We REALLY, REALLY, appreciate Sunnyvale Middle School and Josh Williams. As it turns out, I’m glad we got bumped from the high school. This venue worked out great – and Josh was a delight to work with. He even helped us haul in stuff from our cars to the cafetorium and back out again. We must do everything we can to tell him how much we appreciate him. (Plus – there was no charge to us for using the cafetorium!)
Janet and Josh Williams tried to count the number of people listening to Elvis, and they think it was somewhere between 250 and 300.
Ticket Sales $5200
Silent & live Auction 7038
Food and drink 380
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Virginia Lee Virginia Lee joined the Sunnyvale Garden Club in 1978 and remained an active member and important touchstone to the Club’s history. During her 31 years as a Garden Club member, Virginia served in many capacities. She was a past Parliamentarian, Historian/Librarian, Treasurer, Secretary, and served two terms as President (1984-86). She was honored as a State Lifetime Member in December, 2006. Virginia’s daughter, Pam, expressed her gratitude to Club members who visited and brought food to the family before and after her funeral service, and she expressed thanks for the pretty floral arrangement sent by the Club. We will miss Virginia Lee !
Receiving the Christmas Rose, December 8, 2009.
Our own Virginia Lee was laid to rest on January 22, 2010. She had attended our Christmas luncheon on Tuesday, December 8th, where she was presented the Christmas Rose for her years of outstanding service to the Sunnyvale Garden Club. On the following Sunday, Virginia entered the hospital and learned that her lung cancer had returned and had spread to other vital organs. Virginia remained in the hospital until her death on January 19th.
Results of the Pecan Festival Cooking Contest
Let’s get some friendly intra-club competition for the Pecan Baking Contest! Who will get bragging rights for the BEST BAKED PECAN goodies? We must surely show the Town of Sunnyvale what we already know - that the best cooks in Town are in the Sunnyvale Garden Club! Will the ladies on Collins Road beat the ladies on East Fork Road and Barnes Bridge Road???? Can the ladies of Stone Canyon bake better than the ladies of Homestead or Meadowlake?? Can Garden Club members sweep the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place ribbons in all four categories? Is it possible for one person to win all the ribbons? (Talk about bragging rights!) Have you read the details about the baking contest for the Pecan Harvest Festival? (This week's Sunnyvale News). To be judged by Celebrity Chef, Andre Bedouret, from Milestone Culinary Arts. Cakes, Candy, Cookies, Pies. Must contain PECANS and must be prepared personally. (In other words, don't cheat and buy from a bakery!) Must NOT require refrigeration, so no cream fillings will be accepted. You are not required to disclose your (or your grandmother’s) secret recipe. You can have multiple entries. All entries will be consumed at the Nut Ball Sock Hop from 6 to 8 p.m. (So come to the Nut Ball and sample your competitors’ baked items.) Drop off your entries from Noon to 3:00. (I’m guessing at this cutoff time – ad just said that “Winners announced by 4 p.m.”) You will need a 3 x 5 card underneath each item containing name, address, phone, e-mail. Plus, you will need “one form of photo ID such as a Driver’s License” I don’t know why this is needed, but it’s in the rules. (An aside: Heck – we can’t require people to present a photo ID to VOTE in this country, but you will need one to enter a baking contest!) This information will be hidden from the judge; he will only see a number for each entry. Winners will be announced at 4 p.m. and posted at www.sunnyvalechamber.com. I will also send out an e-mail with the names of Garden Club winners (and post on our own website www.thesunnyvalegardenclub.org). We will try to get your photo with your baked entry to post on our Club website or in our Club scrapbook. The Pecan Harvest Festival will be November 14th at 600 E. Hwy 80 – at the Fischer’s Antiques property from 12 Noon to 8 p.m. See details at www.sunnyvalechamber.com . Here are some of the activities of the day: Car Show Live Music Pecan Orchard Tour Flyover Food Bake Contest Photo Contest Family Fun Sock Hop There will also be shopping at various Vendor booths. The Garden Club will have a booth at the festival – selling daffodil bulbs and lighted glass blocks and candles. Katheryn will send you more information about this (and request for help at the booth). So – let’s all get behind the Sunnyvale Pecan Harvest Festival – and participate as much as you can! You will have a great time! Encourage your family and friends (from all over the Metroplex) to participate. It will be a fun day for all ages! Something for the guys – the classic cars; Something for the gals – shopping and baking; Something for the kids – batting cages, games, pony rides, hayrides, face painting, etc. Except for the flyover, shopping and eating – it’s all free. Sunnyfest is fun, but it’s hot! So this will be even more fun. We’ll enjoy cooler weather and even more fun things to do – and let’s hope all the rain is gone for the next two weeks. Posted Nov. 1, 2009 Please take a look at the scrapbook and see what kinds of items are shown in a scrapbook. Then, keep your eye out for items that should be in next year’s scrapbook. Patsy is Historian for next year’s scrapbook, too, so she will be looking for items to include in the 2009-2010 Scrapbook. She cannot attend every SGC activity/event. If you take photos of an event – e-mail the photo to Patsy at highest resolution (patsyscrapbook@tx.rr.com) (or provide the photos via CD or flash drive) along with an explanation of “who, what, when….” If you have any publicity in any newspaper or magazine, please send a copy to Patsy – either physically, or scan the item and e-mail it. Scrapbooks can include any publications about any member for any reason, even if not related to the Garden Club. Of course, we need all publications that mention SGC. History of the The Town of Sunnyvale was just 7 years old when Mrs. J.C. Hardie and 15 other women founded the Sunnyvale Garden Club on April 27, 1960. I wonder if they realized (at the time they organized) what an impact this little group would have on the Town of Sunnyvale. From the beginning, the members of the Garden Club have been the “movers and shakers” of the Town. This continues to this day – we have Garden Club members on every Board in Town.[1] Our members have also served in leadership positions with the Sunnyvale school board, PTA, Chamber of Commerce and local churches.
