– N/A

  1. Adjournment

4:06pm

 

  1. Program

Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill gave a privileged tour of Blenheim Palace, which has been a part of her family for twelve generations, from initial history to modern day. 

Preceding and proceeding the programming, was a mingling event with Cherokee and Peachtree Garden Clubs.

 

  1. Miscellaneous

–– Our April meeting will take place on April 22 at 10:30am at the Swan Coach House. The speaker will be Campbell Vaughn and the topic will be on the history of the grounds of Augusta National Golf Club.

February Meeting Minutes

February 25, 2025

Meeting Minutes

  1. Welcome and Call to Order
  • Kendrick welcomed and thanked the hostesses (Karen Brown, Nell Mitchell, Amanda Orr, and Amy Underwood)
  • Our speaker was Hillary Jackson Designs at Spalding Nix Gallery

Kendrick made a motion to approve the January minutes.  Lois Yates gave a second and Deborah Childers gave the third. The minutes were approved.

  • Vice President (Louise Moore): No Report
  • Second Vice President / Speech School (Alden Potts): Alden passed around a sheet for a Speech School works day to be organized in April.
  •  
  • Third Vice President / Quarry Garden (Brittany Hill): NO REPORT
  • Corresponding Secretaries (Genie Gray and Amy Underwood): NO REPORT
  • Treasurer  was not present (Margaret Warren) but Kendrick shared:
    • The three account balances are:
      • Operating account: $12,315
      • Savings Account: $7,880
      • Party Account: $7, 298
      • Total $27, 493

Programs: NO REPORT

  • Membership & Dues: Liles and Amanda
  • Historian: Jinny Keough – NO report
  • Parliamentarian: Sarah McElroy -No Report
  • Website: Jennifer Hill —Jennifer brought her laptop and stated that if anyone needs help logging in she will be there to help.
  • State Garden Club Liaison: (Esther) NO REPORT
  1. Business
  • Amaryllis Project: Poster presentation -Mary Mac or Sarah McElroy marymacsoutherland@gmail.com or Sarah.mcelroy@alston.com. Mary Mac and Sarah presented an awesome and funny poster of pictures of members’ amaryllis.’ was the winner. MM gave her a beautiful orchid, got second place and was awarded a lily plant. Last place was a funny trinket.
  • Kendrick discussed New Member Nominations – We have decided to increase the new members from 3-5 this year! We all agreed on this at the January meeting, but we will have to vote again in March to make it official per the By laws.
  • The New Membership Proposal Forms are on the website. The deadline to submit candidates for endorsement is March 24th, a day before our March meeting which is March 25th.
  • You can find the Membership Proposal form under the “Membership” tab from the main menu on the website. Online voting will take place April 1-15. New members will be announced at the April 22nd meeting. If you have trouble getting into the website, please let me or Jennifer Hill know so we can help.

As a reminder the By laws state that a member may not sponsor or endorse different candidates in consecutive years. A member may sponsor or endorse the same candidate for consecutive years without waiting. A Member Elect may not sponsor or endorse a candidate.

I have heard of 7 possibilities, but I have received 1 so far. 

Also, please make sure you let your PNM know of the Mimosa requirements to be a member. 1) Attend 5 meetings, pay dues, and buy party tickets if its a party year—which it will be next year.

Also, in March, We will also be voting to approve that all New Member-Elects  will be required to host after only ONE year of being a New Member. This will help us with our host shortage.

I’m sure ya’ll have received our Paperless Post about our exciting new meeting in March! If you have not, please let Jennifer Raulet know.

  • For those of you who were not present at our January meeting, here are the details.
  •  

.

We decided to plan a combined meeting with Peachtree Garden Club, and Cherokee Garden Club for our March Meeting!!  Mims Hill asked Lady Henrietta Spencer Churchill to come speak to us about her new book, Blenheim, 300 years of Life in a Palace.”

Our meeting will still be on the same day, Tuesday, March 25th, but the time will be at 3:45pm instead of our usual 10:30am meeting time. We will have a quick Mimosa meeting in McElreath Hall in The Draper Room where we have had meetings in the past with just  Mimosa. Then Peachtree and Cherokee will join us for a social and our speaker from 4:30pm-6:30pm. We will have light bites and a cash bar. The social will be held in McElreath Hall, and we will have access to the Draper room, the lobby, and the auditorium for the gathering. Please make every effort to be there at 3:45pm that day, so we can meet and vote to approve some things quickly.

                      A huge thank you to our March hosts, Beth Nix, Lindsey Sones, Hallie Crawford and Deborah Childers for being flexible about this meeting.

