Friends of the Garden hires new executive director

Kathryn Wall, who recently departed her role as chief operations officer at Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, has been hired as executive director of Friends of the Garden Inc.

Wall said this morning that she started in her new position on July 7.

"It's been a fantastic experience. I have been so impressed by the staff and the volunteers," she said. "I just love the story of Nathanael Greene and Close Memorial Park. They're such a great example of people coming together for the good of their community."

Friends of the Garden, incorporated in 2000 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is a largely volunteer-driven effort to support the Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park. Wall said the most recent data she has available points to a $700,000 operating budget in 2023, and she said it's her understanding that it's currently around that mark.

Friends of the Garden, Wall said, works to "ensure the financial longevity of the park." Officials say the Springfield Botanical Gardens, operated by the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, has more than 112 acres of public display gardens and native plant habitat.

Former Friends of the Garden Executive Director Heather Parker exited last year, and board President Susie Turner has led the nonprofit in the interim, Wall noted. Friends of the Garden currently has two full-time-equivalent employees and two seasonal employees, she said.

Wall previously worked at BCFO for around four years, most recently as COO. In announcing her exit from the organization in June, Wall said she had a new job lined up but wasn't yet ready to announce it, according to past reporting.