District 1, National Capital Area Garden Clubs: 2013

Riverdale, MD, June 2, 2013: District I assembled at Riversdale House Museum (1807) for its annual Presidents' Meeting.

Riversdale Director Edward Day (standing right) welcomed members to the House Museum.

District I Director Danielle Brabazon welcomed club presidents and alternates to the annual meeting to prepare for the next club year. She provided a calendar of upcoming events and other information to help the clubs prepare for the coming year.

National Capital Area Garden Club president, and former District I Director, David Healy (standing left) reported on the recent National Garden Club convention in Seattle and outlined the National President's project "Choices Matter," the Central Atlantic Region project "Rally Our Region," and his National Capital Area project "LOTS TO SHOUT ABOUT."

National Capital Area Second Vice President Karen O'Meara spoke about awards and particularly the summer deadline for the C.A.R. Perennial Bloom Award. For information on awards go here. For information on the Perennial Bloom Award go here.

Central Atlantic Region Conference Chairman Bette Lewis urged members to participate in the conference which National Capital Area is hosting October 25-27, 2013 in Northern Bethesda. Go here for conference information and registration.

Following refreshments, many participants took docent-led tours of the house, which was built by aristocratic Antwerp refugees of the French Revolution. Their daughter married George Calvert whose father was the illegitimate son of the 5th Baron Baltimore and Calvert inherited the house upon her death. The son Charles Benedict Calvert succeeded his father at Riversdale. He founded the Maryland Agricultural College (now University of Maryland) and as a U.S. Congressman sponsored legislation to create the U.S. Department of Agriculture.