MARCH
1984
THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE GARDEN TOPICS & EVENTS NEWSLETTER
MESSAGE TO MEMBERS by Gordon D. Wick, Executive Director The past few weeks have been very busy with administrative planning. We have been working with consulting engineers to produce a feasibility study on possible improvements in the
floral hall to create a simplier (operating wise) yet more effective lighting layout for both the stage and the hall itself. Whether or not the Civic Garden Centre board decide to proceed at this time with either part or all the suggested changes, the information will be available for a properly planned overall assessment of needs. We are grateful to the Dunington Grubb Foundation for funding the feasibility study and to Lois Wilson for her continuing interest in spending many hours with us in studying both the needs and suggested potential solutions to existing problems. I am now at a second draft position with 1984 budget, after review by our finance committee. By the time this newsletter reaches you I expect to have presented the budget at the executive level and the board level. At this stage I will only point out that the long term success of the Civic Garden Centre depends greatly on the numerous ways in which our members help generate funds. Item No. 1 has to
be the promotion of membership itself. At this point we can almost double our current membership while still
incurring
only
modest cost in-
creases. A very high percentage of the $10.00 per member fees would therefore go to support costs other than those directly associated with membership costs, i.e. Trellis newsletter, members program nights. Courses are proving very popular and represent a significant source of operating income.
Social rentals of our building represent a major source of income allowing us to centinue the policy of rentals to horticultural organizations at very low fees which are kept artificially low by utilizing funds from other areas to meet our overall budget.
Membership organization The C.G.C. is still being perceived by many as a building rather than as a membership organization whose main purpose is to promote horticulture and who employ a staff to operate a building as one way of facilitating the promotion of horticulture, not only by our own club but also by the dozen or so other specialty and general horticultural organizations who make our building their home base. Our first priority is promoting horticulture through education and that is cont. on Pg. 2