WGCF's 96th Convention
Hosted by the milwaukee District
DOWNLOAD 2024 Convention Program
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The 96th Annual Business Meeting and Convention of the Wisconsin Garden Club Federation (WGCF) was held May 19 to 21, 2024 at the Milwaukee Marriott West, W231 N1600 Corporate Court, in Waukesha, WI. Hosted by the members of Milwaukee District , it was a serendipitous event for WGCF members with informative speakers, creative workshops and breakout sessions and a mini-craft fair.
See the summer issue of Wisconsin Gardens for photos and a recap of the convention. |
Thanks to Everyone!
The Convention Committee thanks everyone – garden clubs and members – for their financial support, centerpieces and attendance at the convention. "We are grateful for everyone's help. Without your help and your cooperation of working with people outside of garden club, the whole think would not have been successful," said Kitty Larkin, Convention Chairman.
Convention Overview
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The WGCF 96th annual meeting and convention was a serendipitous affair!
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Many thanks to Kitty Larkin, Convention Chairman (front), and (back, left to right) Norma McReynolds, Convention Vice-Chairman; Diane Olsen, Milwaukee District Director; and Kerry Krokos, Convention Vice-Chairman, who planned this serendipitous event.
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Guests, Speakers, Presenters and Entertainment
Lynne Ehnert, Central Region Director
Honored Guest
It is serendipitous that Lynne Ehnert is our Central Region Director. As a child she did not enjoy weeding the vegetable garden or cutting grass and did not have an appreciation for picking the wild flowers growing along the road. She was not planning to follow in her mother’s footsteps and be a gardener or join a garden club.
And then, in 1997, Lynne attended the National Garden Clubs (NGC) convention with her mother, Kitty Larkin, and was pleasantly surprised. When she got home, Lynne joined a garden club and the rest is history. She has held several chairmanships and offices in her club and in the Milwaukee District and Wisconsin Garden Club Federation (WGCF). A former president of the WGCF, Lynne has participated on the NGC Youth Committee, NGC Awards Committee and was NGC Member of Honor Chairman. Lynne is also a Master Flower Show Judge.
Honored Guest
It is serendipitous that Lynne Ehnert is our Central Region Director. As a child she did not enjoy weeding the vegetable garden or cutting grass and did not have an appreciation for picking the wild flowers growing along the road. She was not planning to follow in her mother’s footsteps and be a gardener or join a garden club.
And then, in 1997, Lynne attended the National Garden Clubs (NGC) convention with her mother, Kitty Larkin, and was pleasantly surprised. When she got home, Lynne joined a garden club and the rest is history. She has held several chairmanships and offices in her club and in the Milwaukee District and Wisconsin Garden Club Federation (WGCF). A former president of the WGCF, Lynne has participated on the NGC Youth Committee, NGC Awards Committee and was NGC Member of Honor Chairman. Lynne is also a Master Flower Show Judge.
Mark Dwyer, Bronze Award
“Gardening Wonders”
The Wisconsin Garden Club Federation (WGCF) is pleased to honor Mark Dwyer with its coveted Bronze Award. Mark has devoted more than 30 years to developing beautiful and environmentally-friendly landscapes in Wisconsin. For 21 years, Mark served as Director of Horticulture of the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, WI. He has taught college-level landscaping courses and written many articles about horticulture and nursery management for Fine Gardening, Horticulture and Nursery Management. Mark has been a frequent guest on the Wisconsin PBS Radio program, “Garden Talk,” and for 13 years he posted almost daily on his Rotary Botanical Gardens blog. He has been a guest speaker for many organizations, garden clubs and Master Gardeners’ Associations. Mark is a regular presenter at the PBS Wisconsin Garden and Landscape Expo in Madison.
In 2019, began his own business, Landscape Prescriptions by MD, which focuses on landscape design, public speaking and writing. He is also the Garden Manager for the Healing Garden at Edgerton Hospital and Health Services in Edgerton, a 3-acre, all-accessible garden that he designed in 2010.
Mark holds a Bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Illinois–Champaign/Urbana and a Master’s degree in urban forestry from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point
“Gardening Wonders”
The Wisconsin Garden Club Federation (WGCF) is pleased to honor Mark Dwyer with its coveted Bronze Award. Mark has devoted more than 30 years to developing beautiful and environmentally-friendly landscapes in Wisconsin. For 21 years, Mark served as Director of Horticulture of the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, WI. He has taught college-level landscaping courses and written many articles about horticulture and nursery management for Fine Gardening, Horticulture and Nursery Management. Mark has been a frequent guest on the Wisconsin PBS Radio program, “Garden Talk,” and for 13 years he posted almost daily on his Rotary Botanical Gardens blog. He has been a guest speaker for many organizations, garden clubs and Master Gardeners’ Associations. Mark is a regular presenter at the PBS Wisconsin Garden and Landscape Expo in Madison.
