OPINION|
All I can tell you — and it’s not much — is that the nonprofit Friends of the Garden still does not have an executive director.
Heather Parker, executive director for three years, quit a year ago. She was vague last year when I spoke to her about why. Parker hinted at problems with the organization’s structure that made Friends of the Garden a difficult place to work.
My goal here was to write an update to the column I wrote a year ago: “All 3 paid staffers at Friends of the Garden quit; event that raised $47,000 in 2023 canceled.”
Yes, I occasionally review what I wrote a year ago to see if there’s a story I can update.
Friends of the Garden responded with a press statement from the entire board.
“Friends of the Garden has not yet named a permanent executive director,” it said. “We do not have a timeline outlined for when this may happen.”
It seems to me that people at the Park Board and the Friends of the Garden Board know what the structural problem is but they want to keep it in-house.
You would think Susie Turner, president of the Friends of the Garden Board and also a member of the Park Board, would be the perfect person to explain matter-of-factly what the structural problem is.
I’ve asked, but it hasn’t happened.
If you don’t think all of this is important, read the story I wrote in April 2024.
Because staff left, the Friends of the Garden canceled an August fundraising event that the year before (2023) raised $47,000.
Friends of the Garden is dedicated to enhancing the 112-acre Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, the crown jewel of Springfield parks.
Press statement refers to ‘staff,’ I ask who is ‘staff’?
Another thing I can update you on is this: Parker quickly was hired by the city, where she has worked for the past year as an environmental compliance specialist in the Environmental Services Department. She had worked at the Springfield Fire Department years ago.
I can also update you on the fact that although I reported a year ago that Gage Rudick, program director of Friends of the Garden, was also planning to quit, I’m now not so sure he did.
Flower beds abound in the Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park. (Photo: Sony Hocklander)
His social media information indicates he still works there. And he apparently took a photo at the Gardens Aglow event in November, seven months after my story ran. The caption indicates he was working for Friends of the Garden.
According to the statement from the Friends of the Garden board, members and staff are planning for the organization’s main events.
When I saw the word “staff” in the sentence above, I asked the Springfield-Greene County Park Board and the Friends of the Garden board who is on staff these days, if anyone.
Karen Mellinger, a spokesperson for the Park Board, said that any questions about the Friends of the Garden should be directed to the Friends of the Garden. No one from the Friends of the Garden responded.
Getting basic information on Friends of the Garden is surprisingly difficult.
Are there employees or not? Are they undercover? Hiding in the hostas?
Parker was a city employee. Was the point of friction that she also headed a nonprofit? As such, I would expect, there might have been expectations she would do a lot of fundraising? Was that a problem?
Organization has been looking inward
The statement goes on …
“The Friends of the Garden board has taken the last several months to look inward,” it says. “We have been revising the strategic direction for our organization as well as evaluating the executive director position and the other roles of our board and staff.”
The board also said …
“Our organization is alive and well and very busy with the growing season in Springfield Botanical Gardens.
“We are also realigning our relationships with Parks and our other key partners,
with the goal of enhancing our ability to collaborate for the benefit of
Springfield Botanical Gardens.”
The park is at 2400 S. Scenic Ave.
According to the statement, the organization is moving forward with signature events: Garden Day, May 10; Butterfly Festival, June 14; Garden Gala, Sept. 18; and Gardens Aglow, November-December.
It was the Garden Gala that was canceled last year due to lack of staff. The nonprofit’s largest fundraiser is Gardens Aglow. It is held Fridays through Sundays from late November through Dec. 31.
40 to 50 gardens and much more
The Roston Native Butterfly House is a popular spring and summer spot to visit in the Springfield Botanical Garden at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park. (Photo: Sony Hocklander)
Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park has 40 to 50 gardens, maintained mostly by volunteers.
The full name used by some for the park is “Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park.” The various gardens include hostas, daylilies, Asiatic lilies, iris, peonies, roses, dwarf conifers, ornamental grasses, native plants and more.
The park also includes the Dr. Bill K. Roston Native Butterfly House (April-October.)
Also in the park are the Gray-Campbell Farmstead (oldest cabin in Springfield), Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden and Lake Drummond.
This is Pokin Around column No. 272.
Steve Pokin
Steve Pokin writes the Pokin Around and The Answer Man columns for the Springfield Daily Citizen. He also writes about criminal justice issues. He can be reached at spokin@sgfcitizen.org. His office line is 417-837-3661. More by Steve Pokin