  1. Program
  • Mims and Jennifer introduced Hillary Jackson Designs our speaker.
  1. Adjournment & Lunch
  • Thank speaker and hostesses (Karen, Amy, Amanda, and Nell)
  • Our next meeting will be March 25th with Lady Henrietta Spencer! At the Atlanta History Center.

January Meeting Minutes

Location: The Speech School
Recording Secretary: Shannan Hill
Hostesses
  • Caroline Davis
  • Duvall Fuqua
  • Mims Hill
  • Sarah Kennedy
  1. WELCOME AND CALL TO ORDER

Kendrick Williams welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 10:40am. Kendrick thanked the Speech School for hosting the meeting and she thanked our hostesses, Caroline Davis, Mims Hill, Duvall Fuqua and Sarah Kennedy. She welcomed and thanked The Speech School’s Executive Director, Comer Yates. Comer welcomed the garden club and thanked our group for its support. He shared a wonderful update on The Speech School.

Before beginning the business meeting, Kendrick shared some sad news about Catherine Fleetwood’s father – Billy Sterne – who passed away. She shared funeral services would be Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at 10:00am at Christ the King.

  1. READING AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Kendrick requested the approval of both the October and November meetings. Beverly Briggs made a motion to approve the October minutes, seconded by Duvall Fuqua. The October minutes were approved. Nell Mitchell approved the minutes from the November meeting, seconded by Mary Huntz. November minutes were approved.

Kendrick began the business meeting by reading the Mimosa Garden Club Purpose as stated in the Bylaws. She stated that it is a great reminder of why we are all here, and I hope its helpful to our new members:

“The purpose of this Club shall be 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.”

  1. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND MEMBER UPDATES 

N/A

  1. OFFICER REPORTS

Vice President: Louise Moore

Louise shared the hostess chart and asked each person to check to make sure it’s correct.

2nd VP Speech School: Alden Potts

Alden thanked Caroline Davis for her gift and for her generous donation to the Speech School in Honor of The Allen Family, and thanked Bettye Maddox for her generous

donation to the Speech School as well. The Speech School is going to purchase an additional 3 planters for the Mimosa Garden to match the existing ones.

There are 4 already in the garden. Alden will be in touch about a Spring workday so we can plant these. Haven mentioned that going forward it would be nice if Mimosa could keep these up to date with lovely annuals all year long. It would be great to have three work days a year! Also, she shared some pictures of the students enjoying the Mimosa Garden during the snow day!

3rd VP quarry garden: Brittany Hill

Report from Jenna at the Quarry Garden:

Winter is a great time to identify invasive evergreen plants in the garden, and we have been working with our volunteers to pull English ivy from the beds along the walls of the quarry.

We plan to tackle more invasives growing on the slopes themselves in the coming weeks, before the annual weeds return with warmer weather.

The slate chip paths have been a huge improvement to the space!

Previously we used wood chips, but the slate gives more definition to the beds and provides a durable even walking surface. We will be topping up the slate material along the steepest portions of them paths this winter. Wildlife habitat is a critical part of the environment cultivated in this garden, and we are leaving many of the perennials up with their beautiful shades of brown and tan, and intricate seed head structures. Leaving the old plant material standing until spring will provide cover for birds and mammals as well as homes for beneficial insects that require hollow stems to nest in. When spring comes, we will be busy with cutbacks to make way for the new green to emerge. This is an absolutely  beautiful time in the quarry with all of the spring ephemerals returning to life in a dusting of color across the garden. It will be a great time to come and see the wild orchids (Cypripedium acaule) that we rescued as a conservation effort in the fall, and that you all helped to plant.

Treasurer: Margaret Warren

Margaret could not be present, but Kendrick provided the balances of our accounts as follows:

  • Operating: $12, 080
  • Savings: $7,880
  • Party: $7,298
  • Total: $27, 258

Kendrick reminded everyone that we make two contributions annually. They are:

$2,000 to the Atlanta Speech School

$3,000 to The Atlanta History Center, specifically the Quarry Garden

On a party year, we will make additional contributions to these organizations (40% of the proceeds going to the

Atlanta Speech School and 60% going to the Atlanta History Center.

  1. COMMITTEE REPORTS 

Membership & Dues: 

Thank you to everyone for paying their annual membership dues.Liles and Amanda have reached out personally to the members who have still not paid.

