The Boothbay Region Garden Club has fourteen committees, some of which help the Officers organize and run the Club and some of which focus on community involvement and service. Members are invited to join any of these committees, depending on their interests and experience.
Committees
These Committees Serve the Community Directly:
Communications Committee
David Applegate, Deanna Clarkson and Melissa Thornton
The Communications Committee is responsible for disseminating information about the Boothbay Region Garden Club to both garden club members and the public.
Public Relations and Social Media
The Public Relations and Social Media arm of the committee disseminates information about the club, its mission, meeting dates and program topics to the greater community throughout the year, both before and after meetings and special events. Using press releases, notices to local media and social media updates, David Applegate describes the nature and purpose of the events and invites the public to attend meetings and events and to join the garden club.
Our public relations activities include our monthly meetings/programs, our Home and Garden Tour and our Holiday Festival fundraisers.
We maintain a Facebook page. All publicity outlets lead to the club through the website at www.boothbayregiongardenclub.org and through mainegardenclubs.org.
Website
In early 2023, the Newsletter Editor, Melissa Thornton, transitioned the newsletter into an expanded website which serves as a full marketing and informational tool, offering club and horticulturally related information to club members and the general public. All public information about the club, past, present and future, resides on the website, including: the mission, history, projects which support the community, committees and goals, programs and field trips, fundraiser events, horticultural updates, a calendar of events both local and state-wide and various other resources related to gardening, agriculture, conservation and ecology.
Newsletter
The original quarterly newsletter, the Trumpet, disseminated information about the club to the membership four times a year. In early 2025, Deanna Clarkson stepped up to edit a new short newsletter, A New Leaf, which will complete the communications/marketing mix. It will reach club members’ email addresses on a monthly basis and will include important current and upcoming dates, presidential and committee updates, contact information for the club’s officers and leaders, articles and photographs about garden club projects and events, as well as other garden-related items of interest to club members. In addition, members of the public are invited to subscribe to the newsletter.
Photography
The members of the Communication Committee, as well as other garden club members, take photos of events, activities and club projects for documentation on this website and for use in the newsletter and public relations/social media platforms.
Civic Development
Kevin Bowler and Karen Iliades
The Civic Development Committee creates and maintains public gardens in our community as well as beautifying the area public buildings throughout the Boothbay peninsula. In the spring, we plant annuals in window boxes and distribute them to public buildings in the Boothbay Region. In November, Christmas wreaths are decorated by our members at a workshop close to Thanksgiving and placed on forty (40) town monuments and public buildings.
Creative Gardening
Shelly Maher
Each month, the committee plans and provides activities for the residents of St. Andrews Retirement Village Gregory Wing and Safe Havens in Boothbay Harbor. The activities may include flower arranging, planting outdoor vertical gardens, painting, creating ways to feed the birds, and/or a craft which may be related to a holiday in the month.
Scholarships
Susan Stapleton
Boothbay Region Garden Club supports horticulture-based education and we provide scholarships to students who share our interest. It is today’s students that will be the leaders of tomorrow, ensuring the preservation of our natural resources of the planet Earth.
Applicants majoring in: Horticulture, Floriculture, Landscape Design, Conservation, Forestry, Botany, Agronomy, Plant Pathology, Environmental Concerns, Ecology, Land Management, and/or other garden fields are eligible to receive our club scholarships.
These are Special Events/Fundraising Committees:
Home and Garden Tour
Left to right: Rosanne Bourassa, Linda King, Ann Marie Mahoney, Julie Krug, Laura Blake, Ida Lancaster
Annually, in July, BRGC offers our community an enjoyable opportunity to tour Boothbay peninsula homes and gardens that highlight the creative ways that homeowners are meeting the unique gardening challenges of our rugged coastal environment. The committee works with homeowners to preview and select homes and gardens to be included in this tour.
In addition, all BRGC members are encouraged to serve as ‘hostesses’, parking monitors and bus organizers, and provide flower arrangements for each of the homes.
Holiday Festival
Irene Fowle and Gloria Wakefield
Each winter we host a winter fundraising event, our HOLIDAY FESTIVAL. Members of this committee coordinate those preparations for the festival event; chair our Shop committees and serve as Shopkeepers during the Festival. Our club members present, for sale, homemade sweets at our Sweet Shop, gifts handmade from nature at our Nature’s Gifts shop, a collection of Gift Baskets from our Gift Basket shop, and our NEW shops—Deck the Halls and Comfort & Joy.
Proceeds benefit our community and our club by supporting the educational, environmental, and community service projects of our club.
These Committees Serve the BRGC Members Directly:
Horticulture/Flower Design
Horticulture resources for club members include:
–Garden Federation of Maine newsletter, prepared by Maine gardeners
–University of Maine Extension service monthly newsletter
–Frequent program presentations relating to horticulture
Our Club members have frequent opportunities to showcase their flower design skills throughout the year: Flower arrangements are provided by members at our monthly meetings; members prepare arrangements for the homes in our Home and Garden Tours; members provide holiday table arrangements, wreaths and holiday decorations for our Holiday Festival.
We often have flower arranging workshops and programs where our highly skilled flower arrangers educate the membership
Hospitality
Abbie Shaw and Carole McCarthy
For our monthly meetings, the committee coordinates afternoon tea to be served before our program. Club members area assigned to serve as Tea Chairs to help create and hostess. The Chair coordinates the team’s responsibilities to include setup and clean up. An additional member is assigned to provide flower arrangement for the serving table. All members are assigned one month to serve on the Tea Committee.
Membership
Sandra Abernathy, Irene Gerny, Elaine Gabrielli and Karen Reilley
Our membership Chair welcomes new members to our meetings and maintains our membership roster.
Our club consists of three membership categories.
Nominating Committee
The committee nominates and presents a slate of officers and directors at October meeting.
The committee requires two (2) board members and two (2) non-board members
Programs / Field Trips
Irene Fowle
Our club provides education, resources, and national networking opportunities for our members. The Program committee works with the President to secure speakers that relate to our annual theme and that promote the love of gardening, floral design, civic and
environmental responsibility. In addition, the Program committee schedules field trips to advance members’ knowledge of gardening and conservation techniques throughout the area.
***This committee is listed under both categories, as Programs are offered to the Club members,
as well as to the public.
Yearbook
Kevin Bowler
Our annual yearbook is a comprehensive printed source of information about how our club functions and about our many ongoing activities for our club year, July through June. Our yearbook is a resource for:
– current and historical information about our club
– information about our club affiliates, NGC, NEGC, GCFM and our Medomak District Clubs
– club awards and individual honors
– elected Officers, Directors, Appointed Officers, their duties and responsibilities
– standing Committees and Fundraising Event Committees Chairs
– schedules for monthly meetings and events
– Boothbay Region Garden Club By-Laws
– Directory of Club Members