PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
“Looking to the past to plan our future!
Joe Powelka
2025-2027 WGCF President
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Reverend Alfred Otto
WGCF President 1945-1946
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I am honored to be installed as the 58th President of the Wisconsin Garden Club Federation (WGCF) for the 2025-27 term. I am a member of the Sun Prairie Garden Club in Sun Prairie, WI where I continue to serve as the club Treasurer. I am a retired architect with almost fifty years of practice. I have designed commercial, institutional, educational and residential facilities primarily in WI, IA and MN. Since 2015, I have worked for the Department of Military Affairs as the Army National Guard Energy Manager but will be retiring at the end of 2025.
I am not the first male WGCF President. The only other male President of WGCF, served 80 years ago from 1945-1946. Interestingly enough, the Reverend Alfred Otto was born in Sun Prairie.
With my wife Diane, the current President of the Sun Prairie Garden Club, we have lived near Sun Prairie for the last 40+ years. Together, we have raised four children and have nine grandchildren. I am interested in painting with acrylics, taking and artistically manipulating photos and exploring genealogy and history.
I have been a member of Wild Ones, the native plant organization, since 1994 when my wife Diane and I started the Madison Chapter. Later, I served fourteen years on the Wild Ones National Board with six years as the National President. I am a US Navy veteran and have been an American Legion Post 333 member for 25 years.
As suggested by my term theme, I am looking to modify how WGCF serves our membership in the future by looking at our past and learning about the successes of like-minded garden and environmental organizations. WGCF was formed in 1928 and we will be celebrating our centennial in just a few years. In 1930 WGCF had 837 members. We peaked in 1968 at 3,643 members and have declined to 979 members in 2024. If we are to continue as an organization, we need to turn this trend around! This is my primary goal during my term, to find ways to grow the organization as well as our gardens.
My second objective for WGCF is to reexamine our focus to better serve our membership. WGCF and NGC both have excellent programs for our memberships. However, it has been my experience that our WGCF meetings have had too much focus on the necessary administrative aspects of the organization. To that end, the WGCF executive board will be reaching out to solicit information from our membership on what they expect from WGCF. How do we keep our membership involved and interested in WGCF? Who should WGCF be pursuing as that future member that will actively participate in sharing and caring about our gardening world and environment?
My third objective is to expand our leadership corps. To many of our clubs are struggling to find leaders to step up to just maintain our clubs let alone help us grow and expand as an organization. Without growth and expansion (the addition of new ideas and energy) we stagnate. Stagnation leads to decline. By providing opportunities for new leaders to step-up and support to their efforts and visions, we can find a way to halt the decline of WGCF.
All of this might sound like a bit of gloom-and-doom! But no, this is an exciting opportunity to try something new! WGCF is not alone in dealing with declining memberships, many other community organizations are having the same issues. Other, however, are growing and we need to learn from them how to generate a new future for WGCF. I and our other WGCF officers cannot do this alone! Join us in this effort!
Joe Powelka
President
Wisconsin Garden Club Federation
I am not the first male WGCF President. The only other male President of WGCF, served 80 years ago from 1945-1946. Interestingly enough, the Reverend Alfred Otto was born in Sun Prairie.
With my wife Diane, the current President of the Sun Prairie Garden Club, we have lived near Sun Prairie for the last 40+ years. Together, we have raised four children and have nine grandchildren. I am interested in painting with acrylics, taking and artistically manipulating photos and exploring genealogy and history.
I have been a member of Wild Ones, the native plant organization, since 1994 when my wife Diane and I started the Madison Chapter. Later, I served fourteen years on the Wild Ones National Board with six years as the National President. I am a US Navy veteran and have been an American Legion Post 333 member for 25 years.
As suggested by my term theme, I am looking to modify how WGCF serves our membership in the future by looking at our past and learning about the successes of like-minded garden and environmental organizations. WGCF was formed in 1928 and we will be celebrating our centennial in just a few years. In 1930 WGCF had 837 members. We peaked in 1968 at 3,643 members and have declined to 979 members in 2024. If we are to continue as an organization, we need to turn this trend around! This is my primary goal during my term, to find ways to grow the organization as well as our gardens.
My second objective for WGCF is to reexamine our focus to better serve our membership. WGCF and NGC both have excellent programs for our memberships. However, it has been my experience that our WGCF meetings have had too much focus on the necessary administrative aspects of the organization. To that end, the WGCF executive board will be reaching out to solicit information from our membership on what they expect from WGCF. How do we keep our membership involved and interested in WGCF? Who should WGCF be pursuing as that future member that will actively participate in sharing and caring about our gardening world and environment?
My third objective is to expand our leadership corps. To many of our clubs are struggling to find leaders to step up to just maintain our clubs let alone help us grow and expand as an organization. Without growth and expansion (the addition of new ideas and energy) we stagnate. Stagnation leads to decline. By providing opportunities for new leaders to step-up and support to their efforts and visions, we can find a way to halt the decline of WGCF.
All of this might sound like a bit of gloom-and-doom! But no, this is an exciting opportunity to try something new! WGCF is not alone in dealing with declining memberships, many other community organizations are having the same issues. Other, however, are growing and we need to learn from them how to generate a new future for WGCF. I and our other WGCF officers cannot do this alone! Join us in this effort!
Joe Powelka
President
Wisconsin Garden Club Federation
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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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