New Member Liason: N/A

Correspondence & Website: N/A

State Garden Club Liaison: N/A

Parliamentarian: We are proposing to amend our bylaws to allow for the submission of five new member candidates to be voted upon by Mimosa members this spring, rather than the typical three candidates.  The bylaws currently state that there is a cap of three new members per year if places are available per the club’s quota. The quota equals 70 members, and we currently have 58. The affirmative vote of no less than ¾ of the members present is required to amend the bylaws, with notice of such proposed amendment to be given at least 2 months prior to the meeting at which the vote is considered.  Consequently, we are providing notice at this January meeting in order to vote at the March meeting to expand the new membership threshold for 2025 from three to five. This amendment will be valid solely for 2025 and will not permanently expand the candidate threshold.  We believe that this is necessary and in the best interests of the club in order to have sufficient membership to support and host monthly Mimosa meetings.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or any Board member with any questions or concerns.

Historian: N/A

New Member Liason: N/A. 

Correspondence & Website:  N/A.

  1. Unfinished or New Business

Mary Mac Southerland provided an amyrillis report. She requested people send photos.

Victoria Holiday at Oakland. Kendrick reported how much fun it was decorating the mausoleum. She thanked all those who helped and named those who attended (Beverly Briggs, Shelby Drinkard, Jinny Keough, Aimee Nix, Parker Tekin, and Brittany Hill). Passed around before and after photos.

Cathedral Giving by Design this past weekend. We provided two flower arrangements. Abby Echols did it all by herself! The beneficiary is Wellspring Living.

Kendrick shared some difficulties we had finding hosts for our meetings this year. We ended up with 31 hosts this year, but we had to bring in three members who were not due till next year to make the numbers work. In this specific rotation there were several Honorary members, 3 Non resident members, and we had three resignations last year. Honorary members and Non-Resident members are not required to host.

She stated that ideally we would have 32 hostesses in a rotation to make 4 per

Meeting. This May we only have three members hosting which can get expensive when there are only three hosts.

Our Club quota is 70 members, and currently, we only have 58.

Our Club Quota consists of Members-Elect, Active, Associate and Prof members. Sustaining, Honorary and Non-Resident members are not included in the club’s quota.

Currently Mimosa has only 58 members who count towards quota and there are 110

members total. She provided the breakdown.

  • Member Elect 8
  • ACTIVE 30
  • ASSOCIATE 12
  • PROFESSIONAL 8
  • Non-Resident 9
  • Honorary 17
  • SUSTAINING 24

Based on these numbers Kendrick proposed changing the amount of new members for this year from 3 to 5. Per Sarah McElroy, our Parliamentarian, we have to vote to approve the change now and then vote again in March to make it official. Kendrick called for a motion to approve. Jinny Keough requested a motion and Nell Mitchell offered the second. Motion was approved.

Louise asked what a sustaining member. Susan Virgin asked if we did this last year – Kendrick said we did it 2 years ago. Kendrick recommends we do this now but take it year to year.

Beverly Briggs suggested that maybe we don’t have new members wait 2 years to host.

Nell suggested that if we want to get to 70 members, we need to put together a long term plan.

Alden suggested we make May a workday instead of meeting.

We decided to make a motion that New Members only need to wait to host for ONE year instead of  TWO. We voted on that and will vote again in March to make it official.

Kendrick shared that new member proposal forms are on the website and are due on March 24th before the March meeting. She suggested that we make sure new members are aware of the requirements. She reviewed the bylaws.

Kendrick shared that it’s time to assemble the nominating slate for the 2025-2026 Board of Directors. We need one (1) Active and one (1) Associate member to be part of the Nominating Committee. The whole nominating committee will consist of the Past President, Parker Tekin, Vice President, Louise Moore, current President, as well as the Active and Associate member. Does anyone want to nominate an active member?

Nell Mitchell nominated the Active member Jennifer Raulet.  Jennifer was approved with a second from Mary Mac Sutherland. Kendrick asked if anyone wanted to nominate an associate member. Brittany Hill nominated the Associate member Shelby Drinkard. Shelby was approved with a second from Parker Tekin.

Kendrick congratulated the new nominating committee for our 2025-2026 Slate  and said we will be in touch about a meeting date later in the spring.

Kendrick closed with an exciting announcement about our March meeting. Kendrick reported that a new meeting will include a joint meeting with the Peachtree Garden Club and Cherokee Garden Club to have a meet/mingle for our Tuesday, March 25 at 4pm (instead of 10:30am) meeting which will include speaker, Lady Henrietta Spencer Churchill. Mimosa will meet prior to the get together with the other clubs to have our usual March meeting.

