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02/08/2017 07:30 AMJust one year after Gerri Giordano married Ralph Giordano, the couple moved to North Haven. For the past 50 years, they not only raised their son and daughter in town, but have given back in a number of capacities.
Gerri first found her love of volunteering when her son Ralph played football at North Haven High School. She collected funds for the team and helped put out a program book.
“I did it because I enjoyed it,” says Gerri, who received the Key to the City from Walter Gawrych, a former first selectman. “I like everything about this town—the townspeople are great, the individuals and the businesses in town.”
A few years after moving to town, Gerri joined the North Haven Garden Club (NHGC) and she has now been a member for 41 years. She has held every office in the club throughout the years and has enjoyed learning new things and building relationships over those years.
“I always liked gardening. It was something my father always did and his father did,” says Gerri. “With the garden club, I’ve made a lot of good friends and gained a good knowledge of plants and animals.”
Gerri has not only learned about gardening techniques, wildlife, and more from her fellow NHGC members, but from the various speakers that give presentations at club meetings, as well. The club meets monthly and is always looking for new members.
The club currently has 29 members. In addition to its monthly meetings, it also hosts a variety of annual events, including a plant sale in May, and goes on field trips.
“For a small club, we’re very active,” says Gerri. “We have a group of people that really work well together and help each other out. It’s fantastic.”
Beautifying different areas of town is one of the NHGC’s biggest endeavors. While Gerri has worked on many areas over her four decades with the group, Todd’s Pond is her favorite.
“We spent some time cleaning it up and the town has really been keeping it up,” says Gerri. “It’s a cute little park and we’ve planted there. It’s a certified backyard habitat so we’ve provided food, shelter, and water for birds and animals and planted mostly native plants. We try to use native plants whenever we do plantings throughout the town.”
Gerri’s work with the NHGC has expanded into other volunteer work, as well. She is on the board of the Federated Garden Club. Through this position, she keeps NHGC members up-to-date on any legislation that may impact the club.
Three years ago, she began working with the North Haven Conservation Commission, which plans the Earth Day celebration for the Town of North Haven. She helps in coordinating vendors and publicizing the event to residents.
“The three things I’m doing are connected,” says Gerri. “I like conservation and the environment, so I try to stay involved in all that.”
Gerri’s history of working with environmental causes dates back to the 1980s when she was on one of the original committees protesting against an uptown project. This not only piqued her interest and concern for the environment, but opened her eyes to working with the town and its various boards and commissions.
In 1986, she was named the treasurer of the Bicentennial Commission to celebrate the town’s 200th anniversary. The NHGC worked on the beautification of the Town Green for the bicentennial celebration and as a member of the Bicentennial Commission, Gerri’s name is on a plaque on the Green. She was involved in the NHGC’s efforts to build for the parade.
“We put it together in my driveway on my neighbor’s flatbed truck,” says Gerri. “We decorated it, entered it, and won the selectman’s trophy.”
Gerri and Ralph’s children, Ralph and Andrea, graduated from North Haven High School and Gerri worked at ACES for years before Andrea had twins. Gerri retired from her job to take care of her grandchildren, Andrew and Christopher, and later her granddaughter Carina. Now the twins are 16 and Carina is 14 and they live in Cheshire.
“Staying home to take care of them was great and it was very special to have that time with them—I miss it,” says Gerri. “They are the light of my life.
When the grandchildren were young, Gerri spent much of her time with them in the garden. They were involved in choosing plants, digging in the garden, and more. With Carina, Gerri also made fairy-scapes. They made fairies out of silk flowers and created habitats for them out of things found around the house.
“Each fairy has a scene and it was all made with recycled found materials,” says Gerri. “Depending on the color of the fairy, we’d try to make things to go with it, like twigs and wire to make a swing or little houses out of pieces of wood. Now they’re getting too old for it, but we did have fun while we were doing it.”
Carina enjoyed gardening so much that she joined the Gardening Club at Dodd Middle School. Unfortunately there wasn’t a Garden Club when she got to high school. Now, Gerri and Ralph spend much of their free time at their grandchildren’s sporting events and activities.
One of her favorite projects with the NHGC was integrating her crafting when she created birdseed wreaths to sell as a fundraiser. She worked with fellow member Jan Tracy, who took the orders and raised $1,500 for the club. Gerri then held a workshop teaching other members how to make the wreaths. Several volunteers created 60 wreaths to sell. Gerri is hoping to continue the sale each year.
Despite being retired, Gerri is never at a loss for something to do. Between her work with the NHGC, the Conservation Commission, and the Federated Garden Club, along with spending time with her family, she is always on the go.
“We spend a lot of time with the kids between activities and we’re constantly busy,” says Gerri. “I don’t have time to be bored. I go non-stop. That’s my life: grandkids, crafts, and gardening—those are my loves and that’s what I do.”