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2013-Annual-Report.Pdf bok tower gardens mission statement To share Edward Bok’s gift of a beautiful and serene garden with music, architecture, and nature so that all who visit will be inspired by his vision: Wherever your lives may be cast, make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it. vision statement To offer visitors a unique experience in a world-class garden where one can find beauty, peace, and inspiration. institutional goals 1. We are committed to promoting our distinctiveness as a large 4. We are committed to promoting and maintaining our relevance public garden, preserving and sharing the legacy of Edward Bok, in the community in which we operate, among our peers, and and serving as a worldwide source of valued and authoritative among those who attend and support us. information. 5. We are committed to building long-term financial sustainability 2. We are committed to stewardship of the environment through by becoming more efficient and strategic financially to ensure our programs and our practices. the achievement of institutional objectives. 3. We are committed to delivering a high quality of presentation From Bok Tower Gardens’ in our core areas of horticulture, conservation, and music, and Long Range Fundamental Plan 2011-2015 by exceeding constituent expectations in our customer service, visitor amenities, and programming. annual report 2013 | bok tower gardens i table of contents From the President 1 Board of Directors 3 Administrative Staff 4 Volunteers 6 Cumulative Lifetime Donors 8 The Edward Bok Society 8 Preserve the Legacy, Steward the Future 9 Annual Supporters 11 Share the Gift Annual Fund Donors 17 In-Kind Donors 19 Reciprocal Partners 20 Corporate, Foundation & Grant Support 20 Honor Memorials 21 Financials 22 photography editor Chad Baumer design Joan Thomas Michael Potthast Randy Rupert Staff & Volunteers annual report 2013 | table of contents ii from the president Beyond Our Borders Garden borders define & Agricultural Science The Gardens & and contain the Extension Service. Conservation landscape. This year Dr. Cynthia Klemmer we have sought to go was hired as our new “Beyond our borders” was definitely beyond our borders by Director of Education the mantra for our horticulture and incorporating native in September and has conservation staff this year. Florida ecosystem been working to create a plantings and agriculture program called Gardens New plantings expanded our palette into new garden areas for Life. of native and blooming plants. A path to give a better sense of on the Tower Lawn was reopened after place and connectedness This educational outreach many decades to give visitors a closer to our region. We are program will bring edible view of the brass door. Our behind-the- also planning educational gardening to schools and scenes projects included expanding the programs that that will communities in a multi- nursery to begin growing hard-to-find go beyond our borders to county region. Florida varieties of plants for the future garden connect with new audiences both here and Extension Service staff will have office expansion. We experimented with bio-char throughout the State. space at the Gardens to provide technical, and vermiculture to improve the soil in administrative and logistical support to planting beds around the Visitor Center, Design schools and communities. We will also be and published three research articles in offering more educational opportunities on peer-reviewed scientific journals. Most notably was the work we began site to our members and visitors. in early 2013 with landscape architect Our dedicated conservation team Thomas Woltz and his team at Nelson The Carillon expanded their reach this year with rare Byrd Woltz to design the garden projects in plant introductions at four different Phase I of our award-winning Master Plan. Geert D’hollander, our sites around the State, In 2013, this plan received the highest fourth Carillonneur inluding the first award from the Florida chapter of the to serve in 84 years, population introduction American Society of Landscape Architects completed his first season of a critically-endangered (ASLA)–the Frederic B. Stresau Award. with us in 2012-2013. plant onto private lands. He is truly a musician The type of research This year-and-a-half design process has who recognizes no our team is conducting pushed the boundaries of our garden both borders when it comes on the microhabitats of figuratively and literally with plans for to carillon music. rare plants has seldom a Children’s Garden, Kitchen Garden, From his innovative been done so as to Pollinator Garden and Florida Wild arrangements and new push the boundaries of Garden, as well as a new circulation path carillon compositions understanding of what that will provide better access for all. to instructing students, these plants need to Geert is bringing a new survive. Education level of excellence to the carillon