The club year 2021-2022 for the Media & Communications Committee started with the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions. First on the agenda was publicity for the 2021 “Beauty Sport Awards” during National Garden Week in June. WWAY TV covered the awards of the Beauty Spot signage on June 10th during their evening news broadcast. The StarNews featured an article with pictures on July 3, 2021, in their “Home and Garden” section. IntraCoastal Living magazine included a story about our Beauty Spot home at Wrightsville Beach in their July issue.
On August 7, 2021, a picture and story were featured in the StarNews pertaining to the finishing touches at the Riverfront Park project by the Civic Improvements Committee.
Cape Fear Garden Club won the 2021 Pelican Award from the NC Coastal Federation. The Pelican Award story appeared in Our Coast magazine and the online edition of The National Gardener magazine in the fall, 2021.
In August Rachel Boyd from Spectrum News interviewed the Gardening for Wildlife Committee after they were notified that Cape Fear Garden Club was chosen for the Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award as the NC Wildlife Federation Affiliate of the Year for 2021, and this also appeared in The National Gardener’s online edition in October.
The Blue Star Memorial Marker dedication received great publicity. WILMA magazine’s weekly digital edition interviewed Coast Guard Rear Admiral Laura Dickey. The StarNews carried a story on Monday, October 25, 2021, “Dickey to speak at Blue Star dedication!” All three local TV news channels covered the dedication on Veterans Day!
Randy Aldridge of WWAY TV 3 ran a story in early November about the rollout of the Azalea Ambassadors. The story included links to the Ambassadors Information Sheet and the Ambassadors Application.
The club finally received a copy of the last “Gardening & Nature” episode filmed just before the Covid shutdown in 2020. It was scheduled to be shown on the NHCS TLN TV Network’s “Morning Show” just before the 2020 Azalea Garden Tour. The episode covered the history of the Longleaf pine. It was filmed in Marcia Doering’s garden (Garden #5 on the 2022 Azalea Garden Tour).
In December, local reporter, John Staton, publicized the upcoming Garden Tour with the headline, “Garden Club tour set for April, ending Covid hiatus”, along with a photo of the Azalea Ambassadors.
An annual Press Book was created and submitted for the 2021 club year.
March was the month for Azalea Garden Tour publicity. It was exciting to find that as the publicity increased, so did the online ticket sales. The StarNews started the publicity off with a “Port City Life” front page article on February 25, 2022. The March edition of IntraCoastal Living featured a story about the Parnell’s participation in the tour. April editions of Wrightsville Beach Magazine and WILMA highlighted the tour and the Ambassadors.
The CFGC’s celebration of the NC Arbor Day at Trask Middle School on March 18, 2022 received great TV coverage on WECT and WWAY.
The Ambassadors Tea had coverage in WILMA and WILMA online. The red-carpet rollout was seen on WWAY TV. Pat Bradford from Wrightsville Beach magazine came to the tea and also sent a magazine photographer to the tea.
The “Plant-an-Azalea” activities received great TV coverage. John Staton mentioned the Azalea Garden Tour in two front page articles in the StarNews leading up to the Azalea Festival. Also, the only male Azalea Ambassador had a solo interview on WWAY TV at the NHC Arboretum.
