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For our Director's blog about gardening Click Here.
Master Gardener training, sponsored by Ohio State University Extension, consists of 50 hours of intensive training, and newly trained recruits volunteer at least fifty hours of service (such as at Kingwood Center!) to acquire the Master Gardener designation. For information contact OSU Extension in Richland County at 419-747-8755.
Want to see what other attractions are available in Mansfield? Click Here or go to WhoFish
Annual Report, 2014
For the last six years Kingwood has been on a new trajectory. We understand that our future depends on more income diversity, and a more market oriented approach to offering Mr. King’s estate, a place where the joys, appreciation and knowledge of gardens, gardening and associated interests can be cultivated. We need to earn and raise more money to support our mission while making more efficient and targeted use of the resources we have. We have made steady progress on all counts, but 2014 brought some vital advances.
Our earned income rose 11% over 2013 to $264,051; our endowment income increased by 6% to $750,000, but our contributions and grants increased by 1,780% to $610,635!
With the generous gifts we have initiated some vital planning. Terra Design Studios of Pittsburgh has assembled a team of advisors to guide Kingwood through a master planning process that should prove vital in guiding us along our new path of providing better more profound experiences for our visitors while bolstering the long-term viability of Kingwood Center. The planning is expected to be completed in July of 2015.
Our operating expenses for 2014 were $1,014,896 which was comfortably below the $1,020,005 budget. Capital and special operating expenses took initial advantage of some restricted gifts to venture $9,343 over budget and spend $81,593. Our net operating assets increased from $164,951 in 2013 to $758,193 at the end of 2014.
We were very saddened by the death of long time Kingwood employee, Charles Applegate. Charles was the embodiment of Kingwood horticulture. As Charles continued working through his seventies and into his eighties others gradually assumed responsibility for his daily duties, but it is hard to imagine anyone replacing his infectious love of gardening.
Our fourth Great Pumpkin Glow was a smash hit. Expanded to two days the event attracted almost 7,000 visitors and earned Kingwood Center over $24,000. It was a maximum effort of every resource we could garner from staff to volunteers to hired policemen to cooperative Mansfield School administrators, to contributors and sponsors and on and on.
We are very grateful to all of our supporters, but special mention should be made of those who have given us $1,000 or more over the past year.
DONATIONS:
James R. Borden: $463,261
James and Johanna Bodiford: $100,000
Michael McKinley: $5,000
Ohio Daylily Society: $2,500 for the Applegate Memorial Fund
William B. Sharp & the Sharp Family Foundation: $2,000
Therm-O-Disc: $1,000
GRANTS:
Richland County Foundation Designated Funds:
Rex E. & Marjorie Sue Collins Fund: $2,204
William & Katherine Jane McCarrick Fund: $3,129
Rowland & Delight Patricia Poth Fund: $8,516
Sara & Eugene Goin Donor Advised Fund: $3,000
Kingwood Center Fund: $15,000
Fran & Warren Rupp Donor Advised Fund: $6,300 for a summer and a winter intern
Marian Bonte Fund of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay: $1,074
Corporate Sponsorships:
Med Central Hospital: $1,500 for our Kingwood 5K Run
Century Link: $2,500 for the Great Pumpkin Glow
MEMBERSHIPS @ the $1,000 level:
Ephraim Bacquet
John & Mimi Fernyak
Tom & Lola Riester
Dan & Sue Phallen
Nancy Porter
Richard & Helen Taylor
Robert and Sandra Baxter
Built in 1926 for Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kelley King, the 47-acre estate opened as a public garden in 1953, one year after Mr. King's death. Mr. King, who was married and divorced twice, never had children. He left most of his estate to the private foundation that continues to operate Kingwood Center today. Mr. King made his fortune in Mansfield, Ohio working with the Ohio Brass Company. Hired as the company's first electrical engineer in 1893, he led Ohio Brass into new ventures, particularly the manufacture of electrical fittings for railroads and trolleys. Mr. King eventually became President and Chairman of the Board of Ohio Brass.
