Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathryn Shields.
Hi Kathryn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hi, I’m the Chair of the largest, oldest Garden Tour of Hidden Gardens in Savannah! I joined the Garden Club of Savannah four years ago with my friend Karen Eskew. We enjoyed the tour and as people who like to give back to our community, wanted to volunteer. We did marketing and sponsorship and this year took on the full mantle of responsibility, as Chair and Co-Chair.
Since 1927, the Garden Club of Savannah’s mission has been to assist in the beautification and environmental preservation of Savannah, exemplified by our year-round work to maintain three significant gardens in our area- The Ronald McDonald House, Massie Heritage Center, and the Savannah Botanical Gardens. Our nonprofit has awarded over $350,000 to local affiliated organizations over the past seventeen years. We are the oldest active garden club in the state of Georgia. Our history is directly related to the heart of what makes Savannah an outstanding place to live and visit.
In 1975, the Garden Club of Savannah elected to replace the Christmas tour with a spring tour of gardens limited to the area North of Gaston Street (NOGS). This is why the tour is named, the NOGS Tour of Hidden Gardens. The Hidden Gardens Tour is a major annual fundraiser, which has 100% active member participation. Funds from the Tour are donated to numerous organizations throughout Savannah for beautification and educational projects.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Challenges include managing a large group of volunteers and surviving the covid cancellations. Other challenges include moving the club into the age of social media. Using social media marketing and getting members to embrace online volunteer sign-ups makes life interesting!
Our NOGS attendees love being able to connect with us on Facebook and Instagram, plus purchase tickets online.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Kathy Shields (me) is the NOGS Chair, a key role in the Garden Club of Savannah organization. I am a PT faculty at Kennesaw State University with a doctorate degree in Instructional Technology. I am an artist and former K-12 teacher, and currently a college-level Instructional Designer, I’m an excellent project manager. I perform all social media and website updates.
Karen Eskew (my co-chair) is a retired Air Forces Officer who has 20 years of experience in the hospitality business as owner of a Tea room. She currently owns her own Savannah Hidden Garden on historic Jones Street. Her experience managing over 200 troops, and as a small business owner she brings a wealth of strengths and ideas to the NOGS Tour.
Together Karen and I are most proud of our innovative marketing approach to the NOGS Tour of Hidden Gardens. We cultivate business relationships. Covid crippled small businesses and our goal is to lift them up! We see it as an exciting opportunity to have an economic impact on Savannah. We put small businesses first. We say, here’s what we’re going to do for you. Then, together, we find creative ways that allow us to promote their business as an extension of NOGS.
It’s a paradigm shift. We acknowledge their struggles and offer solutions. We ask for partnerships and get friendships and we do this in the person wearing our garden hats and big smiles. Planting the seeds of inspiration yields creativity. Promoting our NOGS Garden tour helps Savannah thrive. We want our NOGS Tour to draw visitors to the area and to show them the best of what Savannah has to offer while they are in town.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Luck is a gift and if we are fortunate enough to have the fates in our favor, we will embrace it and we will share it! The truth is, caring about the community is what leads to success. Savannah is a small town; it’s like a big neighborhood. Doing your best to support each other makes good sense.
Pricing:
- $95 Premium Trolley, Garden & Tea Tour
- $65 Garden and Tea Tour
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://gardenclubofsavannah.org/garden-club/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gardenclubsav/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GardenClubOfSavannah
Image Credits
Kathryn Shields
