The Dinner meeting was held in the School Room at the newly renovated Searles School + Chapel

Cocktail Hour began at 6 pm with delicious appetizers and byo cocktails

The meeting was called to order at 6:45 pm

President Jill Martin led the Pledge of Allegiance and then banged the spatula and announced

that we could proceed to the buffet tables laden with scrumptious homemade entrees.

Welcome to our two scholarship recipients Jonathan Lee and Jennifer Dickie and their families. Both recipients are Windham residents.

Our first recipient is Jonathan Lee. He is a 2006 graduate of Salem High School and will attend Johns Hopkins in Baltimore in their BioMedical Engineering Program. He has maintained a 3.95 GPA and ranks 35 in a class of 509 students. He was Editor of the class yearbook and is a member of the National Honor Society.

At Salem High he was a member of the gymnastics team. He has played the piano for 10 years and the drums for 5 years. In addition he also formed a traditional Chinese dance company that performed at First Night in Boston this year. He is actively involved in the Jimmy Fund.

Last summer he was an intern in the MIT Center for BioMedical Engineering working with scientists researching bacteria and extracting DNA samples to find ways to detect and cure cancer. Jonathan stated in his application "The key to his achievements is a desire to make every minute count." Congratulations, Jonathan!!

Our second recipient is Jennifer Dickie. She is entering her senior year at Johnson State College in Vt. in pursuit of an undergraduate degree in Biology. She currently has a GPA of 3.55.

Jennifer has actively participated in numerous community activities. She has been a Leader, Instructor, and current Director at Sea Kayaking and Caper Program, and also a presenter at a regional level for Venturing Outstanding Leadership Program.

She has been recipient of many awards such as Who’s Who among America’s Students, Girl Scout Gold Award, and a variety of music and athletic honors. This year she was involved with the Student Athletic Advisory Committee. Jennifer has been working throughout her college years to support her education. She spent Spring Break this semester in Ohio doing volunteer work for animal welfare.

Dr. LaRoche, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at Johnson College has invited Jennifer to be a research assistant over this summer and next academic year. In his letter of recommendation, he noted that he selects students who are reliable, intelligent, hard-working and personable, and that Jennifer clearly possesses all of these qualities.

Mrs. Dickie tells me that Jennifer met Nancy Surette six years ago in 1999 while doing a Girl Scout project as a junior in High School.

This years Plant Sale was the Highest grossing ever.

During the meeting, Rhonda reminded everyone that she had the Membership (Renewal) Applications. Many of us took advantage of her efficiency and filled them out and paid our dues. Thanks, Rhonda.

The recipient of the Golden Trowel this year is someone who seemed to be at every dig, every potting event, was at Shirlee’s beckoning call for help in her greenhouse, was available for weed duty as a member of the Civic Committee and eager to paste and cut for the Club History Committee.

The recipient of the Rookie of the Year has shown a great deal of enjoyment and dedication in every task and assignment she was given; from collecting pots in the rain to making labels for plants as we came down to the final crunch.

CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION

I didn’t have enough awards for the number of people that I wanted to be recognized. So I created a new way of doing that. I would like to present several "Certificates of Appreciation" to some very dedicated and supportive members of the Club.

Robin Heider- Robin is always there with the coffee going and many goodies for us all to enjoy. She has many wonderful helpers that assist her in that task. And I know that I enjoy every bite. She graciously allows us to winter our plants at her house and she is always ready to jump in and assist at any task and never asks for anything in return.

Linda German- Linda has done an exceptional job as our Publicity Chair and is always at least 3 steps ahead of me. We figure she must have ESP. I think that Linda’s dedication to our Club speaks for itself.

Shirlee Dallas- When I joined the Garden Club I was told by several members to watch out for Shirlee. "She can be real tough." Well I learned that she is a very knowledgeable and dedicated member of this club. In working closely with Shirlee in the greenhouse and more digs than I care to count, I realized that she is always ready to share her knowledge about plants, potting and dogs with anyone. She is a great asset to our Plant Sale and our club.

Tracy Poteat- Tracy is always ready to go with her camera to keep us up to date with the scrapbook. She and her committee have brought many awards to the club. She is always eager to help when asked.

Josie Cappiello- Josie has done a wonderful job at getting our programs arranged for us this year. She seems to be everywhere in town and knows everyone in town. She graciously volunteers to almost any task. She jumped in and took on the task of getting the tables for the Plant Sale. I can’t begin to count the number of phone calls that she has made on behalf of the Garden Club. I know that she has made my first year as President run very smooth.

FLOWERS OF APPRECIATION for Jill Martin