Kendrick thanked the March hostesses for being so easy to work with to make this fun March event happen. (Deborah Childers, Beth Nix, Lindsey Sones, and Hallie Crawford)

Mims shared more about Lady Henrietta and her new book. She will offer a 1-hour presentation plus Q&A at the event.

Sally Allen stated how exciting it was to have all clubs together for our first ever get together!

  1. Adjournment 

Kendrick shared that the next meeting will be February 25th at Spalding Nix. We have a very interesting speaker who designs jewelry out of flowers and different botanicals! Kendrick thanked our hostesses once again.

Meeting adjourned at 11:17am.

November Meeting Minutes

Location: Westside Park
Recording Secretary: Kellie Spalding
Hostesses
  • Margie Hutchison
  • Guerry Redmond
  • Kellie Spalding
  • Mildred Spalding
  1. WELCOME AND CALL TO ORDER

Kendrick Willaims welcomed everyone and thanked our hostesses, calling the meeting to order at 10:47 a.m.

  1. READING AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES

N/A (Kendrick to request approval and affirmation of October ‘24 minutes at January ‘25 meeting, along with approval/affirmation of these November ‘24 minutes).

  1. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND MEMBER UPDATES 

Mildred Spalding stepped up to provide a brief, personal introduction of our speakers, noting that the PATH Foundation is celebrating its 30th anniversary and recounting several happy memories of using PATH trails with fellow members over the years. Mildred also recognized Sarah Kennedy for all the work she has done with and for The Path Organization. 

  1. OFFICER REPORTS

Vice President: Kendrick Williams, as proxy for Louise Moore

Kendrick announced that Louise has updated the Hostess Chart, and that Louise is again requesting that all members due to host in 2025-2026 continue to sign up to do so.  Please see Louise to determine if and when you are due to host, if you are unsure.

2nd VP Speech School: Alden Potts

N/A.

3rd VP quarry garden: Brittany Hill

N/A.

Treasurer: Margaret Warren

N/A.

  1. COMMITTEE REPORTS 

Membership & Dues: 

Kendrick asked that each member please continue to get their dues paid, and noted that Liles Thompson was present for any members who wished to pay in person.  Kendrick also reiterated that late fees will applied on all dues not paid by December 1st.

New Member Liason:

N/A. 

Correspondence & Website: 

N/A.

State Garden Club Liaison:

N/A.

Parliamentarian:

N/A.

Historian:

N/A.

  1. Unfinished or New Business

Kendrick announced that the amaryllises had arrived, and to please see Mary Mac Southerland to collect yours if ordered.

Mimosa’s decorating day for the Dodd Mausoleum at Oakland Cemetery is set for December 6th, and Kendrick requested that members continue signing up to assist, in addition to the eight (8) already signed up to do so.  Kendrick also asked those already signed up or planning to sign up to please bring lots of trimmings and materials for day-of decorating.

Cathedral Giving By Design is set for January 24, 2025, and Alden Potts is one of the Homes Tour Co-Chairs.  Abby Echols has graciously agreed to do two (2) arrangements for this on behalf of Mimosa.  Kendrick circulated a sign-up sheet for additional members to volunteer to assist with this favorite event.

Kendrick finally announced that the Garden Club of Georgia was holding a fundraiser selling wreaths and circulated a sign-up sheet for those interested in purchasing.

  1. Adjournment 

The meeting officially ended at 11:27 a.m.

  1. Program

Speaker Names: Greta DeMayo, Executive Director of PATH Foundation, and Pete Pellegrini, Project Manager at PATH Foundation, both introduced by Jennifer Raulet

Topic: Celebrate PATH Foundation’s 30 Years

Greta opened with a few Mimosa-related trivia questions for members and noted that, together with the Beltline Foundation–with whom the PATH Foundation frequently collaborates–PATH provides a vision for a more connected Atlanta.

Greta and Pete stated that, to date, there are more than 327 miles of PATH trails running through Atlanta, and many miles running through additional counties and even other states (Alabama), as well.

Member Amy Smith recalled to Greta and Pete that she wrote an article on PATH for Atlanta Magazine many years ago.

Greta and Pete stated that PATH is aiming to connect its current Chastain Park section with its “PATH 400” section in the imminent future.  Plans are already underway to connect the Standing Peachtree section into the Silver Comet Connector with a bridge across Peachtree Creek.  Eventually, Standing Peachtree will be connected to downtown Atlanta and Centennial Park, hopefully by 2026, just in time for Atlanta’s hosting of the World Cup soccer tournament.

