Immediate Past President

Sally Browning Fowler has called Madison home since 2012, and it didn't take long for her to start shaping it. She and her husband David are the proud parents of daughter Elizabeth and son Mitchell, and devoted grandparents to Grace and Paige — with Lizzie the dog and Alex the cat rounding out the household. When she's not in the garden, Sally can be found at the piano, lost in a good book, or working through a word puzzle. She built a distinguished primary career in group health and disability insurance culminating in her position as Regional Director for Unum Insurance Company, before embarking on a second career as a special education teacher — a choice driven entirely by a desire to give back. She has served as President of the Atlanta Interfaith AIDS Network and President of the International Claims Association, and today volunteers with the Boys & Girls Club and the Morgan County Composting Collaborative.

In 2021, Sally founded the Fifth Street Community Garden and served as its first president, a role she continues to hold in an emeritus capacity. What makes her story particularly charming is that gardening itself was new to her when she started; she became a gardener because she founded the garden, and has learned everything alongside her fellow gardeners ever since. Her vision was never simply about growing vegetables — it was about creating a welcoming gathering space where people of all backgrounds could come together, care for the earth, and teach children the joy and value of growing their own food. That vision, rooted in community, continues to bloom.

Secretary and Master Gardener Extraordinaire

Pat has been part of the Madison-Morgan Community Garden since its early days, joining the board as Secretary in 2021 and remaining a steady, committed presence ever since. Her professional life was devoted to public education — 33 years as a teacher and administrator that culminated in the distinguished recognition of Georgia Assistant Principal of the Year before her retirement in 2013. That same dedication to community she brought to the classroom now shows up across multiple boards, where she serves the Morgan County Historical Society, The Caring Place Food Bank, and the Morgan County Retired Teachers Association.

Pat has been a Georgia Master Gardener since 2013, and her approach to gardening reflects both knowledge and purpose. She is particularly passionate about native plants that support pollinators, alongside the deeply satisfying work of growing vegetables. For Pat, the garden is a natural extension of a life spent serving others — another place to show up, contribute, and help something flourish.

Board Treasurer

Ann Ballard is a woman of remarkable accomplishment, deep faith, and tireless service to her community. She and her husband Columbus are the proud parents of six children and grandparents to fourteen. Ann holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Paine College and a Master's in Foundational Education from Troy University, and she built a distinguished career as a 6th grade math teacher with the Morgan County Board of Education before retiring in 2019. Before and during her teaching years, Ann served more than 26 years in the Army Reserves, retiring as a Sergeant First Class after commanding 200 soldiers as acting First Sergeant — and earning her stripes in the Desert Storm/Desert Shield Campaign in Saudi Arabia. She is also an ordained minister.

Ann's community footprint in Madison is extraordinary. She serves on the Boys & Girls Club board and its Capital Campaign Committee, holds executive roles with the local NAACP and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and is a member of the Pearl Burney Alumni Museum and a past committee member of the Cotton Gin Festival. As Treasurer of the Madison-Morgan Community Garden — and one of the founding members who helped bring it to life — Ann sees the garden as a natural extension of everything she stands for. She believes deeply in the power of community, healthy living, and collective effort, and finds great reward in a place where fresh produce, friendship, education, and service all grow side by side.

Board President

Ann Clarke came to Madison in 2018 from southeast Nebraska, bringing with her a lifetime of gardening wisdom, a passion for community, and an impressive résumé. She and her husband Eston share their home with two rescue Pugs — Winston, a Pug mix, and Griffin — and when she's not in the garden, Ann enjoys quilting, traveling, and reading. A member of St. James Catholic Church, she is also actively involved in efforts to divert food waste from landfills and partners with a local agriculture teacher to offer a five-week summer camp introducing third through fifth graders to the world of vegetables. She was a certified Master Gardener, having earned that distinction in both South Carolina and Nebraska.

