HJ261: Commending the Ayr Hill Garden Club.
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 261
WHEREAS, the Ayr Hill Garden Club, a Vienna institution dedicated to improving the community and beautifying its public spaces, celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2019; and
WHEREAS, founded as the Vienna Garden Club, the group changed its name to the Ayr Hill Garden Club in 1929, at which time it offered educational programs to the public, raised funds through tea soirees and flower shows, and served the community in various other ways; and
WHEREAS, in the early years, Ayr Hill Garden Club spruced up local buildings, landscaped public grounds, painted the town library, and even purchased Vienna’s first public trash can; and
WHEREAS, during World War II, the Ayr Hill Garden Club served the country by helping with the maintenance of the grounds on the local military bases at Fort Belvoir and Fort Myer; and
WHEREAS, the Ayr Hill Garden Club continued to foster Vienna’s growth over the years, purchasing flagstones to pave a road to a local school, installing entrance markers at the edge of town, and convincing the American Automobile Association to put their small town of 900 people on local maps; and
WHEREAS, today, the Ayr Hill Garden Club remains active in the community through regular public meetings that explore the joys of gardening and wildlife, its maintenance of six public gardens for the benefit of Vienna residents and its visitors, its sponsorship of a biennial flower show that is renowned throughout the region, and its decoration of public spaces during the holidays, among other civic activities; and
WHEREAS, in the spirit of its years of service, the social club has recently changed its organizational status to that of a federally recognized, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, underscoring the impact the Ayr Hill Garden Club will have on the Vienna community for years to come; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Ayr Hill Garden Club, a social club-turned-service organization that has cultivated a verdant and flourishing Vienna for many years, on the occasion of its 90th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Ayr Hill Garden Club as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the club’s history and its contributions to the Town of Vienna.