%255B1%255D_edi.png)
Cloverleaf Board's
Annual Report
2024
The Leadership Team thanks those Members that participated in the successful 2023 AGM held on January 17th, 2024. We had the required number of Members to reach quorum, as outlined in Cloverleaf’s Constitution, so that voting could proceed on the various items.
The Leadership Team, Board Members - Ramona da Cunha, JoAnn Drennan, Regina Gudelis, Scott Harvey, Saundra Hewitt, Mary Jean (M.J.) Kucerak, Diane Rogers and Sheila Susini, were determined to make the Club’s 80th Year Celebrations and the planned events, a standout success.
Our technical team of Dian, MJ, Sheila and Scott were bustling at every meeting to ensure the audio and visual was operational, to accommodate all the new presentations. MJ continued to provide Zoom services for our Board Meetings, while Scott maintained the Club’s computer and administrative email contact.
We focused attention on producing a set of slide presentations that highlighted Yearbook articles, photos and special events from our beginnings in 1944 to the last published yearbook of 2018. All Board members worked on their assigned decade, to pull out the most interesting items. From 2018 to 2024, we focused on photos from various Member’s sources and on events, such as the Mississauga Garden Festival and various Garden tours, Saundra with Facebook and Manuela Neto with Dropbox.
All these bits of Club history were reviewed and compiled by Ramona and Saundra into slide presentations, which were shown at our monthly Club meeting, before the speaker’s presentation. Ramona also had these slide presentations transformed into YouTube videos and a link was noted in the June Newsletter, page #3 for members to review at their convenience.
​
The Speaker Series Coordinators, Sharman Howes and Martha Kantorczyk worked with the Leadership Team presenting topics that were important to members and were well attended. The Strawberry Social was reintroduced on June 19th and the Members really got into the goodies, what a joy, so delicious. The November 20th instructional demonstration on how to make your own outdoor Christmas urn and door swag was well received. The two items, which were crafted, as we watched, were raffled off to attending members and was quite the event, especially for the 2 winners as seen on Cloverleaf’s new Facebook page.
Regretfully, Sharman has resigned from speaker recruitment for 2025 and the Board wishes to thank Sharman for all her hard work. Martha remains in her position and the Board looks forward to the 2025 line up she is preparing.
​
Every meeting, Gisela Rantucci assembles a colourful and enticing gardener’s raffle table, with seasonally appropriate items available at VERY reasonable prices. Please check out her display, at each meeting and help support the Club, since this an important source of revenue for the club.
JoAnn Drennan had the most successful Plant Sale held by Cloverleaf, which is an appropriate accomplishment, for our 80th Year. It was held on May 18th @ the Carmen Corbasson Community Centre parking lot. It is an immense task to plan, organize and schedule volunteers, to perform all the work required, before, during and after the Event.
The plant sale also re-introduced a “Green Elephant Sale” of used garden items, which was profitable. The weather was perfect, which helped contribute to a socially enjoyable event. Congratulations to JoAnn Drennan, her right hand, Jane Heaphy, and ALL the energetic and dedicated group of Volunteers, (there are so many people involved, that it is difficult to name you all in this report), without you, this would not have happened.
​
This is Cloverleaf’s main source of income, and we encourage all members to help in 2025 with any donations of plants from your gardens and volunteering. We would appreciate your help in ANY way possible.
​
Tammy Lemire, our Website and Mailchimp lead, provided the Mailchimp notices throughout the year and has continued to sort through various websites to update and add new information to our website to promote and help streamline Cloverleaf’s online presence @www.cloverleafgardenclub.org. It is a wealth of information, covering a huge variety of topics, truly living up to our tag line “Growing Knowledge”.
Saundra Hewitt, the newest member on the Board, has taken charge of the Facebook page and recently had to close our original site and reinstate it due to a technical access problem that couldn’t be resolved. She posts about our club events, information of interest to gardeners, and items of local interest. Look at the new page and be sure to LIKE it.
Members Colette Rabba and Lydia Ordonez-Niles stepped forward, after a conversation with Laura, to help the Club with advertising & reaching out to the community, to encourage new memberships. Colette designed a beautiful 2-sided bookmark, that incorporated a QR code that automatically directed the person’s cell phone to access Cloverleaf’s Website. These were handed out at various events, such as Seedy Saturday, PC Library, PC Farmers Market, Cloverleaf’s plant sale and to members , to hand out to their friends and neighbours.
​
A special thanks to Lydia, of Impressionable Gifts, for handing them out at her store. Lydia encouraged the Club to apply to the PC Farmer’s Market, for a booth to hand out the bookmarks and converse with shoppers. Saundra, Scott and Regina attended the market on Saturday June 8th and had great interaction with the people passing our display.