In 2019, began his own business, Landscape Prescriptions by MD, which focuses on landscape design, public speaking and writing. He is also the Garden Manager for the Healing Garden at Edgerton Hospital and Health Services in Edgerton, a 3-acre, all-accessible garden that he designed in 2010.
Mark holds a Bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Illinois–Champaign/Urbana and a Master’s degree in urban forestry from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point
Carmen Risi
Sunday Evening Dessert Reception – Entertainment
Growing up in a musical family, Carmen has been a performer most of her life. She has sung and played with groups such as Jonathan Overby’s Highway to Heaven jazz band and the Kenosha based Twang Shui. Onstage, she has been seen at Milwaukee’s Skylight Music Theatre in Kiss Me Kate and Hot Mikado. She has also appeared with many theaters in Chicago and Door County’s Third Avenue Playworks. Carmen’s music director credits include the recent Peter and the Starcatcher at UW-Parkside as well as Urinetown and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Carmen was a school music teacher for many years and currently maintains a private studio of voice and piano students.
Sunday Evening Dessert Reception – Entertainment
Growing up in a musical family, Carmen has been a performer most of her life. She has sung and played with groups such as Jonathan Overby’s Highway to Heaven jazz band and the Kenosha based Twang Shui. Onstage, she has been seen at Milwaukee’s Skylight Music Theatre in Kiss Me Kate and Hot Mikado. She has also appeared with many theaters in Chicago and Door County’s Third Avenue Playworks. Carmen’s music director credits include the recent Peter and the Starcatcher at UW-Parkside as well as Urinetown and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Carmen was a school music teacher for many years and currently maintains a private studio of voice and piano students.
Pam Karlson
“Birds in the Garden – Creating and Enjoying a Bird Oasis”
Pam Karlson lives in Chicago, about a half block north of the Kennedy Expressway with an O’Hare runway approach so close that planes fly directly over her house. Despite what may sound like an unfriendly place for birds, Pam looks forward every June to seeing American robins feed serviceberry fruits to their young and ruby-throated hummingbirds sip nectar from penstemon blooms.
Karlson has documented more than 100 species of birds in her 50-foot-wide-by-100-foot-long space filled with more than 200 species of plants. A watercolor painter and graphic designer, she has given presentations to the Chicago Botanic Garden, Wild Ones and at various conferences on creating a bird oasis in the backyard. She’s also a Chicago Botanic Garden certified garden designer, and says anyone can create a bird-friendly garden. In addition to her professional work, Pam has been rescuing migratory birds since 2004 as a volunteer with licensed wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organizations.
“Birds in the Garden – Creating and Enjoying a Bird Oasis”
Pam Karlson lives in Chicago, about a half block north of the Kennedy Expressway with an O’Hare runway approach so close that planes fly directly over her house. Despite what may sound like an unfriendly place for birds, Pam looks forward every June to seeing American robins feed serviceberry fruits to their young and ruby-throated hummingbirds sip nectar from penstemon blooms.
Karlson has documented more than 100 species of birds in her 50-foot-wide-by-100-foot-long space filled with more than 200 species of plants. A watercolor painter and graphic designer, she has given presentations to the Chicago Botanic Garden, Wild Ones and at various conferences on creating a bird oasis in the backyard. She’s also a Chicago Botanic Garden certified garden designer, and says anyone can create a bird-friendly garden. In addition to her professional work, Pam has been rescuing migratory birds since 2004 as a volunteer with licensed wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organizations.
Virginia Small
“Gardeners as Stewards – We Can All Foster Ecology Resilience and Beauty”
Virginia Small has expertise in urban and landscape design, and is passionate about sustainability, equitable access to our county parks and preservation of Milwaukee’s public spaces. She attended Pius XI High School, where she took her first journalism class, and moved back to Milwaukee a number of years ago after spending many years on the East Coast and in Florida, working for newspapers and a national magazine. She’s written about a variety of controversial subjects, from the fate of the Mitchell Park Domes to the destruction of Dan Kiley’s landscape architecture at the Marcus Performing Arts Center. Recently, Virginia has been writing more about politics for the Shepherd Express, so she’s hip deep in the questions of democracy in Milwaukee.
As the author of a book about pubic and private gardens, Virginia enjoys giving tours of significant local places such as parks designed by Frederick Llaw Olmsted during Jane’s Walk MKE, which is an annual series of walks that she helps organize. Virginia has volunteered, too, with Lake Park Friends, Milwaukee Film and as a writing teacher for the Dominican Center in the Amani neighborhood.
