Richfield Garden Club Member Recognized with State Award
By BILL BELLEN
RICHFIELD SPRINGS
Four years ago, the Garden Club of Richfield Springs was in quite the predicament. With only eight members left in the organization, it seemed general interest and engagement surrounding horticulture in the region was waning. Numerous garden sites were not receiving adequate care and were not presenting the pristine image of the village they had been built to foster. Luckily for plants and residents of Richfield Springs alike, Becky Marzeski was not about to let this communal institution fall into disarray.
“Four years ago, we kept it simple by challenging each member to invite at least one friend to a meeting or activity during the garden club year,” Marzeski said. “We offered a prize to the members who had the greatest success and number of new members. Each consecutive year, we did the same, but we found we no longer needed to offer a prize. Members were enjoying watching us grow!”
Marzeski has been an involved member of her community and the Garden Club for the past 40 years. Of the 16 committees the garden club has created over that time, she has chaired nearly all of them, five of which she chairs presently. Outside of her gardening expertise, Marzeski is a member of the Board of Education for the Richfield Springs Central School District, president of the Community Literacy Alliance, and a member of the Board of Directors for the Richfield Springs Community Center.
With this many accolades under her belt over the years, it was clear to her friends and colleagues that she was deserving of significant recognition. Fellow club member Maureen Culbert intended to realize this notion, nominating Marzeski for an award from the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State, Inc.
“I have been keeping this ‘secret’ for a while and [was] sworn to secrecy,” Culbert said with regard to Marzeski’s nomination. “The big deal, of course, is our grant and the reservoir, and how it has been re-done. She really is the impetus behind all that happens in our club and it is so well-deserved. We are a team, but as in any group, if you don’t have a strong leader, then things just don’t happen. She finds a way to make them happen.”
The reservoir referenced by Culbert is just one of many projects Marzeski has spearheaded and overseen over the past half-decade. Highlights from these include multiple gardens and floral urns at Richfield Springs Central School, as well as similar setups at the public library, gardens at the base of the village’s historic clock, and numerous gardens creat-ed, though not managed, by the garden club along Route 20 as part of a three-year project. Though these projects certainly each have their merits, the standout display has to be the recent reservoir project, completed in honor of Katie VanAllen.
When asked about the process to restore this site, Marzeski said that she “shared ideas for cleaning out and restoring the two large beds that had gone unmaintained for several years. Others shared their ideas as well! And our Grant Writing Committee, along with our Grant Writing Chair, Betsy Sywetz, decided to write the grant to make an already beautiful reservoir stunning! We knew we wanted the eastern entrance to our village to be inviting and memorable. There are now approximately 100 native plants in the beds and almost 400 spring bulbs at the reservoir, as well as six flowering crabapple trees which the Village of Richfield Springs donated to us for planting there.”
Keeping these projects in mind, Culbert led an unsuspecting Marzeski to Albany on Tuesday, June 3 to the FGCNYS Convention in Albany. Here, she was presented with Commendation Award #51, an award of honor given to one member of each region that exhibits outstanding efforts in a variety of volunteer-based categories. According to Marzeski, these categories include civic development, conservation, horticulture, landscape design and more.
“The presentation of the award was a surprise! When the State Officer of the FGCNYS began reading what had been written about me, I began to realize, ‘Oh my goodness! This award is about me!’” Marzeski remarked. “It’s not something I set out to do as an officer or member of the club—to receive an award. When you love your community and do all the good you can do to make it better one initiative at a time, pride grows! And before you know it, you have your whole club and many, many community members, including leaders, who share the same passion!”
Though Marzeski is wholeheartedly grateful for this honor bestowed upon her, she is already considering what this means for the larger gardening community that she is a part of.
“It is my sincere hope that this brings the garden club’s mission to fruition, especially that the work of our members develops a sense of pride and inspires the citizens of Richfield Springs to join us in our efforts. And in doing so, our club’s long-term goal is to enhance community identity. When people visit Richfield Springs, we would like them to remember us as that beautiful, well-kempt village on State Route 20 between Albany and Syracuse.”
Marzeski is pushing forward with the garden club’s next major project, “Herb Garden Project 2025.” Thanks to another grant written by Sywetz, providing a sum of $1,000.00 in new funds, the group is working with the Village of Richfield Springs to place a recirculating fountain in the herb garden, alongside the planting of various new flowering herbs on site, to provide beauty to the eye and needed sustenance to local pollinators. The garden club intends to eventually make this site handicap accessible as well, though the funds for this initiative are not provided in the current grant.
The Garden Club of Richfield Springs has built a very colorful array of projects and achievements in recent years, with Marzeski right at the center of it all. Those interested in getting involved with the garden club, or who wish to make a donation, can visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/thegardenclubofrichfieldsprings, reach them by e-mail at www.rsgardenclub.org, or call Marzeski directly at (315) 868-6599.