According to Article IV of the MCMGA bylaws, officers and board members shall be elected for staggered two-year terms at the final general meeting of the year (Harvest Dinner October 28th). Service begins on January 1. I am so pleased to announce that Georgia Vaught and Terri Vicenzi have agreed to continue in their positions as Treasurer and Membership Director respectively.   

In addition, I am pleased to announce two members who are stepping up to fill open leadership positions.  Kari Ann Sowinsky has moved her position to Indianapolis and will not continue as our VP.  Liz Carter has kindly stepped forward to fill the Vice President role.  Liz Carter is a lifelong community member of Monroe County and did her Master Gardener training this year. She obtained her B.S. from IU’s Kelley School of Business and has worked for the past 8 years in local government, with the last 3 focused on stormwater. Her gardening focuses on vegetable gardening (especially hot peppers), native plants, and most recently rain gardens. When not gardening, Liz enjoys baking, making hot sauce from the aforementioned peppers, going on adventures with her dogs, and supporting women's basketball. 

Kathleen Chmelewski will be leaving our board as well as the Communications Co-Director.  We will miss her incredible expertise on the website and on all communication matters.  Jen Smith has agreed to step forward for the Communications role.  She is a Contracts & Grants Specialist at the Indiana University School of Medicine CTSI and also serves as Program Manager for the Fellowship of Christian Optometrists. A passionate gardener, she completed the Master Gardener class in spring 2024 and plants over 100 dahlias each year. She is deeply involved in the community and in her free time, she enjoys gardening, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. 

We will vote on the slate of officers at the Harvest Dinner Celebration.  The Board welcomes nominations from the floor as well and would love to see more members step forward for leadership roles.  

2026 SLATE OF OFFICERS

Vice President – Liz Carter
Treasurer – Georgia Vaught
Membership Director – Terri Vicenzi
Communications Co-Director 2 – Jen Smith

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GRANT DEADLINE:
closed for 2026

GRANT AWARDS ANNOUNCED:
April 1, 2026

To learn about the Grant Application process, click here.