Katrina Boguski
Freelance
Barry Bay – The annual general meeting of the Madawaska Valley Gardening club took place on Jan 15 at the Opeongo Senior’s Centre in Barry’s Bay. The club narrowly met its quorum for the event given extreme weather event that day. Despite the heavy snowfall that evening, old and new members came out to attend the AGM and participate in the trivia event which followed.
The club’s 2nd VP Ritsuko Honda sent out an email after the meeting thanking those who attended she reported, “…25 people bravely ventured out to the meeting, and 7 attended via Zoom…So, with 32 in attendance in total, we’ve met the quorum.”
She thanked those who attended referring to them as “great enthusiastic gardeners” for braving the inclement weather.
Prior to the AGM the minutes of the previous year’s AGM were circulated via email, as were reports from the various committees which manage the club’s activities. Club president Maryjka Mychajlowycz chaired the meeting and all of the reports were approved by those in attendance.
The evening was also a chance for club members to pick up their yearbook which provides information on the club’s activities planned for the coming year. These events include competitions, exhibits, the topics of the monthly meetings and the annual garden tour as well as the annual flower and veggie show. Honda said, “We received the gorgeous new Yearbook” and she thanked, board member Marie Manchester, the Yearbook coordinator, and Stephanie Lang, the yearbook editor for their work in preparing the publication. The cost of the book is supported in part by advertising by local merchants. The club is enthusiastically supported by many local businesses and the club in turn has an official policy of supporting local merchants. Any time the club requires supplies they purchase them local whenever possible.
After the AGM was adjourned, the club hosted a trivia event MC’d by Jacques Bourbeau. Bourbeau’s support of the event and professional delivery of the questions was greatly appreciated and helped to add to the evening’s success.
Trivia questions ranged from basic to very difficult and challenged the skills of the participants. The topics included questions from soil science, botany, and Canadiana and included questions about the club and several of its very active members.
Some of the questions asked included : “What flower is mentioned in Shakespeare’s sonnet 54? (Answer: a rose) and “What 1966 Motown hit includes the English word for the plant with the botanical name vitis vinifera?” (Answer: Marvin Gay’s I Heard it through the Grapevine).
The next club meeting will take place on February 19 and will include a panel of local beekeepers. The panel, consisting of people with varying levels of experience will discuss their success and challenges maintaining hives in local conditions.
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