National Garden Club President Attends State Meeting;

Glen Resident National Scholarship Recipient

JACKSON, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Monday, June 4, 2007 –

The newly installed president of the National Garden Clubs, Inc., Barbara May of Wayland, Massachusetts, traveled to the Mount Washington Valley on Wednesday May 30 to attend the annual meeting of the New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs. The meeting was held at the Eagle Mountain House in Jackson. The Mountain Garden Club of Mount Washington Valley in conjunction with the other garden clubs of District 1: Ashland, Bristol – Pasquaney, Littleton and New Hampton served as hosts for the event.

Cormac Griffin of Glen, who is president of the University of New Hampshire Organic Garden Club, was the recipient of a $500 scholarship from the NH Federation as well as a $3,500 scholarship from the National Garden Clubs, Inc.

The announcement of the national scholarship was made during their convention held May 24-27, 2007 at the Copley Marriott Hotel in Boston.

Griffin just completed his junior year at UNH where he majors in Environmental Conservation Studies with a concentration in Conservation Biology and specialty in Forest Ecology. In the fall he will be a teaching assistant for "Natural Resources 425- Field Dendrology" (tree and shrub identification) for Dr. Robert Eckert. He will be spending the summer at UNH maintaining the organic gardens at the school where certified organic vegetables, flowers, herbs and berries will be grown and sold weekly at a public market stand in Durham

He is the son of My-chau Bui and Albert J. Griffin Jr.

Photo Caption: Cormac Griffin of Glen (standing left) was honored at the New Hampshire Federation of Gardens Clubs annual meeting held in Jackson. He was awarded a scholarship from the organization and was also the recipient recently of a scholarship from the National Garden Club, Inc.
Also shown in the photo seated from left is Diane McMillen, first vice-president of the NH Federation of Garden Clubs and awards chair and Barbara May, the newly elected president of National Garden Clubs, Inc., and to Griffin’s left, Joyce Kimball, president, NH Federation of Garden Clubs.

May presided over the installation of officers of the NH Federation for the 2007-09 term. Later she addressed the over 150 attendees from throughout New Hampshire speaking on the theme of "Nurture the Earth--Plant Natives," which is the platform for her administration as national president. She urged attendees to landscape with native plants that utilize less water and require low maintenance. Her projects include a school gardens curriculum that will emphasize organic gardening and the benefits to the environment as well as designing inexpensive, low-maintenance landscaping plans at Habitat for Humanity sites. The Principal Financial Group will be underwriting $50,000 in grants for local garden clubs to restore natural areas with native plants.

Joyce Kimball, president of the NH Federation of Garden Clubs said her priority is, “the conservation and preservation of our natural resources,” and urged attendees, “to appreciate the beauty around us.”

Centerpieces for the luncheon at the annual meeting were designed and created by Mountain Garden Club member Cal Minton of Jackson and her committee including Margery Huemmler, Nancy Lundquist, Joanne Sutton, Sue Synnott and Carol White.

A highlight of the meeting was a fashion show featuring the spring collection of clothing and accessories of the Leslie David Company. The line by designer Leslie Kane of Intervale is available at ajMOSS in North Conway.