Anna- Jo Garden Club earns national recognition

The Garden Clubs of Illinois, GCI, summer meeting was held Monday, July 16, at Illinois Central College in East Peoria.

GCI District 3 hosted the meeting, which celebrated the Illinois bicentennial with a theme of “The Joy of Gardening Past, Present, Future.”

National awards were announced and presented by state garden club president Anita Bierbaum to the local clubs in the state.  

Anna-Jo Garden Club was honored to receive a certificate and a cash award for overall winner in the category of food bank donations.  

Beginning in 2016, the Anna-Jo Garden Club created and sponsored a community garden. The club continues to maintain the garden, which is being expanded.

The garden is located on the grounds of the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna, across a parking lot from the Shawnee Development Council’s food pantry. Produce is available to community members from the garden.  

The club received a “certificate of appreciation of award participation” for its garden park which is located in Anna at the intersection of Illinois Route 146 and old U.S. Route 51.  

Garden club members spend a lot of time maintaining the park for the public to enjoy.  

Dorothy Wilson, the GCI District 3 director, scheduled educational sessions and activities during the day.  

Those who attended the event gathered for a garden party as they strolled through the horticulture gardens on the college campus the evening before the meeting. 

Garden club members from around the state attended the summer meeting.

Those who attended the meeting had opportunities to get together with other club members to share ideas, projects and friendship.

Garden clubs throughout the state, and the nation, are involved in a wide variety of projects and activities which make positive contributions to their communities.

The Anna-Jo Garden Club noted that it was an honor to receive the two national awards.

The Anna-Jo Garden Club invites visitors to attend its meetings, which are typically held on the second Tuesday of the month at 1 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Anna. 

The garden club’s Facebook page offers more information about club activities.