December 2025 Newsletter
Eastern Michigan Hosta Society
December 2025 Newsletter
Note from the President- I want to thank our tour hosts for this year. Thank you to Cathy Hodgson, Barb Hunter, and Sandy Vukonich. Thank you all for being gracious hosts and sharing your gardens with us. Your dedication to EMHS is greatly appreciated.
The EMHS Board had their annual meeting this year. We normally have an in-person meeting to plan for the coming year, but I had already confirmed all of our speakers for the 2026 indoor meetings so we did an on-line agenda in October.
Please take note of the Calendar of Events below and mark the dates on your calendar. We have speakers new to us and we look forward to learning from presenters about the new topics. February we will have a Potluck, catch up with each other, and try to get tour volunteers for July and August. EMHS is joining Great Lakes Regional Hosta Society which means if you are a member of EMHS, you get to sign-up for Hosta College a week earlier than before.
We are asking the members to consider hosting one of the two EMHS Garden Tours this year. If you have never hosted one of the tours, please consider doing so. We need at least two hosts for both July and August. For hosting you will receive $25 in cash for providing water for the tour and also receive a one-year free membership. We prefer to have at least two gardens per tour and if you have a neighbor close to you that has a nice garden, they can be on the tour with you. In other words, you do not have to be a current member for your garden to be on a tour. If no volunteers…Cancel summer meetings? Have a potluck at MTH in July or August?
If somebody wants to have a summer tour with a potluck at their home they are welcome to do so as long as they have parking space, tables for a potluck, etc.
*This has to be finalized no later than the February 2026 Meeting
Our next meeting is the Christmas Party on December 11th, 2025. We will have our biggest Potluck of the year so plan to bring your favorite dish to pass. We will also do the gift exchange the same as we have done previously. More information is available below under the Next Meeting heading.
I look forward to seeing you at the Mayfield Twp. Hall on December 11th.
Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,
Glen Pace
EMHS President
Next Meeting- December 11, 2025 at the Mayfield Twp. Hall, 1900 N. Saginaw, Lapeer, MI 48446. This is our regular meeting place located just south of the point of M-24 and N. Saginaw, (the driveway just north of the Cemetery).
The doors will open at 4:00 PM for decorating/Networking, Potluck Dinner at 5:00 PM, and Gift Exchange/Business Meeting at 6:00 PM.
This annual event is always a lot of fun and a great way to end the year for the club. The Club will provide the meat (ham) and table set-ups. We do ask that everybody bring a dish to pass as this is our biggest potluck of the year.
We will be doing the gift exchange as we have done in the past. If you are interested in exchanging gifts, all you have to do is bring a wrapped non-gender-specific gift with a value of $10. All the gifts will be laid at the back of the room and during the party we will call names from the sign-up sheet of the people who brought gifts. When your name is called you go pick out a gift. Nobody is required to bring a gift for the exchange, but if you do not bring one, please understand that you will not be able to place your name on the list to pick one out. This is the only way to assure that all people who bring a gift will receive one.
Fund Raising- Cathy Hodgson has donated a bunch of gourds for members to take home to clean, paint, and donate back to the club as a fundraiser. Take them home tonight so you can have them completed by February 2026 meeting to use as raffle items.
We will bring back having raffles at our inside meetings. We would appreciate donations for the monthly indoor meetings.
The EMHS 2026 Calendar of Events
2026 Meeting Dates-Speakers-Places
Anybody that will offer to host a summer tour, please see a Board Member
Feb 12- Potluck/discuss the year’s plans
March- Hosta College
April 09-Lynn O’Shaughnessy,
“The Evolution of a Gardener, Knowledge Gained Through Experience” at MTH
May 14-Jean Persely, “Magical Monarchs” at MTH
June 11- Brian Peterson, “World Pollinators” at MTH
July 09- tour-??
Aug 13- tour-??
Sept 10- Plant Exchange at Suncrest
Nov 12- Board Mtg
Dec 10- Christmas Party at MTH
Name Badges- If you need one of the new EMHS name badges, please put your printed name on the sign-up sheet at any meeting or you can email Glen with your request. Glen will try to have your name badge at the next meeting.
Club Members selling Hosta or Related Products-
Please call or email to set an appointment before visiting
Brown, Deb- Aeroponic Tower Garden. 505-379-9100,
www.debbrown.towergarden.com
Daniels, Marlene- Bottle wind chimes. 810-358-7765,
gardenfairy50@aol.com
Hanner, Mark/Becky- Pottery. 810-631-4292,
mhanner@aol.com
Hunter, Barb- Hosta, Daylilies, Pond supplies. 810-664-7531,
baha@chartermi.net
Websites of Interest:
American Hosta Society-
http://www.americanhostasociety.org/
American Hosta Society Convention Website- http://www.americanhostasociety.org/Activities/Conventions.htm
AHS Hosta Library Website-
http://www.hostalibrary.org/
Michigan Hosta Society Website-
http://www.hostahappenings.com/
Eastern Michigan Hosta Society-
http://EMHosta.com
Hosta College Website-
HostaCollege.org
EMHS Board of Officers:
President Glen Pace
PaceGardens@charter.net 810-247-4582
Vice-President Becky Hanner
BGHanner@aol.com 810-631-4292
Secretary/Treasurer Marlene Daniels
gardenfairy50@aol.com 810-358-7765
Past President Mark Hanner
mhanner@aol.com 810-631-4292
Fund-Raising Cathy Hodgson
cehodgso@hotmail.com 810-664-8985
