| I wonder how many of you have done gardening in your past or know anything about gardening. I would compare Chapters to a garden. A garden that is not tended will soon be choked by weeds. Weeds are plants in a garden that use up the resources of the ground while giving nothing back to the garden. They come in on a breeze and take up room from the blossoming flowers that are so vital to a beautiful garden. They use up the vital resources of the garden, not allowing the other flowers to bloom and grow properly. Soon, all the nutrients are used up, and the true flowers will no longer grow. Along comes a gardener, he gets rid of the weeds, but the damage is done to the flowerbed and the soil. Some of the original flowers will not survive the ordeal. The gardener tills the ground, adds fresh nutrients, new seeds, and tends the garden daily until the flowers can once again bloom for all to enjoy. The process of replenishing the garden takes a long time and does not occur overnight. Once the flowers are allowed to bloom and grow in a healthy environment, they will provide the seeds for future growth.
If the garden has been strangled by weeds, (Members who give nothing to the Chapter in the way of support, yet use the Chapter for their own agenda) it will take time for the flowers (existing Members) to revive and begin to produce new blooms (smiles and attitudes) for all to enjoy. GWRRA provides the garden, the local Chapter, with all the nutrients of support, training, friendship, knowledge, and safety tips that the garden needs to grow and to be beautiful again. My only question for you is: are you a flower or a weed in the garden of your Chapter? Have you bloomed in the garden by supporting the Chapter and helping it to expand, or are you just there to choke out the other blooming Members?
By Tim McShane
Chapter Director CA-1D
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