​​Bonnie Gul, the enduring and multitalented Editor of Cloverleaf Thymes Newsletter continues to issue an excellent monthly newsletter. Bonnie got right into the 80’s Celebration groove and starting in February included numerous articles pulled from past yearbooks and newsletters and continued to give us glimpses into Cloverleaf’s past endeavors. Always full of interesting articles, skillfully arranged, along with member contributions, which are always needed and those delightful monthly staples; Christine’s Pick of the Month, From the Garden Goddess and Ron Mitchell’s Around the Yard, it is a lighthearted and educational read. Members’ photos highlight our gardening successes. We encourage members to send Bonnie their photos and any articles they feel pertain to our activities.
At year’s end 2023, our Club had a membership of 125 and, at year end 2024, Cloverleaf’s membership was still 125. Quietly behind the scenes, Laura Heberle maintains the Club’s ever-changing membership list, keeping track of payments, in the various forms. She works at the Membership registration table during meetings and occasionally has help from Linda Morris, handing out membership cards and updates the Board, with her excel spread sheets.
Oakridge Public School is fortunate to have two very dedicated member volunteers, Kimberlay Oly and Frank Cox, for the School’s Junior Program. A group of older students were part of Cloverleaf’s 80th Celebration, with hands-on experience in helping to plant 4 Chinquapin Oak saplings at the school, which also coincided with Earth Day April 22. It was an educational experience, we explained proper planting methods, we examined tree roots & structure , earth worms , a cicada pupa and dissected a paper wasp nest. Students were assigned the tasks of protecting and watering the Oaks. The students were assisted by Board members Scott and Regina. We provided financial support plus $715.00 worth of donated plant material from Cloverleaf’s plant sale to Oakridge Public School and the Junior Program. Kimberlay and Frank have provided articles and photos of their work to Cloverleaf’s newsletter.
Carol Hennigar, a long-term member volunteer at Riverside P.S. maintains a small and varied garden in the children’s playground. She was approached by the school to add some trees to the barren play area. Her request became part of Cloverleaf’s 80th Celebration.
On May 29th, Club members, JoAnn, Carol and Regina assisted the chosen children, to plant 2 Chinquapin Oak saplings. The students all participated, taking turns digging, setting the tree properly in the hole, getting their hands dirty, filling the hole, watering, staking, fencing and mulching the trees. All the students were so excited about their trees and asked numerous questions and were very attentive and engaged in the project.
Treasurer, Diane Rogers has tracked all the numerous and sometimes complicated issues related to government grants, carryover credits from City of Mississauga and e-transfers. She is also responsible for ensuring an annual financial review is completed and for filing all the required financial reports to OMAFRA, OHA and the City of Mississauga. As our lead contact with the OHA, she receives various directives regarding changes to rules and laws. These require the Club to update and change its Bylaws, so that we are complying.
​
The Board focused on how the Club could participate in our community and decided to financially support three causes, which the Club has previously supported, The Compass Food Bank and its community vegetable garden, The Riverwood Conservancy’s Teen Education program and Blooming Boulevards.
We also provided $ 135.00 of plant material, remaining from our plant sale to places of worship and a senior residence.
A new project, headed by member Carol Hennigar, involves planting a new pollinator garden in RK McMillan Park, alongside the Waterfront Trail. The Port Credit Sea Scouts will purchase the needed supplies, plant and maintain the garden. The Board has agreed to fund this project planned for Spring 2025.
Diane has provided the Treasurer’s Report for the newsletter, which has further details.
As Cloverleaf’s 80th Anniversary Year nears an end, we would like to acknowledge the receipt of two awards. The first was from the Ontario Horticultural Association (OHA), District 15 Director, Doreen Coyne, a Certificate to Congratulate Cloverleaf on its 80th Anniversary, as well as a Letter of Achievement, which were presented to the Club by Doreen and Roberta Jennings , our region’s representative.
On October 24,2024, Cloverleaf received a Certificate from Mississauga Ward 1 Councillor, Stephen Dasko, for Environmental Stewardship of the Year Award, for Community Excellence in Ward 1.
Thank you to all the Members for supporting Cloverleaf by attending our events and especially to the unsung heroes, who automatically help, with set up and cleanup of the refreshment table and the meeting room. The Board hopes that with your support, we can continue to advance our Club in 2025 and beyond.
Cheers to the passing of 2024, a year where we returned to a new normal and as we close our 80thAnniversary Celebrations, we hope for a positive future, for all,
Sincerely,
Cloverleaf Garden Club,
Board of Directors & Treasurer