Jodi Rell Names Town & Country Garden Club A ‘Connecticut Treasure’

By Shannon Hicks

For its continued work in keeping Newtown beautiful and educating members and friends of all ages, The Town & Country Garden Club of Newtown was honored on August 8 by Lieutenant Governor Jodi Rell. Ms Rell visited C.H. Booth Library Friday afternoon, where the garden club was hosting a special reception to thank Ms Rell for her time, and to celebrate the honor of being named a “Connecticut Treasure” by Ms Rell.

Connecticut’s Treasures is an awards program initiated by Ms Rell nearly four years ago to honor the people who make Connecticut special. The first awards were handed out in September 1999 and have continued each month since then.

“Connecticut’s real treasures are not her shoreline, her rolling hills, or her picturesque valleys. It’s her people,” Ms Rell wrote in a press release explaining her program.

“People who give of their time and their talents, not for pay or recognition, but out of kindness and an abiding sense of responsibility and compassion,” she continued, later adding: “In making a nomination, think of the unsung heroes of our state –– the people who have helped to improve the lives of those less fortunate, or who have volunteered in their churches, worked to preserve the environment, or assisted the youngest and oldest in our communities.”

“The Connecticut Treasures program is a way to say Thank You to the people of our state,” Ms Rell said Friday afternoon. The awards are given each month to one group and one individual. Nomination guidelines say the nominee must have dedicated time and services towards addressing the needs of his/her/their community; the nominee should have worked toward improving the quality of life in his/her/their community; the volunteer activity should be a long-term, ongoing commitment or outstanding service in a short-term crisis situation; and the nominee must be a Connecticut resident or Connecticut-based organization.

Town & Country Garden Club has been in existence since 1964. Among its more visible contributions to the town are its continued upkeep of the traffic islands at Queen Street and Church Hill Road, Queen Street at Glover Avenue, and Glover Avenue at Main Street South. The group is also responsible for the holiday decorations at C.H. Booth Library.

The club’s objectives are to promote interest in horticulture, to increase knowledge of the artistic use of plant material, to further the conservation of natural resources, and to get involved in civic projects.

Club titles changed hands in June, but while she was the first vice president of Town & Country Garden Club, Carole Hoffman submitted a nomination form to the office of Jodi Rell.

“All of you members of our club are truly treasures,” Ms Hoffman told the audience before turning the podium over to Ms Rell.

In presenting the award, Ms Rell read parts of Mrs Hoffman’s letter to the group. The letter was included as part of Mrs Hoffman’s nomination form, which asks those nominating a person or group to answer the question, Why do you consider this nominee a “Connecticut Treasure”? –– in 500 words or less but citing specific examples.

Ms Rell said Mrs Hoffman’s letter had spoken of individual members giving their time to the town, as well as the group’s efforts at keeping up its plantings around town and to educate members and nonmembers throughout the year.

Reception attendees included invited guests, current club members, and former club presidents.

Current president Molly Doersch was to receive the award from Ms Rell, but first invited Mrs Hoffman to join her, and then asked that all past presidents in attendance also join her in receiving the award.

“This was her first event as club president, so Molly was a little nervous,” former club president Corina Prokai said this week. “She was very gracious, though, and we were all very pleased with how the whole event came together.”

Ms Rell read the citation printed on the plaque before handing it over to Town & Country Garden Club members. The notation said:

“In recognition of —

“Your commitment to your community by promoting interest in and appreciation of horticulture, increasing the knowledge of the artistic use of plants, furthering the conservation of natural resources and assisting with the overall beautification of your town. You have carried out your civic and educational achievements since 1964 and the dedication and pride you have shown your community makes you true ‘Connecticut Treasures!’”

Invited guests also included First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, State Representative Julia Wassermann, Planter’s Choice Nursery owners Chuck and Rosalie Newman, who have donated plants and expertise to the club for its projects over the years; Meg Brima, the current president of Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut (of which the Newtown club is a member); Legislative Council member Joe Borst; and Borough treasurer Marie Walker, among others.

Past recipients of Connecticut Treasures awards include Call-A-Ride-Greenwich; AmeriCares HomeFront, headquartered in New Canaan; Connecticut Firefighters Pipes and Drums, a nonprofit fraternal organization that was founded in November 1992 and practiced until recently in Newtown (the group now meets and practices weekly in Easton); and the students at C.A. Bingham School in Bristol who each month make a birthday cake and assemble birthday bags to donate to the Salvation Army.

Individuals honored have included Evelyn Kennedy of Stratford, the founder of The Kennedy Center; 94-year-old Dr John “Doc” McIntosh of Berlin, who has been volunteering his time for decades; William and Elizabeth Martinelli of Mystic, who have been committed to providing used medical equipment to those in their community for ten years. Recipients of both group and individual awards represent a cross-section of the state, with recipients living in all parts of Connecticut.

Town & Country Garden Club is the first garden club in the state to be honored as a Connecticut Treasure.

Shortly after she started her Connecticut Treasures program, Ms Rell was approached by someone who said the state’s younger residents may feel left out since so many of the individual awards were going to adults. To appreciate the teens and younger residents Ms Rell created Rell’s Rewards, a program that honors younger state honorees on a monthly basis.

“If you ever find yourself worrying about our future,” Ms Rell said Friday afternoon, “don’t. These kids are wonderful and they’re only going to get better.”