About 80 members attended the CMGA Annual Meeting, enjoying a full hot buffet breakfast, business meeting, and election of officers and directors, followed by our featured speaker, none other than John Bartram, “The King’s Gardener” (aka Kirk Brown). A farmer by profession, John Bartram became close friends with Benjamin Franklin (with whom he founded the American Philosophical Society and for whom he named the Franklinia alatamaha ). He pursued a lifelong passion for botany and was appointed botanist to King George III in 1765.

In character, Kirk Brown demonstrated how Bartram’s “humor, passion and achievements entertained, inspired and awed as he shared his hope for the future of the earth and the men who inhabit it.” Kirk Brown is a nationally recognized business development and motivational speaker, recognized author, horticulturist, and award-winning designer.