Pat Hall
Board Member
Patricia Hall (Pat) grew up in rural North Georgia with parents who considered a productive garden essential to life. She learned at an early age the importance of growing your own produce and spent many hours in the family garden learning the skills she needed to grow her own.
After leaving home, she attended the Medical College of Georgia and became a registered nurse. She later completed her masters and PhD in nursing, as well as, her Nurse Practitioner Certification. She has been a Cardiac nurse most of her career and now works in collaboration with an interventional cardiologist in Mobile. Pat earned a Certificate in Horticultural Therapy in 2021 (HTI) to enhance her outreach activities. Despite busy work schedules and family responsibilities, she has always had her own garden. While raising her son, she apparently imparted on him a love for gardening as well since he is now pursuing a degree in Horticulture from Auburn University.
With her healthcare background and gardening experience, she understands that growing your own produce improves one’s health and well-being. Spreading this message to others through Community Gardening became her mission and, by networking with other local gardeners with the same ideas, she started her first Community Garden at the Bee Hive. From there the rest is history….
Carol Dorsey
Board Member
Carol Dorsey grew up in the Alabama Black Belt on a beef and dairy farm with sweet memories of her grandfather’s lush garden. After graduating from Auburn University with a BS in microbiology, she went to work in public health. Beginning as a microbiologist in the AL Dept of Public Health’s, Bureau of Clinical Laboratories, Mobile Regional Lab, Carol worked in clinical, environmental, and shellfish microbiology. She retired as a lab manager in 2016 and immediately began Master Gardener classes offered by the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service. In 2021 Carol earned a Certificate in Horticultural Therapy (HTI) to enhance community engagement and diversify the populations served by MUG.
Master Gardener volunteer opportunities included community gardens and landscapes. Through this outlet Carol has embraced her passions for growing, learning, and outreach in the community. She is active with the Mobile County Master Gardeners, Christ Anglican Church, and Mobile Urban Growers, Inc.
Carol and her husband, Bob, live in Midtown Mobile. Their grown children, Lydia and Peter, now reside in Baton Rouge so Bob and Carol share their home with two Border Collies, a few hens, and lots of plants.
Connie Guggenbiller
Board Member
Connie has been at Central Presbyterian for 24 years. About 10 years ago while she was visiting my daughter in New York and was inspired by the neighborhood. There were community gardens all around, some were designated areas that people had planted, others opened to the public for their on enjoyment. It inspired Connie to think about what had been done with such small amounts of green space and the possibilities of what we could do in much larger green spaces! When she returned home she started a conversation with her pastors Chris and Karen Bullock, and so the Central Presbyterian Garden began.
She looks back on now and laughs. It started out as an experiment by the inexperienced. They asked anyone who wanted a spot to plant what they wanted in their area. The problem was, there was no water to keep anything alive. A boy scout working on his eagle project stepped forward and took on the job of setting up what we needed to keep the plants watered. Some people didn't have the time to keep their spot up as they wished, others became discouraged due to inexperienced people pulling up their plants because they did not know how to harvest. Connie is proud that the garden is still in existence and looks forward to its continuing evolution.