Heanor Floral Art Group celebrate 50 Golden Years
Heanor Floral Art Group are looking forward to celebrating their 50th anniversary this year in May. They’re a very active group and the members and visitors are treated to a full floral demonstration by an affiliated demonstrator of NAFAS (National Association of Flower Arrangers) every third Monday of the month.
The group was founded in 1973 and was a spin off from the Heanor Horticultural Society, and the group are proud to have three founding members still attending regularly today; Dorothy Allsop, the current President and committee members; Hazel Cuttell and Glenys Walters.
Dorothy Allsop recounts, “The group was initiated by a lady called Mrs Hollingsworth, who arranged the affiliation with NAFAS. She felt there was a rising interest in flower arranging and thought it would be a great opportunity to get like-minded people together from the local community. From that day on, the group has gone from strength to strength”.
Over the years the members have represented the group at various flower shows including county shows and horticulture shows, and, Hazel Cuttell recalls “We’ve always been a very active group and we’ve decorated some beautiful properties including Chatsworth, Southwell Minster and Newstead Abbey. There have been many highlights over the years but we were particularly delighted and proud when a couple of our members won the bronze gilt award at Chelsea Flower Show in 1986”.
The group has stayed strong over the last 50 years with the current membership being nearly 80 members, plus regular attendance of a number of visitors at every meeting. The group’s Chairman, Janet Joseph, believes that the group continues to be popular because the Monday night meeting is an opportunity to escape busy lives for a couple of hours, relax and be wowed by the stunning floral arrangements created from scratch by professional floral demonstrators. Janet Joseph says “We’re a very welcoming group, where we chat and make friends and finish with a coffee”, but the best bit she says is “the floral arrangements are raffled off at the end of the evening so a few lucky winners get to take home ‘one-off’ pieces that you’d never find in a store”.
Janet Joseph also states, “we’re very proud of our group, not only because it’s an opportunity to catch-up with, and make new friends, but because over the years we’ve raised thousands of pounds for both local and national charities. We were delighted to put the first defibrillator into Heanor town centre, and each year we pick a charity to support. This year it’s Salcare, a community support charity for Amber Valley and Erewash”. The Floral Art Group raise money through garden parties, coffee mornings, and flower festivals at local churches and sales tables at the monthly meetings.
With regards to the future, Dorothy Allsop would like to see Heanor Floral Art Group continue into the next five decades, and as such she says, “we welcome new members and visitors and intend that friendships continue as a result of the group. I feel very proud that we’ve brought so much joy to the community of Heanor”.
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