Open Daily from 10 AM - 5 PM
The King home was designed by prominent Cleveland architect Clarence Mack, who made a career of building fashionable homes in Lakewood and Shaker Heights, Ohio and in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Displaced by the Great Depression, Mack began a second successful career in 1935 designing residences in and around Palm Beach, Florida. Today the King home is used, as Mr. King directed, to house a horticultural library and the administrative offices of Kingwood Center. Much of the main floor, however, is on display in a manner similar to its original arrangement with many of Mr. King's furnishings.
Thank you for your interest in Kingwood Center Gardens!
Garden Shop Supervisor
Dedicated in 1953, Kingwood Center Gardens is a cultural and educational center with special emphasis on ornamental horticulture and gardening. Kingwood’s mission is to create beautiful gardens for enjoyment, education, and inspiration. In the Spring of 2019, Kingwood broke ground on The Garden Gateway, a transformative project that will help redefine the guest’s visit. Set to open in summer 2020, the new welcome center includes, a ballroom, café, and a new and expanded giftshop and retail plant sales areas.
Position:
This position is a full-time, salaried position that reports to the Director of Horticulture. The retail operations supervisor manages day to day retail operations at Kingwood Center Gardens which consist of the indoor gift shop area, the retail greenhouse, and the outdoor plant sales area. This position works closely with both the Horticulture and Visitors Service Departments to confirm that the needs of Kingwood Center Gardens retail, staffing, and open hours are met. It is also the goal of this position to confirm guests are provided excellent customer service while shopping our retail spaces.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The Garden Shop Supervisor manages all visual merchandising in retail locations and maintains the quality of displays. Responsibilities include coordinating and displaying all plant and gift shop merchandise while maintaining accurate inventory records using a POS system. This position is responsible for hiring, training, and motivating seasonal employees who will help present a positive experience to Kingwood guests. It is essential that the Garden Shop Supervisor work collaboratively with greenhouse production and visitor services staff, while also being able to work independently. Some weekend/holiday work is required.
Qualifications:
The ideal candidate for the Garden Shop Supervisor position will have a college degree or its equivalent in business management, horticulture or a related field. The candidate should also have extensive plant knowledge, retail/garden center experience, great organizational skills and have a desire to help Kingwood’s guests.
To Apply, please send cover letter, resume, three references and salary requirements to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Communications Assistant
Department: Development and Marketing
Reports to: Director of Development and Marketing
Part-Time / Year Round
Purpose: To support administrative, marketing, and communication needs; to assist in the implementation of communications strategies and projects
Responsibilities:
Administrative:
- Support the maintenance of an accurate, efficient and current database in Altru
- Assist in the preparation and handling of Kingwood correspondence related to memberships, sponsorships and fundraising initiatives (renewals, acknowledgements, bulk mail projects, etc.)
- Customer service: online and phone support
- Ongoing Altru education and mastery in order to properly handle customer records, sales transactions, data interpretation and reporting
- Additional duties as assigned
Marketing:
- Provide administrative support for marketing and communication needs across various departments and programs
- Assist with maintaining website, social media, and marketing efforts according to branding and content guidelines
- Assist with acknowledgement of sponsors across all media avenues along with sponsor benefit deliverables
- Gather and collate photo/media collection for promotion and general use on an ongoing basis
- Assist with brochures, flyers, event promotion and other publications
- Regularly audit internal and external Kingwood public information for accuracy
- Event support as needed
- Additional duties as assigned
- As the Development and Marketing Department grows, this position has the potential to increase responsibilities with fund raising initiatives and marketing projects
Qualifications:
- Creative and self-motivated with the ability to work independently
- Customer-oriented approach
- Proficient in Microsoft Office programs; basic photo editing skills preferred
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Must have strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Comfortable working with the public
- Experience in marketing or communications preferred
- BS / BA or associate degree in a related field is preferred
- Ability to work a flexible schedule including evenings and weekends
Please submit a cover letter and resume to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.