The President's Column
As gardeners, most of us think of December as a time of reflection and planning, adjusting to crazy weather conditions and to our stage in life. The Virginia Master Gardener Association is very excited to start the New Year with a list of new opportunities. Sadly, I still hear from Master Gardeners who do not know about the Virginia Master Gardener Association and our mission to support Cooperative Extension, the Master Gardener Program and beng a voice for all Master Gardeners. We are committed to the success of the Master Gardener program and providing resources and encouragement to all Master Gardeners, groups and associations.
The Communications Committee is working really hard to streamline the website and have been working on a new online format for The VMGA Report, our bi-monthly newsletter. The committee is looking for someone to help with converting the newsletter; please let Frank Reilly (frank@thereillygroup.net) know if you are interested. The VMGA Report is a great tool to promote what is going on with Master Gardeners throughout the state and share ideas and projects with other Master Gardeners. Please submit articles to Jan Worthy (jancwva52@gmail.com) and share the success of your unit and your expertise.
The education committee is hard at work planning advance education events for 2016. These events will provide opportunities to meet a variety of professionals and network with Master Gardeners. Visit www.vmga.net for news on these exciting opportunities.
We have reached an incredible milestone for the Master Gardener Coordinator Endowment Fund. We are over half-way! The interest from the endowment is being used to provide an assortment of web-based classes for Master Gardener training. These modules are a wonderful addition to the Master Gardener program and we can be proud that each one of us has contributed to the success of the program. The Endowment team of the Fund Raising Committee is looking for some volunteers to help plan future activities. Please contact Pat Reilly (pat@thereillygroup.net) if you are interested in joining in this committee.
The nominating committee has submitted a slate of officers for 2016-2018: President- Angela Cingale, JCC/Williamsburg, Vice President- Joe Kelly, Northern Virginia, Secretary- Wanda Gerard, Suffolk, and Treasurer- Diane Keen, Northern Neck.
We are very excited to start the New Year and hope to see you at the next bi-monthly meeting February 13th, hosted by the Northern Neck Master Gardeners.
Christy Brennan