Club President Holly Secskas, Joyce Donnelly and past Club President Renee Marsh
At our June Luncheon we honored Joyce Donnelly with a Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut Life Membership. This award is a special way to honor a worthy club member, for all she has done for her club and community, we recognized Joyce with a letter of congratulations, a Connecticut Life Member pin and a membership card signed by the Connecticut State President.
Making the presentation are Club President Holly Secskas and past Club President Renee Marsh
Over the 20 years she has been a member of the club, Joyce has served as an officer, chaired many committees and jumped in whenever something needed to be done.
Joyce served as President for 6 years (2006-2008, 2010-2014) and as Vice President for two years (2016-2018).
Renee Marsh and Joyce Donnelly at the 2016 Olde Ripton Garden Club Garden Tour
When the Olde Ripton Garden Club celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2016, Joyce wrote “A 40 Year History – Growing Together” to chronicle the efforts of the club. (a copy of which can be seen in the “About” tab on this website.)
She also helped establish the Shelton city flower, the Orange Coneflower, (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’) and organized an anniversary garden tour.
There have been many changes in the club since Joyce joined including adjusting to new technologies and new ideas, Joyce embraced them all with grace and a fair amount of stoicism.
Our congratulations to Joyce for all of her years of service, Joyce has shown herself to be a valuable asset to the club.