“Gardeners as Stewards – We Can All Foster Ecology Resilience and Beauty”
Virginia Small has expertise in urban and landscape design, and is passionate about sustainability, equitable access to our county parks and preservation of Milwaukee’s public spaces. She attended Pius XI High School, where she took her first journalism class, and moved back to Milwaukee a number of years ago after spending many years on the East Coast and in Florida, working for newspapers and a national magazine. She’s written about a variety of controversial subjects, from the fate of the Mitchell Park Domes to the destruction of Dan Kiley’s landscape architecture at the Marcus Performing Arts Center. Recently, Virginia has been writing more about politics for the Shepherd Express, so she’s hip deep in the questions of democracy in Milwaukee.
As the author of a book about pubic and private gardens, Virginia enjoys giving tours of significant local places such as parks designed by Frederick Llaw Olmsted during Jane’s Walk MKE, which is an annual series of walks that she helps organize. Virginia has volunteered, too, with Lake Park Friends, Milwaukee Film and as a writing teacher for the Dominican Center in the Amani neighborhood.
Doug Jaeger
“Serendipity Designs”
Doug Jaeger eats, sleeps and breathes flowers. Currently, Doug is the floral manager at Pick ‘n Save in Oak Creek where he oversees the day-to-day activities of running the floral department. He is a Certified Florist – the only one in the Milwaukee Roundy’s Division. Doug became a Certified Florist in 2012 through the Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Floral Association (WUMFA) and is one of about 12 in Wisconsin.
Doug is active in WUMFA having been a past board member and currently serving on the Education Committee/Instructor and Director for the 414 area code. He attends the yearly WUMFA convention and enters a floral design in the annual floral design competition. To stay up-to-date on the latest floral trends, Doug attended the American Institute of Floral Design annual convention in Chicago where he worked with and learned along-side some of the top professionals in the floral industry.
Doug is a Life Member of National Garden Clubs (NGC) and attained the status of a flower show judge. He helped establish and was an active member of the Floral Designers of Wisconsin Garden Club. He held many offices and leadership positions including serving as a former Director of Milwaukee District Garden Clubs.
“Serendipity Designs”
Doug Jaeger eats, sleeps and breathes flowers. Currently, Doug is the floral manager at Pick ‘n Save in Oak Creek where he oversees the day-to-day activities of running the floral department. He is a Certified Florist – the only one in the Milwaukee Roundy’s Division. Doug became a Certified Florist in 2012 through the Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Floral Association (WUMFA) and is one of about 12 in Wisconsin.
Doug is active in WUMFA having been a past board member and currently serving on the Education Committee/Instructor and Director for the 414 area code. He attends the yearly WUMFA convention and enters a floral design in the annual floral design competition. To stay up-to-date on the latest floral trends, Doug attended the American Institute of Floral Design annual convention in Chicago where he worked with and learned along-side some of the top professionals in the floral industry.
Doug is a Life Member of National Garden Clubs (NGC) and attained the status of a flower show judge. He helped establish and was an active member of the Floral Designers of Wisconsin Garden Club. He held many offices and leadership positions including serving as a former Director of Milwaukee District Garden Clubs.
Kathleen Greiger
Breakout Session – Photography
In the past, when Kathleen (Kathy) Greiger did poetry readings, she would have people close their eyes so their minds could see the image within the words. After she had brain surgery 20 years ago, Kathy’s ability to write declined. She decided to grab her camera, and now captures the poetry of nature in her photos.
Kathy’s photos have been on display at Boerner Botanical Garden and the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA). They have been sold at Boerner, Mitchell Domes, MOWA and various other places. She has won first-place awards at the Wisconsin State Fair, Fond du Lac art shows, Mitchell Domes and more.
Kathy, who is from Menominee Falls, enjoys inspiring others to look at nature differently…to experience and record the serendipity of nature.
Breakout Session – Photography
In the past, when Kathleen (Kathy) Greiger did poetry readings, she would have people close their eyes so their minds could see the image within the words. After she had brain surgery 20 years ago, Kathy’s ability to write declined. She decided to grab her camera, and now captures the poetry of nature in her photos.
Kathy’s photos have been on display at Boerner Botanical Garden and the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA). They have been sold at Boerner, Mitchell Domes, MOWA and various other places. She has won first-place awards at the Wisconsin State Fair, Fond du Lac art shows, Mitchell Domes and more.
Kathy, who is from Menominee Falls, enjoys inspiring others to look at nature differently…to experience and record the serendipity of nature.
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The Wisconsin Garden Club Federation founded in 1928 is a charter member of the National Garden Club organization. As an organization, we are proud of our heritage of developing relationships with fellow gardeners, learning, and gardening for good in our communities.
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