FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 10, 2010
MEDIA ADVISORY
AVONDALE, PA – On Saturday, May 15th, 2010, at the organization’s 97th Annual Meeting in Brunswick, NJ, the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Garden Club of America (GCA) named Dr. Bernard W. Sweeney, Director of the Stroud™ Water Research Center, an Honorary Member. Governor Chris Christie, of the State of New Jersey, helped GCA president Joan George, kick off the Club’s three-day meeting by addressing the 600 attending members from across the country.
“The GCA is proud to have had the privilege to honor the work of Dr. Bernard W. Sweeney, noted scientist, for his outstanding and continuing research on streamside forest and river ecosystems,” said Joan George, GCA president. Sweeney, the recipient of the Club’s 2006 Margaret Douglas Medal for conservation education, was proposed for honorary membership by West Chester and Wilmington Garden Club of America members, Mrs. Thomas Swett (Carolyn) and Mrs. Charles Cruice (Kathryn).
“The GCA’s mission statement, ‘to restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment through educational programs and action in the fields of conservation and civic improvement’ is perfectly exemplified through the work of Dr. Bernard W. Sweeney (Bern),” said Kathryn W. Cruice of the Garden Club of Wilmington. “Through the GCA, Bern’s expertise will be shared with thousands of people, and we can rely on sound, scientific information to help us with our Clean Water issues. It couldn’t be a better ‘marriage!’ I have had the pleasure of witnessing Bern’s work first hand. His energy, knowledge and work ethic are truly remarkable.
“Through participation in committees, publications, and the civic and educational efforts of the GCA, this honor puts Sweeney in a position to influence the tens of thousands of Garden Club of America members from 199 member clubs across the country, that share the Center’s goals of freshwater conservation.
“I’m both grateful and proud to be an Honorary Member of The Garden Club of America,” said Bernard Sweeney, director of the Stroud Water Research Center. “The GCA is a wonderful organization that benefits both community and the environment, and its powerful voice conveys the gardening and conservation practices that protect and preserve our water supply. We need the GCA.”
About The Garden Club of America: Founded in 1913, The Garden Club of America is a recognized national leader in the fields of horticulture, conservation and civic improvement. The purpose of the Garden Club of America is to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening, to share the advantages of association by means of educational meetings, conferences, correspondence and publications, and to restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment through educational programs and action in the fields of conservation and civic improvement. The Garden Club of America is a national, not-for-profit organization. For more information, please visit:www.gcamerica.org
