Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and our new National Garden Clubs President Barbara May.  Barbara, we are honored that you are our National President.  We now have bragging rites that the National President is from Massachusetts, and it only took 78 years. Those of you from the Beth Shalom G.C. please stand up and be recognized for giving us Barbara May.   I would like to acknowledge my special guest David Wilson, also a member of the Beth Shalom G.C.  I would not be here without his dedicated support and love.  The only advice he gave me is that I please be brief.

Thank you for giving me the privilege of serving as the President of the GCFM.  As President, it will be my job to see that you get what you need in order to do your jobs.

Sir Edmond Burke once wrote, “In order to love your country, you must make your country beautiful.” It is easy for us in our little part of the world in Massachusetts to achieve this, as our members create beauty with our shared common bond of loving flowers, gardening and the environment. We of the Federation shall follow our Mission Statement to be dedicated to assisting our member clubs with education and appreciation of Horticulture, Landscape and Floral Design, Gardening and Environmental Concerns.

As we go down the path together, it is my hope that we follow my theme “Work Together, Grow Together”.  It takes work to plant, water and feed our gardens, but the reward comes down the road as we watch our gardens grow.  So too it is with working together that we grow.

While the presidents of our garden clubs are the backbone of the GCFM, each and every member is highly valued.   Let’s compare the GCFM with a beautiful flower arrangement or landscape design that has just won a Blue Ribbon.  Now imagine that someone decides to remove say the pink flowers at the top right side of the design or landscape.  What do you have now?  You just lost your Blue Ribbon, and you now have a hole in your design.  It doesn’t matter what committee that you chair, because without each of you, there would be hole in the GCFM, and we would no longer be complete.  Now I hope that you can see how valuable you are to the GCFM.  Be proud that as member of the National Garden Clubs that you are part of the largest volunteer service organization in the world, and remember, the most important person in the world is under your hat and standing in your shoes.

Please join us at the Fall Conference will begin on Oct 18th in the late afternoon for our almost 100 evening garden clubs through  Oct. 19th.

I will proudly wear this pin over the next two years, as it represents you.  Thank you for electing me to serve as your president.  Love to you all.