Message from our President:
As the president of The Garden Club of Senoia, I am proud to lead this dedicated organization. Our team of talented and passionate women is deeply committed to making a positive impact on the environment and beautifying Senoia. We achieve this with the invaluable support of our community, visionary residents, and city government, which honors activism toward preserving and protecting our gardens, parks, and the urban forest. We are truly grateful for your continued support.
Join us, form new friendships, and be a part of this inspiring journey to create a more beautiful Senoia.
Meet the Executive Board
-
Carol McMackin, Founder & President
Carol's beginnings on Long Island, New York, were spent exploring the unique wooded parklands, diverse arboretums, meticulous formal public gardens, and enjoying the beautiful beaches and shores nearby. These beginning days influenced her love of nature and curiosity about the natural landscape. Her father and mother, both creative and socially exuberant, enjoyed spending their free time in the garden. Influenced by their commitment to the beauty of floral perennials, she remembers the many evening garden strolls learning the plant varieties and enjoying the many fragrances that intoxicated the garden.
Armed with an education in architecture, she embarked on her professional journey with a unique modern architectural firm. This firm, unlike others, draws inspiration from the landscape to shape the built form, a concept she found fascinating. Here, she honed her skills in integrating natural elements into the design. Later, she established her own design studio, East Hampton Gardens. In 2020, she relocated to Senoia and founded The Garden Club of Senoia, where she is currently fostering friendships and nurturing her favorite place, her garden.
-
Missy Harrison, Vice President
From her childhood days exploring the forests and trails of Asheville, North Carolina, Missy developed a deep and lasting love for the outdoors. Raised among generations of nature lovers—her grandfather and great-grandfather were both landscapers, and her grandmother owned a florist—she grew up surrounded by beauty, creativity, and a deep respect for the natural world.
As a mother, Missy shared that love by volunteering on school grounds committees from North Carolina to Connecticut to Georgia, leading Audubon and nature-focused projects that helped children and communities connect with their environment.
She continues her commitment through her active involvement in protecting and preserving nature with The Garden Club of Senoia and the Old City Arboretum.
Missy finds joy with her hands in the soil—cultivating beauty in gardens, landscapes, and floral designs. Whether tending native plants, designing arrangements for family weddings and baby showers, or simply bringing nature’s charm to everyday life, she delights in creating spaces that reflect both heart and harmony.
-
Teresa McCarthy, Treasurer
Teresa, a native of Georgia, inherited a love for gardening from her mother and grandmother. They were passionate gardeners who surrounded her youthful years with beautiful flowering blooms, floral fragrances and abundant color, fruit-bearing trees and berry vines with gardens to explore.
Today, she strolls through lovely flower gardens, foraging for the right color combinations of flowers and gathering vines, interesting berries, or natural stems or branches as creative garden elements that enhance beautiful floral arrangements. Reflecting back, it all seems like part of history to Teresa.
Learning from Floral professionals and personally challenging her eye toward better floral design has given her that exquisite touch with flowering blooms that she incorporates into home interiors.
After many years in the banking industry, she now shares her floral design ideas with our members, helping to make Senoia a beautiful place, hopefully full of flowers.
-
Ami Ivanecky, Secretary
~It All Begins With An Idea~
In September 2019, our founder, Carol McMackin, had an idea. The result: In January 2020, the founding members gathered for the first garden club meeting in Senoia's history. Twenty-four women were brought together to develop friendships while benefiting the community.
And so began the story of The Garden Club of Senoia.
Our monthly gatherings are not just meetings, they are opportunities for learning, sharing, and socializing. We eagerly look forward to welcoming new members who share our love of beauty and community. In the Spring, we are always ready to greet the crowd as they arrive early, hoping to be the first through the garden gates to our Spring Garden Tour or An April Affair luncheon. It marks the start of Senoia's Spring Social Season, a day our guests anticipate each year with excitement when our Garden Club members put on their favorite garden party hats and work together in perfect harmony.
Our passion for the beautification of Senoia is not just a hobby; it's a mission. From elegant afternoon fundraising events to preserving historic gardens and creating new natural garden spaces within the city, our activities have a tangible impact on our community. We are committed to encouraging community awareness about conserving our natural resources, appreciating our historic park, protecting our trees, garden preservation, and an environment that will encourage wildlife.