Ann's professional background is as remarkable as her community work. She retired in 2008 after a 30-year career with the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole & Pardon Services, rising from Probation and Parole Agent to Assistant Deputy Director for Field Operations — a journey that took her through every level of county, state, and federal government operations. That depth of leadership experience now serves the garden beautifully in her role as Board President and previously in her role as Fundraising Chair. Gardening, for Ann, is deeply personal — rooted in memories of her grandparents' garden, her father's post-Vietnam garden in Columbus, and her beloved maternal grandmother in South Carolina, who passed down the folklore of planting by the phases of the moon, a practice Ann follows to this day. She grows flowers among her vegetables across three raised beds and a dedicated asparagus bed at home, and always challenges herself with something new each season. For Ann, the community garden represents everything a shared space can be — inclusive, educational, nourishing, and proof of what happens when like-minded people come together around a common cause

Gardener Relations Chairperson

Karen Whitt came to Madison in 2020 and quickly found her people — in the garden, in the gallery, and around the Mah Jongg table. A woman of many creative pursuits, Karen fills her time with knitting, quilting, cooking, and volunteer work that spans the Morgan Madison Cultural Center, the Madison Artists Guild Gallery, and the Lake Oconee Quilt Guild. She also loves teaching Mah Jongg to new players, a reflection of her natural instinct to share what she knows and bring others along.

That instinct runs deep professionally as well. Karen, an Occupational Therapist, who specialized in hand and upper extremity rehabilitation was founder and director of her own hand therapy clinic — a career built on helping people regain function, independence, and quality of life. Her love of gardening stretches back to childhood, following her grandmother through the yard and absorbing a quiet appreciation for growing things. She cultivated that passion through years of vegetable gardening in Colorado before bringing it with her to Georgia. Today, her home surrounds her with flowers and shrubs, while the community garden feeds something different — a sense of connection and shared purpose. For Karen, the garden is about the people as much as the plants, and the ripple effect their collective efforts have on the broader Madison community. As the Gardener Relations Chair, Karen ensures smooth operational policies and procedures for garden participants.

Gardener Representative

Billie Wallace has called Madison home since 2014, and in that time she has woven herself into the fabric of this community with characteristic enthusiasm. She and her husband Ted — a seventh-generation Madisonian — found each other as empty nesters and built a beautiful blended family together, now spanning five children, eight grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. Billie keeps a full life between church, family, pickleball, and the garden, though she'll tell you she always makes time for a good book and travel. Her faith is central to who she is, and she actively serves across multiple ministries at Covenant Park Church.

Billie brings over 30 years of experience in corporate development, sales, and accounting and IT education to the board, capped by three years welcoming visitors at Madison's Welcome Center — a role that suited her warmth perfectly. Now on her third retirement, she serves the garden as a Garden Representative, carrying the voices, needs, and ideas of fellow gardeners to the board. Gardening is still a relatively new passion for Billie — her plot here is her primary garden, with container vegetables at home and bigger plans taking shape — and that fresh perspective makes her a natural champion for new gardeners finding their footing. She believes the garden offers something profound: peace, friendship, and the reminder that teaching someone to grow their own food is a gift that lasts a lifetime.

Food Donation Chair

Patricia Muhammad is a proud native of Morgan County whose love of gardening begins with a cherished memory — following her mother through the garden each year, watching her tend it with care and always grow enough to share. That spirit of generosity took root early and never left. Today Patricia gardens at home and at the community garden, growing favorites like cabbage, squash, and green beans, often with her husband, daughter, and grandchildren working alongside her. She also enjoys cooking, sewing, and pickleball, and her faith is central to her life — through her church she actively participates in community outreach, helping feed the homeless and performing acts of kindness for those in need.

Patricia's working life has spanned retail, manufacturing, technical fields, sales, and healthcare — a varied career united by her love of people and her gift for both learning and teaching. Now retired, she brings that same warmth and purpose to her role as Food Donation Chairperson on the garden board. For Patricia, the garden is a place to grow food for herself, her family, and her neighbors — and a living example of what becomes possible when people choose to show up for one another. Her philosophy is simple and deeply felt: be a neighbor to your neighbor, grow your community with love, and spread it wide and far.

Fundraising Chair

Kathy Karpinski arrived in Madison in 2020 with her husband Ed and quickly found her footing in this close-knit community. A former self-employed Analyst and Training Specialist for government contractors, Kathy brings sharp organizational instincts to her role as the garden's Fundraising Chair. She volunteers with the Morgan Madison Cultural Center and fills her personal time with reading, Mah Jongg, live music and theatre, and cheering on ice hockey — a combination that says a lot about her range.

Kathy's relationship with gardening stretches back to childhood, where tending the vegetable garden alongside her father taught her patience and the quiet reward of delayed gratification — lessons that have stayed with her ever since. Today she and Ed grow vegetables at the community garden while maintaining a pollinator-friendly native perennial garden at home. She loves the warmth and generosity of her fellow gardeners, and as Ed discovers gardening for the first time, they've both benefited from the expertise and encouragement that flows so naturally here. For Kathy, that spirit of welcome is exactly what the garden should be known for — a place where anyone can come to learn, grow, and find a moment of joy and beauty.