We all knew that our Sunnyvale Garden Club members are the best cooks in Sunnyvale. We have confirmed it. There were 13 winners of the Baking Contest at the Sunnyvale Pecan Harvest Festival. Garden Club members (including daughter of one) won 7 of those positions; we swept the cookie division!
Our own Madalyn Hernandez was named the Grand Prize winner -- the best cook in Sunnyvale. Didn't we already know that!!
Paula Yates provided me with this list of winners (and I added [in green] what I know about their entries):
1st Place Cookies Betty Kassab (Pecan Baklava)
Sunnyvale Pecan Harvest Festival
A fantastic Classic Custom Car and Truck Show from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. (hundreds of cars?)
An all-day line up of great live music, including: the Dallas Christian Jazz Band, the Neckties, Joe Milton, Stavely, The Same Heart, Becky Mullowney, J Withrow, New Alchemy and Grammy-winner Art Greenhaw, leader of the Light Crust Doughboys.
Guided by Texas A&M agri-business expert Michael Golla, take a walking tour through a working pecan orchard which will be accentuated with large contemporary sculptures created by nationally-renowned mosaic artist, Barbara Dybala.
See beautiful Sunnyvale from the sky with an aviation tour that includes the festival, pecan orchards and Lake Ray Hubbard in a private airplane for only $25 per ride.
Sample a vast array of food throughout the event, including sCRUMBScious Pies, authentic Fletcher corny dogs (the Fletcher family invented corny dogs and Vickie Fletcher will be attending in person), barbeque, and much more ...
Showcase your baking skills in the pecan pie, cake, cookie and candy contest, judged by celebrity Chef Andre Bedouret of the Milestone Culinary Arts Center.
Enter your pictures of Sunnyvale in the photography contest. Winning photos will be featured in the 2010 Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce Calendar!
Kids will enjoy batting cages, games, pony rides, hayrides, face painting and more ...
The day will be topped off with a family-friendly sock hop from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. (Did you see the Poster photo of Debi & Mark Tisdale dancing for the sock hop? See page 31 of the SGC Yearbook.)
Rachel Doyle,
President
Our Scrapbook - Now Digital
For almost 50 years, the Historians of Sunnyvale Garden Club (“SGC”) have prepared beautiful scrapbooks of the Club’s activities. Many were submitted for awards competition, and many awards have been won. However, very few Club members have been able to view these pretty scrapbooks. They are big, bulky and heavy to bring to meetings.
If you have not already been registered at CM, you will need to register and set up your own personal password. (Don’t worry, this is free and it will not cause to you receive spam.) If you need to provide a consultant’s ID when you register, use Patsy’s CM ID: 51218525. You should be taken to Patsy’s page where the SGC scrapbook is located. Click on the circle below “SGC,” and on the menu bar, under the word “Storybooks,” click “Preview.” This should bring the scrapbook up in a window. You can choose to “play” a slideshow or click through the pages manually. There are 100 pages.
President
Sunnyvale Garden Club
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Sunnyvale Garden Club
In the early days of the Garden Club, the members met in the homes of its members. Later the Club met at the First Baptist Church of Sunnyvale, and then the Club members were instrumental in establishing a public library in the Town, so the Club met at the Library for many years. When the Library became overcrowded, the Club moved next door to the Fire Station building, but often met in the homes of some of its members. The Club was very excited when the new Town Hall was opened and meetings could be held in the new Community Room. This year we are pleased that we will be able to hold evening meetings at the new Sunnyvale High School.
From its beginning, the Sunnyvale Garden Club has not only provided education about horticulture and flower arranging, but it has emphasized community involvement. The Club has renovated and landscaped the original Town Hall, has planted gardens and trees around the Town, has purchased items needed by the Town’s Volunteer Fire Department, Animal Control and the Library and has assisted needy families in our Town.
It is important to review and honor the 50 year history of the Sunnyvale Garden Club, but it is even more important to realize that we cannot just rest on our past laurels. We can learn from the 50 years of Heritage, but we must recognize that our Club “is not your mother’s Garden Club.” Times have certainly changed since 1960, and we can anticipate many, many more changes in the future. We must learn to change with those times. For example, in the 1960’s, it is likely that most of the members did not work outside the home. Today, we must recognize that many of our members (and potential members) do have full time jobs. Thus, we should have more meetings in the evening when they will be able to attend. This year we will have three evening meetings and our Anniversary Celebration event will be on Sunday afternoon so everyone can attend. As technology has advanced our ability to communicate, we should take advantage of new methods of communication. Gone are the handwritten and/or mailed notices. Gone, too, are the telephone chains. Now we communicate and even take votes via e-mail. With our new website, we will be communicating even more information and we will have all your directory information at your fingertips on the web.
Rachel Doyle
[1] (Paula Yates, mayor pro tem on Town Council; Jean Holt, Chair of Board of Adjustment; Diane Turner, Planning & Zoning Commission; Rachel Doyle, 4A Economic Development Corporation Board; Cindy Bornowski, 4B Development Corporation Board; Mary Ann Moreland, Library Board)
