The Cleveland District cordially invites you to attend the 96th Annual GCO Convention Tuesday, April 16-Thursday April 18, 2024 at the Holiday Inn in Independence, Ohio. Vendors, raffles and an Ohio Judges Council Standard Flower Show will be part of the entertainment. Cleveland offers so many things to see and do just around the corner; come early and stay late!
- Tuesday, April 16th the beat begins for past and current Board members with Kathy Wagner’s favorite music – old fashioned jazz! Did you know that jazz music has a long history with flowers? Gardenia’s tucked in Ella Fitzgerald’s hair and Herbie Hancock’s love of roses are examples. And callas were everywhere! Join us as we turn down the lights and enjoy the celebrated Barbara Knight Trio as we swing to songs related to flowers.
- Wednesday, April 17th begins with our Life Member Scholarship Breakfast featuring Lake View Cemetery’s COO and VP Ops Marilyn Brandt. Why a cemetery? As a member of American Public Gardens, Lake View is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Level 2 Arboretum. It houses the Moses Cleaveland Trees, one of the nation’s largest Weeping Canadian Hemlocks, and a Japanese Maple collection. One can find the gravesites of Alan Freed, the Father of Rock ‘n Roll, Eliot Ness, John D. Rockefeller and the soaring monument housing the caskets of President James A. Garfield and his wife. “Lake View Cemetery-Cleveland’s Hidden Gem” will be a wonderful tour presented by someone who knows all the secrets.
- Thursday, April 18th will showcase The Big Book and Bette Lou Higgins of Eden Valley Enterprises. Bette is an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker and was voted to participate in the 2023 national Women’s Storytelling Contest. Her presentation of “What’s Her Story” will include local Clevelanders such as Harriet Keeler, a botanist, author, educator, and suffragist who is memorialized in Brecksville Reservation of the Cleveland MetroParks. Our annual meeting will follow. Think Educational Exhibit.
Our Workshops and Speakers aim for enjoyable education. Looking for Civic Award projects or learning about botanical arts, we can help!
- Workshop: Mandy Spisak is a multimedia artist using pressed flowers to make a pretty and usable luminary. Mandy teaches at the Peninsula Art Academy and at her studio Mindfully Made Arts. She uses upcycled fabric and wallpaper to create beautiful sustainable works of art. Think Botanical Arts.
- Workshop: Jessica Shaffer and the FirstEnergy Green team will address how large-scale reforestation by one of the nation’s largest power companies helps the environment and our lungs- The ‘power’ of one tree! Tie a white ribbon (lung cancer awareness) around your very own tree or shrub seedling during this workshop. Think Conservation, Trees, Pollution and Reclamation.
- Speaker: Jonathon Cepek is a Wildlife Ecologist who has served with the USDA and now as the Manager of Wildlife for 24,000 acres in the Cleveland Metroparks. He has authored many articles and has been a speaker at national and international conferences. He runs a long-term urban ecology project and using 200 wildlife cameras he found that after 100 years, Bobcats, River Otters and Trumpeter Swans are making a comeback in NE Ohio. Think Wildlife.
- Speaker: Nathan Rutz is Director of Soil at the very unique Rust Belt Riders food recycling plant in downtown Cleveland. RBR gathers food waste, with meat and bones, from residential and commercial locations with an unusual twist- it is recycled to high grade soil. Think recycling.
- Speaker: Our Design Banquet features award winning Jeremy Rettger, AIFD, CFD. Jeremy loves competition and won the 2023 Arrangement Category at the Mid America Invitational Cup, the 2022 Designer of the Year from the Great Lakes Floral Association and too many more to list. He has designed the large entry floral design at the Cleveland Great Big Home + Garden Show for many years. “Fun and Fantastical” will showcase unusual floral designs and Jeremy’s personality will shine through. The material and his mechanics will be left open to view after the program as an educational tool for you. Think Flower Show designs.
Questions/request registration form: mmz772 [at] roadrunner.com
