The 2023 AGM was held in Gerard Farfan's garden.
Greetings Gardeners,
I would like to thank everyone who attended the Annual General (and monthly) Meeting on Saturday 24th June 2023 for coming, and to those that didn’t manage to attend, you were missed. Hopefully we will see you at our next meeting in a couple of weeks’ time. Thankfully the universe smiled on us on the day, and we had magnificent weather.
The meeting was a lively one with a good number of new members in attendance. It was wonderful to see your faces and we, on the committee, look forward to the new ideas and energy that comes with you.
With ideas in mind, there is now a suggestion book, within which the members are encouraged to write. This way the ideas will be discussed at the following committee meeting, and none will be forgotten. Please use it.
Instead of a write up on the host’s garden, I felt it more appropriate to publish my short speech of acceptance of the presidency of this exciting club, The Garden Club of Trinidad.
My dear gardeners,
It is always a pleasure spending time with you. Today is a special honour for me. I accept with heartfelt humility the position of president of this wonderful club.
I would like to thank Lorraine for her years of leadership, and I know I will have great difficulty filling her shoes. Lorraine you’re a star. And just so you know, you’re not going anywhere. I need your help!
I would like to thank the rest of the committee for their steadfast commitment and hard work through the last few very difficult years with all those zoom meetings and sharing of beautiful and encouraging garden photographs. Together we got through it! Congratulations to all of you.
My friends, I would mostly like to thank you all for sticking with the club through the horrors of the pandemic. I sincerely feel that our bond is even stronger for going through that together.
The pandemic gave us time to reflect and time to garden and develop a deeper love for nature. Thankfully the pandemic is over.
We can now reinvigorate the club with exciting projects, associations, maybe with other clubs, National and International, and encourage new members to join us and the, let’s say, more established members to continue adding to the club with their wealth of knowledge and experience.
I would like to urge each and every one of you not to be bashful and to step up with suggestions and to offer assistance with projects too. The more members willing to put their shoulder to the wheel the more the club will achieve. Let’s grow the brand together.
A word to new members and those timid longer-toothed members too. There is no such thing as a stupid question. We are all learning every day. Don’t sit there quietly. Shout it out! Take your example from Cheryl Lee Loy. Thank you Cheryl.
My friends, let’s go forward together, face the challenges together and help our country, our people and our club grow!
Thank you so very much.
Gerard Farfan
President