program. This summer, he traveled extensively to Spring 2013 saw the opening of our new We also began to put a finer point on our perform and conduct master workshops in 1.5-mile Preserve Trail and picnic shelter new educational partnership with the the U.S. and Europe. along the entrance road, and an outdoor University of Florida Institute for Food classroom was built next to the Lake Wales annual report 2013 | from the president 1 High School on the Bok Tower Gardens Visitation for 2012- you know, was well- Preserve. Interpretive signs and wildflower 2013 remained strong known for challenging plantings attracted many visitors to this at 149,226, and the status quo and trail to explore beyond the borders of the memberships reached pushing the boundaries historic core garden. 4,407 households. of conventional thought. As we enter our 85th Retail Services & Attendance for our year as a public garden, Marketing events, programs, and the board, staff and I are Pinewood Estate tours honored to be stewards Our Blue Palmetto Café and Tower & exceeded all expectations and visionaries of Edward Garden Gift Shop set a new revenue record this year. Visitation to Bok’s legacy. We invite again this year by grossing $1.14 million. Pinewood Estate doubled you, our supporters and We released the Rizzoli Press publication in 2012-2013, and friends, to join us in Bok Tower Gardens: America’s Taj Mahal education programs more than doubled continuing to push beyond the borders of in time for Edward Bok’s 150th birthday. in participation to 3,802 students. The the Gardens. I was honored to co-author this book Boktoberfest Plant Sale reached a record with architect and artist Kenneth Treister, high of 7,934 attendees, and our wedding featuring photographs by Dan Forer. rental revenue exceeded $70,000. We also saw many more tour groups this year – The marketing department continued to attendance rose from 5,574 to innovate and extend to the furthest reaches 6,225 people. of cyberspace. Among this year’s highlights was the unveiling of a new website with Concert Under the Stars found its fresh, “responsive design” technology, audience this year by pushing the musical which automatically adjusts the layout genre boundaries to feature an eclectic mix to the mobile phone or device it is being of “jazz grass” and viewed on. We increased our investments Americana music. in social media marketing and secured grants from Philanthropy Visit Central Florida to promote and advertise Our vision for the David Price, President several of our major Gardens to stay relevant events. and sustainable can’t be achieved without reaching People, beyond our borders to Events & inspire philanthropy. Programs Staff traveled from Miami to Maine to cultivate Our passionate corps of support for the future 375 volunteers donated 48,034 hours and to cultivate support for our $12 of work in all areas of our operations. million Preserve the Legacy, Steward the We could not accomplish all that we do Future campaign. We have made many without this incredible volunteer staff. new friends and revived many former Our Board of Directors have stepped up friendships in our travels, which bodes well the to the leadership role in our design for our future. planning and fund raising efforts, which is making our future garden expansion In October 2012, I accepted the Dutch- a reality. American Heritage Award on behalf of Edward W. Bok for his contributions to this country. Edward Bok, as many of annual report 2013 | from the president 2 friends of the gardens The Board of Directors, together with staff, deepened our relationships with our Friends locally and throughout the State as we began to grow “beyond our borders” in our philanthropy. We celebrated many new gifts this year for our education and cultural programs, as well as for our Preserve the Legacy, Steward the Future campaign. Our media, program and community Board of Directors partners and volunteers all Michael Aloian, Chair continue to grow in number. President, Whether the gifts are of time Charlotte State Bank Trust Department Tampa, FL or treasure, it is truly a fruitful time for giving to the Gardens, Cindy Alexander, Vice Chair Michael Aloian Community Volunteer, and we have you to thank. Lake Wales, FL Tomas J. Bok, Ph.D., Treasurer President, Cambridge Analytics LLC The achievements of an organization Somerville, MA are the results of the combined effort Frank M. Hunt II, Secretary of each individual. Chairman of the Board, Hunt Bros. Cooperative - Vince Lombardi Lake Wales, FL Board Members J. F. Bryan IV The Bryan Group - Jacksonville, FL William G. Burns Retired - Lake Wales, FL Emeritus Members Paul Collins Retired - PJC Partners - London Louise B. Adams Frank Driscoll Lake Wales, FL President/CEO - Driscoll Group - Winston-Salem, NC J. Shepard Bryan Jr. Derek Dunn-Rankin Attorney - Holland & Knight LLP - Atlantic Beach, FL President - Sun Coast Media Group, Inc.
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