PATH is working now to connect its northwest Atlanta section through Bobby Jones and Peachtree Hills, but this effort has been slowed somewhat given the need to obtain permissive easements through numerous private properties.

Currently 1 in 5 Atlantans live within ten minutes of a PATH trail, but of course, PATH wants that number to keep climbing higher with the passage of time.

Westside Park, the site of today’s meeting, was once a functioning quarry; the City of Atlanta bought it and instituted drilling nearby and all the way up to the Chattahoochee River, and that is how the water in the Reservoir came to be.  Greta and Pete invited all present members to join them on a walk down to the Reservoir upon the conclusion of the meeting.

Greta and Pete ended by passing out dark green baseball caps emblazoned with PATH’s logo, along with paper copies of current PATH trails, to all members present.  They encouraged everyone to follow PATH on social media (Instagram: @pathfoundationatlanta; Facebook: facebook.com/PATHFoundation) and to sign up for periodic newsletters at www.pathfoundation.org.

 

  1. Miscellaneous 

N/A.

October Meeting Minutes

Welcome and Call to Order

Kendrick Williams welcomed everyone and thanked our hostesses: Shelby Drinkard, Harden Powell, Nancy Powell, and Jo Phelps. She remarked on what a treat it was to be at the tree table. She then thanked those who participated in the Quarry Work Day and commented on how awesome it was to have such beautiful weather.

Reading and Approval of Minutes

       Kendrick asked to approve the minutes from the September meeting, which had been posted on the website. Shelby Powell and Amy Nix motioned to approve the minutes and Susan Virgin and Mary Mac Southerland seconded. Minutes were approved.

Officer Reports    

Margaret Warren gave the Treasurer report and explained that we have three accounts. The operating account has $13,486; the savings account which has $7,879 and the party account which has $17,298. She went on to hand out copies of the detailed operating budget and said that we would pull out some money for the speech school and some for the history center. Lastly, Margaret explained that most of our budget comes from dues and that we must pay fees to the Garden Club of Georgia.

New Business

       Kendrick asked us to please pay dues on the website or to Amanda Orr who had to leave early. After December 1st a fee of $25 is applied. Then Mary Mac Southerland discussed the Amarilys project and said that she doesn’t know the cost of each Amarilys yet since the price depends on the number of orders she receives. Then, Kendrick said that Mimosa is going to participate in the “Victorian Holiday at Oakland” this year. Our day to decorate is December 6th and Mimosa has been assigned to the Dodd Mausoleum. She brought a photo and passed around a signup sheet. She asked us to please sign up to help and told us how much fun it is. Then she encouraged us to be creative and bring trimmings from our own yards.

Program

       Kendrick introduced Sara Carter, who has had a twenty plus year career in horticulture. She was the curator of the New York Botanical gardens; attended Berry College and Garden Design school in England.

         Rosemary retired after ten years and we wish her the best after the loss of her husband. Sara explained that the Atlanta History Center staff had shifted members of the team with the addition of Ginna Tiesler. Ginna obtained her masters from Harvard in horticulture. She said that she likes to blend the balance of aesthetically beautiful plants and flowers with ecological sustainability. She recommended the book “American Sheep of cultural history” by Brett Bomar, which is for sale in the gift shop at the history center. Then, she went on to discuss the Interpretation Project that the center is undergoing to write interpretive panels for all of the gardens. There are 200 panels to be written to describe why the garden was planted there, what it is and who planted it. Also, they are rolling out more plant labels as there are over 12,000 plants in the entrance gardens up top. They plan to include the plant family, latin name, year of introduction as well as the reason the plant is relevant here (for example, how was this plant used as medicine or by Indian culture). She then told us about a few upcoming events like the great trick or treat, which is for littles in costumes (preferably historical) which will take place there at the history center. Also, there is an event for Veteran’s day on November 11th and a Holiday lighting in December. On January 11th, they are opening a new children’s exhibit. Other upcoming projects include the Civil War, Native land, Hank Aaron and Margaret Mitchell exhibits.

         Kendrick asked her to give us a brief history of the tree table. She explained that it was a large white oak near the parking garage and was dying. The tree was over 100 years old the center wanted to provide another way to describe history so they decided to turn it into a table. It was cut into sections by local artisans. They left as much wood as possible to be sanded and re-oiled to preserve it. It was done in February of 2020 by Curt McCalken.

Miscellaneous

Location: Atlanta History Center

Minutes: Allison Cobb Felton

Hostesses: Shelby Drinkard, Harden Powell, Nancy Powell, and Jo Phelps