Thursday, March 28, 2024
 
Click HERE to sign up to receive Eye On Sun Valley's Daily News Email
 
Sawtooth Botanical Garden Honors Passionate Supporter with Legacy Fund
Loading
   
Friday, August 24, 2018
 

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

The purple lavender and pink spirea serving as the backdrop of the Sawtooth Botanical Garden Gala got infused with a swath of red as John Flattery drove his 1964 Austin-Healey onto the lawn in front of the gazebo Wednesday night.

Within minutes his wife Sandra Flattery took her place against the cherry red British sports car, decked out in the fashion of the jazz era.

“I couldn’t find a cigarette for the cigarette lighter,” she commented to Chiyo Parten, who had co-organized the gala benefit with the theme of “All That Jazz.” “No one smokes around here.”

John Flattery bought the sports car several years ago, riding a wave of nostalgia about the 1963 Austin-Healey he had while dating Sandra in San Francisco.

It was stolen three times while he lived in San Francisco, but he was always able to retrieve it because it balked at starting and the car thieves quickly ditched it.

 “You had to roll it down the hill to start it,” said John. “This one is 54 years old, has no power steering no air conditioning, but it’s sporty.”

Sporty enough that the couple brought it to the Sawtooth Botanical Garden’s annual gala benefit  hoping that people would use it as a backdrop for photos given the night’s theme.

But they had hardly parked it when the dark clouds to the north moved over, emptying the burden of raindrops they’d been holding. And 120 partygoers went scurrying for the cover of the tent, leaving behind the jazz lounge sofas that had been set up on the lawn.

The rain didn’t dampen the enthusiasm, though, as Ellen Suter and Neil Fleishon took the opportunity to dance away to the jazz renderings of the Sally Tibbs and Kevin Kirk Band under the beaded chandeliers hanging from the tent.

Susan Sheffield tried to entice partygoers into taking a chance on a raffle for a Challenger Ski Pass donated by Sun Valley Resort.

“If you get it and don’t want it you can always donate it to someone,” she said, either consciously or unconsciously pointing at herself as she said that.

The evening was designed to raise money for the public garden, which was founded in 1994 to educate Wood River Valley residents about the native and cultivated plants that grow in this region and teach about such things as wise water practices.

Today it gets visitors from around the world, including Latvia, Bulgaria, Brazil and Taiwan, who “want to see this beautiful place that we take care of,” said Director Jen Smith. “People love this place.”

Right now, the garden’s focus is on making sure it has a stable base of support, she added. “We have lots of new things coming—you just have to wait for the next five months.”

One of the ways the garden hopes to establish financial stability is with the newly created Dayle Fowler Legacy Endowment Fund, announced John Wolcott, vice-chair of the board of directors. The fund already has $350,000 with a goal of $500,000.

Fowler served on the board of the botanical garden in 2008 and 2009 before she was struck and killed by a truck while for a highway construction project north of Twin Falls.

In her will she gave more than a million dollars to the garden, as well as art, such as a silk Hindu Lotus Mandala wall hanging from India that is currently hanging at the garden and is available for sale to benefit the garden.

“When Gina and I moved here, one of the first places we came to see was this garden to see what we could grow,” Wolcott said. “The improvements you see today were mainly due to her, including the Sawtooth Botanical Garden sign on Highway 75. She had a great passion for the garden and for jazz in the garden so we dedicated tonight to her.”

Live auction items included a five-night stay for six at an exotic luxury home in Bali that went for $2,400, a week’s retreat at the Garden of 1,000 Buddhas north of Missoula that went for $1,000, and a French Quarter package that included a personal tour of the Longue Vue House and Gardens that went for $1,100.

The paddle up got fast and furious between about two dozen bidders as auctioneer Larry Flynn offered attendees the opportunity to be the last to raise their paddle for $50 for a chance to win a $500 package that included nibbles from Rasberrys and Cristina’s and gift certificates from Ketchum Kitchens and Atkinsons’ Markets.

And 21 answered Board President Susan Flynt’s offer to match twenty $100 pledges.

Rick Maneval won the Sun Valley Challenger ski pass, his raffle number picked out of a top hat.

Maneval and Jane Conard noted that they had memorialized their Himalayan blue point cat Gatita in the garden’s new Pet Memory Garden, which opened last fall near the Garden of Infinite Compassion.

“She was 16 and our empty nester after our daughter went off,” said Conard.  “I also love the peace garden--it’ a great contribution to the community.”

Melissa Mollet Binnie reminisced about the Grow Your Garden that was on the SBG’s Garden Tour in July.

“The kids who take part start out saying, ‘I’m not going to weed,’ but they change their tune during the 10-week program,” she said. “We tell them not to plant things too close together, but they’re insistent that they’re going to plant something right next to their friend’s. But over time we teach them about where healthy food comes from.”

Chiyo Parten, who co-hosted the gala with Susan Flynt, said she has long loved the garden, in particular the Garden of Infinite Compassion where she often comes to meditate.

“We love this community garden and the fact that it’s for everybody to come and enjoy,” she said.

Flynt, who serves as president of the board, recalled how she and a friend started the Bug Zoo years ago. She has been humbled since to see the joy it brings not only to youngsters but to senior citizens, as well.

“It’s become something I could never have imagined,” she said.

~  Today's Topics ~


Lou Whittaker Leaves Behind a Legacy of Mountaineering and Storytelling

Free Range Poetry Society to Hold Second Gathering Tonight

Easter Bunny to Begin Hopping Friday
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Website problems? Contact:
Michael Hobbs
General Manager /Webmaster
Mike@EyeOnSunValley.com
 
Got a story? Contact:
Karen Bossick
Editor in Chief
(208) 578-2111
Karen@EyeOnSunValley.com
 
 
Advertising /Marketing /Public Relations
Leisa Hollister
Chief Marketing Officer
(208) 450-9993
leisahollister@gmail.com
 
Brandi Huizar
Account Executive
(208) 329-2050
brandi@eyeonsunvalley.com
 
 
ABOUT US
EyeOnSunValley.com is the largest online daily news media service in The Wood River Valley, publishing 7 days a week. Our website publication features current news articles, feature stories, local sports articles and video content articles. The Eye On Sun Valley Show is a weekly primetime television show focusing on highlighted news stories of the week airing Monday-Sunday, COX Channel 13. See our interactive Kiosks around town throughout the Wood River Valley!
 
info@eyeonsunvalley.com      Press Releases only
 
P: 208.720.8212
P.O. Box 1453 Ketchum, ID  83340
LOGIN

© Copyright 2023 Eye on Sun Valley