Lindsey Bryant moved to Madison in 2016 from Decatur, bringing with her a spirit of community and a knack for making things happen. She and her husband — whom she famously outranked as his Resident Advisor at UGA more than 25 years ago — are raising two soccer-loving sons, Reece and Max, alongside their dogs Bear and Biggie. When she's not in the garden, you might find her baking, painting, traveling, or at a concert feeding her love of rock music spanning everything from classic to grunge.

Professionally, Lindsey brings over 20 years of live sports television production experience to her organizational work — a skill set she puts to good use as a board member of the Morgan County Historical Society and as founder of Community Works for Morgan, a service organization connecting local nonprofits with volunteers and marketing support. Gardening has been a lifelong thread for Lindsey, rooted in summers spent shelling peas and shucking corn. Today, her home setup includes four raised beds, an herb garden, and apple and pear trees. After navigating multiple autoimmune diagnoses over the past decade, Lindsey discovered firsthand how powerfully a nutrient-rich, whole-food diet can transform health — and that experience drives her deep commitment to this garden. She believes that access to fresh fruits and vegetables is one of the most meaningful gifts a community can offer its neighbors.

Terry Ann Malcolm-Darrisaw is a dedicated educator, community builder, and garden enthusiast who brings warmth and purpose to everything she does. Terry received her Bachelor of Science degree from Troy University. She and her husband Daniel, married 26 years, are proud parents of sons Kamari and Dominic, and devoted companions to their dog Bolo. They family moved from Florida to Madison in 2022. A former science teacher, Terry now serves as Club Director for the Madison-Morgan Boys & Girls Club, where she oversees facility operations and staff — work that reflects her lifelong commitment to nurturing young people. She also serves on the Family Connection board. Outside of her community work, Terry enjoys cooking, art, fashion, and is a self-described movie fanatic.

Terry's gardening journey began about ten years ago with a backyard garden in Florida, where her family grew vegetables, herbs, and even pineapples — along with mango trees that rewarded their patience with fruit after seven years. That experience of tending something long-term and watching it flourish mirrors exactly what she hopes the community garden will do for Madison. For Terry, this garden is about far more than growing food — it's about growing relationships, confidence, and leadership in young people. She envisions it as a place where youth and families learn responsibility and teamwork, and where the act of planting a seed becomes a lesson in patience, pride, and giving back.

Advisory Board Member

Sherry Terrell was born and raised in Madison, and her love for this community runs as deep as her roots here. A proud mother to her son Myles J., who she says inspires her daily to lead with purpose and integrity, Sherry lives by a simple but powerful personal creed: Live. Love. Serve. She has been a full-time Licensed Realtor® since 1999 and an Associate Broker with RE/MAX Around Atlanta since 2013, building one of the most decorated real estate careers in the East Metro region. Her achievements include the 2022 Georgia Association of Realtors Good Neighbor Award, the RE/MAX Hall of Fame, multiple Top Producer honors, and the 2007 Volunteer of the Year recognition from the City of Madison — among many others. As the founding director of Madison Morgan County Community Food Pantry, Sherry helped launch the organization in 2020 in response to the challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic. What began as a community response effort has grown into a vital and essential service to families that face food insecurity.

For Sherry, professional success has always been inseparable from community service. Real estate, she believes, is ultimately about people and purpose — opening doors, building wealth, and creating places where life truly happens. That same philosophy brings her to the garden board. As someone deeply rooted in Madison and committed to its growth and wellbeing, Sherry sees the community garden as an extension of everything she stands for: neighbors helping neighbors, investing in something lasting, and showing up — faithfully — for the place you call home.

Operations Chair

Jeryl Muhammad is a man whose life has been defined by service — to his profession, to his neighbors, and to his community. Retired after 32 years in transportation and logistics, Jeryl brings a wealth of organizational experience and a steady, committed presence to the garden board. His dedication to community outreach is not a recent development; it is something he has carried since his early teenage years, showing up for programs aimed at the advancement and upliftment of the people around him in ways both large and small.

Jeryl has been gardening on and off for the past decade, and joining the Madison-Morgan Community Garden has rekindled that passion with new energy and purpose. He is genuinely excited to be part of this project — because for Jeryl, the concept of a community coming together to grow food and care for one another is exactly the kind of endeavor worth pouring yourself into. His long history of service finds a natural and fitting home here among the raised beds and fellow gardeners of Madison.