Garden Club of Ohio Executive Board
President:
Debra Turner
Debra Turner was the Garden Club of Ohio’s( GCO) First Vice President from 2023 to 2025, and its Second Vice President from 2021 to 2023.
She was GCO’s Spring Designer in 2021.
Debra served on the National Garden Club’s (NGC) Board of Directors in 2023-2025 as the Natural Disasters USA Grant Chair. More than $50,000 in grants were awarded. She continues on the NGC Board as Ohio’s president.
Debra is a Flower Show Judge with NGC and a Landscape Design Consultant.
Creative Arrangers Guild of Columbus and Pickaway County Garden Club of Circleville are her clubs,
She is a Fairfield County, Ohio, Master Gardener, and has been a master gardener in New Mexico and Atlantic Canada.
Her first NGC-affiliated garden club was the Uptown Garden Club in Albuquerque, NM.
The Bridgewater Garden Club in Nova Scotia, Canada, was her first garden club.
She was born in Colorado and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She spent more than 30 years in journalism and has lived in, studied at and traveled to many places. Her master’s degrees is from Wirtschaftsuniversitait-Wien in Austria and the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
Her husband, Dave McCoy, and she both like to cook nuanced dishes, therefore they’ve been growing herbs for a long time. She likes growing things that can become flower designs. They both like growing plants they can eat. After many attempts, this year they finally harvested eggplant from their garden.
The plants that truly enchant her, however, are Ohio’s sycamore and oak trees.
Past President:
Kathy Wagner
I joined Centerville Garden Club in November 2011, and have served as Corresponding/Recording Secretary, Vice President, & President. In 2019 I joined the Rolling Hills Garden Club. I served as Dayton District Director 2013-2015, and was Registrar for the most recent Dayton Convention.
I have had many roles in the Garden Club of Ohio: Yearbook Awards Chairman, Nature Conservancy Chairman, 2nd Vice President, 1st Vice President , and GCO President 2023-2025. I am thankful for all the support during my tenure as GCO President.
My favorite gardening is container gardening, they look good sitting around my patio and the maintenance is easy. I love to watch the hummingbirds and butterflies that come around. My favorite flower is columbine for hummingbirds, and the butterflies love my Black Eyed Susan.
First Vice President:
Elaine George
I truly believe that my interest in gardening is a natural extension in my love of the outdoors. Hiking, biking or horseback riding through our beautiful Metroparks was always my idea of a perfect day! Working at the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center in Bay Village taught me so much about the natural world we live in and how important it is to preserve it.
I joined the Avon-on-the-Lake Garden Club in 2017 and began to learn about native plants and their importance to our wildlife and the environment in general. I am now determined to make my yard as nature friendly as possible and help spread the word about the value of natives in the garden. Inspired to learn more, I became a Master Gardner in 2020. I served as president of our club from 2020 - 2023, and was Co-Director of the Cleveland District with Cindy Mulligan from 2023-25 and I now look forward to this next step in my garden club journey.
Second Vice President:
Anette Montgomery
My love for gardening began in childhood, following my parents through flower beds and green spaces. Over the years, that passion has grown into a deep appreciation for perennials and annuals, turning my home and garden into a year-round source of joy and creativity.
I've been an active member of the Neighborhood Garden Club for 15 years, serving as co-president. My interest in the Canton Garden Center led to involvement in flower shows, committees, and leadership roles, including 1st Vice President and now President.
I’ve attended many GCO conventions and served as Annuals and Perennials Chair. As I begin my role as GCO 2nd Vice President, I look forward to growing alongside fellow gardeners—cultivating both beauty and community.
Treasurer:
Kim Overholt
I have been a member of East Rochester Garden Club for 38 years and I am currently the President of our club and I have held the offices of Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer as well. I have been married for 39 years to my wonderful husband and have two adult children and two grandchildren. Aside from gardening, I love camping with my family and friends and traveling! Being outdoors is my favorite thing to do and I feel my love for gardening was first taught to me by my grandmother as she was a farmer and avid gardener. I always thought there was nothing she could not do or did not know! My favorite flowers are daisies and roses and I enjoy working in my flower beds and vegetable gardening. I look forward to serving my fellow gardeners as Treasurer of Garden Club of Ohio
Recording Secretary:
Winnie Garabis
To contact GCO Leadership email info@gardenclubofohio.org