America
Is In Bloom In Sequim |
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One of Soroptimist International of Sequim’s
biggest fundraisers is our annual garden show. The City of Sequim made
a sizeable donation to us for advertising (a recommendation by the Sequim
Marketing Action Committee) for our 4th Annual Gala Garden Show (March,
2002). (Many thanks, City of Sequim!) Our garden show promotes tourism,
reaching vendors and buyers from many other areas and bringing them
here to Sequim. The Sequim Marketing Action Committee is part of the
America In Bloom Committee. They felt AIB would fit in with our Garden
Show theme and suggested we send a club representative to the America
In Bloom (AIB) meetings.
That was the first we had heard of America in Bloom. It is a national beautification program fostering civic pride in communities across the country. Dee Christensen was our representative for 2001 – 2002. |
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This past year started without a volunteer for that position. Our 2002 – 2003 Garden Show Committee received a donation from the City of Sequim for advertising for our 5th Annual Gala Garden Show. The Sequim Marketing Action Committee again suggested that we send a representative to the AIB meetings. In April this year Marilyn Gruber, one of our newest members, volunteered to represent our club. Marilyn has a green thumb and a mind to go along with it. After her first AIB meeting, Marilyn came back to the club saying it was suggested that we, as a club, adopt the area near the Bank of America. We were asked if we could plant some flowers and make sure they were watered daily. Members voted to accept this recommendation. Some of the flowers now in our adopted area were donated by Roger Fell of Peninsula Nurseries. Others were provided by the City of Sequim. Because Marilyn is our representative, she set out to get volunteers for the watering. Making a schedule was no easy feat. But Marilyn persisted. How impressive to have a new member who showed such spunk and tenacity! This is a great example of matching a talent to a task. Something Soroptimists are great at doing! The watering of our adopted area is now being done automatically through a piped watering system provided by the Bank of America since Jeanie Blaurock also took a special interest in the beautification project. Kudos to Marilyn Gruber and the team (Patsene Twiss, Mayme Faulk, Leah Tuttle, ANYONE ELSE?) that planted and nurtured our adopted area. |
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 Marilyn Gruber, Leslie Croyle, Sherry Schubert and Lee McMann at the AIB Reception. |
Judges were in town in late July to gaze at the beauty of Sequim. In fact, the Mayor and his wife, our very own Soroptimist Sister Sherry Schubert, hosted the judges. On the evening before the out of towners left, the Schubert’s sponsored a reception for the judges. Members of AIB were invited as well as others from the community. Marilyn Gruber and husband Burton were there. I stopped by because I wanted to get a picture for this article. Thinking
that the judges were only looking at “adopted areas”,
I was surprised to learn from Lee McMann and Leslie Croyle, two of
the AIB judges, that they did an overview of Sequim, visiting about
85% of the town. This gave me a new respect for those in our community
(businesses, individuals, organizations and our city) who have donated
plants, flowers, ideas and/or hours of time to Sequim. The spirit
of America is in bloom here. It shows how getting involved and working
together benefits us all. This certainly fits the Soroptimist T.E.A.M.
(Together Everyone Achieves More) theme! |
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was also surprised to hear that Sequim is only one of five other towns
with a population of 5,000 or under that is being considered for recognition
by AIB. The City of Sequim, in its first year of participation (2002),
received 4 blooms (out of 5) and a special mention for the Lavender
Festival, which is to recognize communities for innovative projects
or activities. The judges decisions will be made known at the America In Bloom Symposium and Awards Program September 18 to 20, 2003, hosted by the City of Chicago Park District. Until writing this article, I did not know much about America In Bloom. I did a bit of searching on the internet and found some interesting information which I am including for you. Perhaps after reading this, you too will have a better understanding of America In Bloom. You can learn more about The City of Sequim American In Bloom at http://www.ci.sequim.wa.us/clerk/aib.cfm. Click here to learn more about America In Bloom. Kathy Purcell |
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SI Sequim |