It felt like old times when I loaded up Tuesday morning to head to Texarkana to help put final touches for the 2019 MG State Conference which will be in two weeks. Before I retired, I had to help get the 2019 MG State Conference organized since registration went live 2 weeks after I left. Luckily, there is a great team of leaders who have been carrying the torch and keeping things on track from Linda and Jane to Julie and Bernie. I had promised to step in and help a little through the conference, and this was one of those times I needed to help. I met with the Texarkana group who is spearheading the post landscape tour.
I got them registered and went over the schedule with them, and then we went out on the tour to set times and get some of the logistics done.
The gardens were amazing,
and the homeowners were just beginning to pull out the stops for when the tour comes to town. In two weeks time, they will be even more amazing than they were when we saw them. Hard to imagine, since they are already lovely!
From a great diversity of plants,
both ornamentals
and edibles,
to garden art
and design features,
there is sure to be something for everyone who is registered. Gardeners will be very happy they signed up for this tour. The tour did fill up and two buses will head that way on May 1. The committee has worked very hard dotting every 'i' and crossing every "t" and it shows.
Afterwards, I worked on schedules and had a great visit with Peggy. The next morning I drove to Hope to meet up with the local volunteers to get them registered and do a walk through of the facilities at UA Hope.
While agent Terrie James was passing everything out in Hope, I did a virtual walk through via zoom with the County 76 quarterly meeting that was being held in Little Rock that morning. The team leaders were all in Little Rock and could follow up. From all reports, they could see and hear things well. Technology can be amazing when it works. I did a face-to-face walk through
with the locals afterwards in Hope, going over the program, answering questions and showing them where everything would happen. I was back on the road by noon.
It was sort of like riding a bike; it was easy walking and talking logistics of conference planning. I will also be in attendance as backup only (which they need very little of) and game night trivia leader in Hope during the conference, but then the reigns are officially tossed and I am through.