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District IV News Items 

• The Winter edition of The Florida Gardener is available.  If you didn't get a copy in your email, contact FFGC.  An archived copy of the newsletter is at this website's Publications page.

• January 17 is Florida Arbor Day.  Does your garden club have any plans?  Also, you can make every day Arbor Day by participating in the new Plant-A-Tree program that replaces Penny Pines.  See the University of Florida Fact Sheet for planting info.  

• Wekiva Youth Camp - Important Dates!  Registration Applications for Wekiva Youth Camp will be posted on January 2 and 3 at the Wekiva Youth Camp Schedule page 

• Camping is not just for kids!   Volunteers are encouraged to apply and enjoy the Wekiva experience with the youngsters.  See the Adult Volunteers Page for opportunities starting in February.  

• See the Wekiva Youth Camp site to learn about the camp, visit it and to contribute to its operations. 

• The Florida Museum of Natural History will remain open through March 23, 2025.  If you didn't get your holiday trip to this fabulous spot, you have three more months to enjoy it.  When it does reopen it will feature 6,000 additional square feet of space from the University of Florida Thompson Earth Systems Institute.  

• Youth Awards for 2024.  Deadlines for applying for youth (Scouting, Junior and Intermediate, and High School Contests ), awards are coming up in early 2025.  They are described in the FFGC Awards Handbook.

• FFGC Leadership Awards 1-10, such as Blanche Covington and Outstanding Service, are judged by FFGC officers and are described in the FFGC Awards Handbook  Some awards may require special submissions.  See the FFGC Awards Handbook.

• November 22 is the deadline for submitting FFGC awards.  Flower show awards applications are due on 11/30.  See the Awards section of the FFGC website.  Good Luck!

• FFGC has initiated its own Disaster Relief Grant (located on the Forms page under the FFGC About menu).   Individuals or clubs can Donate to this fund to help less fortunate garden club organizations.  

• Here is the latest edition of the District Runner , Fall 2024-Winter 2025  has been published.  There are ten editions of The District IV Runner. To help you locate past articles, this website features an archive listing every District IV Runner article from each publication.  There is also a Site-at-a-Glance feature that lists the contents/pages in this site and other features available here.

• FFGC's newest newsletter, The Idea Exchange, has been published for Fall 2024.  Read your copy at the FFGC website Publications section.   This newsletter is a District-to-District communications vehicle to encourage our clubs to enjoy events and accomplishments from clubs in other Districts.  See our Publications section to find out how to advertise and announce your accomplishments there.

• The Fall edition of The Florida Gardener is available.  If you didn't get a copy in your email, contact FFGC.  An archived copy of the newsletter is at this website's Publications page.

• GardenFest was the best. Over 100 attendees met in Starke for a day of education, shopping, fun, and eating! Our clubs put together a wonderful event.  See the slideshow on this page, in the Photo Gallery page, and the article in the District Runner, Fall 2024-Winter 2025.

• Our Fall District Meeting offered the perfect chance to catch up on what our clubs and District Chairmen are doing.  See the slideshow in pdf format on this page and the article in the District Runner, Fall 2024-Winter 2025.

• The National Gardener Magazine  is featuring more and more bilingual articles..  That means there is more content for Spanish-speaking readers.  ¿hablas español?

• The 98th FFGC Annual Convention will be April 8-10 in Jacksonville.  The theme will be Garden Club 101:  Back to Basics.  This is the Installation of FFGC officers and District Directors will take place.  Plenty of Refresher Courses for NGC Consultants and attendees.

• The usual April 15 tax return filing deadline for 2024 income has been extended to May 1.  Hurricanes Milton and Helene affected almost all counties in Florida.  Because of that, the new deadline to file and pay your 2024 federal income and business taxes has been extended.  Other forms of tax relief, assistance, and forgiveness are available. See the Tax Relief for Victims of Milton IRS Announcement.  (Note:  this posting does not constitute tax advice.  Please investigate your own situation.)

• FFGC, Deep South, and NGC have their own Facebook pages/profiles.  You can Like, Follow, or Friend them to have their postings appear in your own Facebook profile.  FFGC, Deep South, and National Garden Clubs; don't forget to Follow the District Facebook page too.   Links to these Facebook pages are at the footers in our site.

• The deadline for Clubs to submit their yearbooks has been extended to November 22, 2024 (same deadline as the rest of the FFGC awards) due to the back to back hurricanes and the tornadoes all over our beloved State.  See the FFGC Yearbook Information page for the pertinent info for your club's yearbook. Many FFGC Awards and Flower Show Rules have changed.  Consult the FFGC Awards Handbook.

• Youth Awards Information can be found at the FFGC Youth Awards menu.  The rules and deadlines for Junior Gardening are available.  The rest will be announced when updated.  

• Penny Pines Renamed  Plant-A-Tree.  The program we at FFGC have supported for many years through the National Garden Club, Penny Pines, has been re-named to Plant-A-Tree.  There are a few changes in the rules such as the donation minimum. how to donate, and the option to donate to a specific National Forest.  Our FFGC Chairman is Andrea Finn, District 6.  She can be contacted through our FFGC Directory.  Please note that she was affected by Hurricane Milton.  If you need immediate assistance, direct your inquiry to the NGC resources at Plant-a-Tree.  The name and a few options have changed but the goal remains the same:  National Garden Clubs, Inc. and the USDA Forest Service have maintained a partnership sustaining our national forests. . 

• Has your garden club's landscaping been affected by Hurricane Helene or Milton?  NGC has a Natural Disaster Grant Fund to help you recover your landscaping.  

• The Fall 2024 Florida Gardener is available.  FFGC members should have received a copy in their inbox.  If not, go to the Publications page (under the Resources menu) on this website and read it from there.  It covers many topics our own Newsletter has, but they are from a state prospective.  Enjoy!

• The Summer-Fall 2024 issue of the District Runner Newsletter has been posted on this website.  A few corrections were made on 9/23  regarding Amy Wilson's NGC Flower Show article. See the Publications section under the Resources menu.

• The September 2024 issue of our Membership Newsletter has been posted on this website.  See the Publications section under the Resources menu.

• We mourn the loss of Carol Waters.  Please read the Summer-Fall Issue of the District IV Runner Newsletter to read about her life and to add your own pictures and tributes.  If you can't update the Memorial Page, send your comments and photos to the webmaster at district4ffgc@gmail.com for posting.

• Good News:  Governor DeSantis' Great Outdoors Initiative has been delayed due to overwhelming protest by our citizens. Stay alert, as he intends to "rework" the proposal for next year.  The Friends of the Everglades created a YouTube video update on this issue.  See the News page on this website for background information and further updates.

• FFGC Idea Exchange Newsletter has been published.  All FFGC members should have received a link to the newsletter in your email inbox:  FFGC Idea Exchange Summer 2024  Find out what clubs in other Districts as well as our own are up to.  The summer 2024 edition of The Florida gardener can be found at the  Publications page on the FFGC website.

• Click here for the updated FFGC Charter and Bylaws. August 2024 at the FFGC website.

• The updated FFGC Book of Information (BOI) has been published (effective September).  The link to it is at the footer of each page. 

• Congratulations to our District IV members who won FFGC/DSG awards this year.  See our Awards page for the winners!  The Awards page also contains links to the 2024 updated NGC, DSGC and FFGC Awards Handbooks.  There have been some important changes, so be sure to review them.

• FFGC Centennial Convention.  Can you spot our District Officers and club members? Enjoy the slideshow photos.