Veteran scholarship presentation to highlight Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club Annual Meeting
The Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club will hold its “Annual Meeting and Election of Directors and Officers” on Wednesday, May 30, at 5:30 p.m. at the clubhouse, located at 17025 Avenida de Acacias, Rancho Santa Fe.
Club President Helen DiZio will give the “State of the Club Address” and the members will vote on the directors and officers for 2012 -2013. Light refreshments will be served. All members are encouraged to attend. Additionally, an open discussion about the long-range plans for the club will be initiated.
The board of directors hopes to facilitate an opportunity for member input on a wide- range of issues regarding the club including:
•What is the organization’s current mission and vision?
•What is the future use and management of the clubhouse building?
•How do does the board plan for the club’s future financial viability?
•What do you, as members, want from the club?
Please attend and get involved with charting the club’s future.
The highlight of the Annual Meeting will surely be the awarding of a club-sponsored scholarship to Master Sergeant Ruben Villarreal. A portion of the funds raised by the “Rambling Through the Ranch Garden Tour” has been donated to the Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training (VSAT) program at Archi’s Acres in partnership with Mira Costa College.
The first VSAT scholarship that the RSF Garden Club will fund has been awarded to Master Sergeant Ruben Villarreal.
Villarreal is a 21-year Marine veteran. His plan, after completing the intensive agricultural training program, is to open an Archi’s Acres, VSAT in San Antonio, Texas, where he will work with severely disabled and amputee veterans on wheelchair-accessible greenhouses. Club members look forward to following and reporting on his future success. Please come and hear Mater Sergeant Villarreal’s story and join the Garden Club members in honoring this American hero.
Archi’s Acres is a small-scale organic farm in Escondido established in 2007 by a decorated Marine Sergeant Colin Archipley and his wife Karen. At Archi’s Acres they have created the program VSAT to offer combat veterans meaningful employment opportunities in the high growth industry of sustainable crop production. Their philosophy is to call up and redirect veterans’ attributes of leadership, tenaciousness, and adaptability. They have bet the farm on these well-disciplined and hard-working veterans.