From Palm Beach Florida Weekly
Friends of the Mounts Botanical Garden announced three new members of the nonprofit organization’s board of directors:
- Anne Gannon, who has been Palm Beach County’s Constitutional Tax Collector since 2006, and formerly served six years in the Florida House of Representatives.
- Claudia Mendoza, chief executive officer of I.Q. Constructions, a 100% woman-owned business in Delray Beach that specializes in crafted cabinetry and custom millworks.
- Tim Whelan, owner of Art by Nature Garden Center in Palm Beach Gardens. He was the 2020 recipient of the James L. Lulfs Industry Service Award from the Florida Nursery, Grower and Landscape Association.
“All three of these extraordinary, talented, insightful community service professionals will be invaluable assets for Mounts Botanical Garden, as we continue to grow and attract new visitors,” Mounts Curator/ Director Rochelle Wolberg said in a statement.
Mounts Botanical Garden also announced the names of the garden’s Volunteer of the Year and two Community Partners of 2021.
Michael Spencer of South Palm Beach has been a volunteer at Mounts Botanical Garden since 2016. He volunteers in the nursery and during major plant sales, and also teaches horticultural classes at the garden. With more than 2,000 volunteer hours at Mounts, Mr. Spencer is known for his succulent and cacti arrangements that have been sold at the Gift Shop and used as auction items at the Mounts Spring Benefit.
The garden also named two Community Partners of 2021.
The Breakers Palm Beach began volunteering with Mounts Botanical Garden in 2019 during the construction of Patrick Dougherty’s “Stickwork” exhibit. Members of the resort’s team have been active ever since, working on garden projects and greeting members and guests at plant sales, filling nearly 300 volunteer.
South Tech DECA in Boynton Beach began volunteering with the Garden in 2014, when it built spider webs for the annual Fall Family Festival. Under the direction of South Tech DECA’s Business Academy Instructor Lynn Moran, over 200 youth volunteers have generated more than 300 volunteer hours and have been particularly instrumental in establishing the carry-out services at various plant sales at Mounts. Each year, the students design and wear distinctive commemorative T-shirts that enable garden visitors to distinguish them during plant sales.
