Delaware’s First Lady, Carla Markell, has agreed to serve as the honorary chair of the Advisory Council of the Delaware Botanic Gardens. On April 16 at Woodburn, the official residence of the governor of Delaware, Mrs. Markell met with a delegation from the gardens to review the project to be built in Dagsboro.

“The Delaware Botanic Gardens is a proposal that all Delawareans can embrace” said Mrs. Markell. “I am impressed with the leadership and spirit of volunteerism demonstrated by the citizens who have developed this project,” she added, “and am honored to join with them as the chair of their Advisory Council to help make these gardens a reality for Delaware.”

caption: First Lady Carla Markell meets with Delaware Botanic Gardens Board members. From left to right: Sheryl J. Swed, DBG vice president, First Lady Carla Markell, Elisabeth Zajic, DGB board member.

The Delaware Botanic Gardens board and their corporate partners briefed Governor Jack Markell on January 28, 2014, in his statehouse office in Dover.

The cordial discussion capped a series of meetings with executive and legislative branch leaders, who all gave DBG enthusiastic support. The governor expressed his thanks to the board and its corporate partners for their work representing the best of Delaware—citizens coming together in recognition of a public need and working with public and private leaders throughout the state to make a valuable addition to Delaware: a world-class botanic garden.

Above, from left to right, Gerald T. Doherty, vice president, EDiS; Raymond J. Sander, treasurer, DBG; Sheryl J. Swed, vice president, DBG; Mark H. Davidson, associate vice president, Pennoni Associates; Michael J. Zajic, president, DBG; Governor Jack Markell; Susan Ryan, director, DBG; Betty Deacon, director, DBG; Elisabeth C. Zajic, director, DBG; Gregory D.Tepper, director of horticulture, DBG (titles as of 2014).