2025
ANNUAL REPORT
October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025
Visitors & Guests
Sherman Libary & Gardens is more than a garden. This year more than ever, Sherman has grown into a vibrant hub that hosted community gatherings, sponsored diverse programming, nurtured the mind and soul, and welcomed thousands of valued guests and members.
Who Walked Through Our Gates? So Many People! Volunteers and Docents
These vital groups make Sherman run! Our dedicated volunteers and docents poured 10,342 hours into helping with important tasks from providing guest services, garden tours, event assistance and management, and horticultural support.
101,161 total guests served
806
visitors using Blue Star and Museum for All Benefits
3,038
households became members of Sherman!
Memberships
Membership is the lifeblood of Sherman because they step up and say “Yes” to Sherman each year with renewals. We have Single (Adult, Senior, and Student), Dual (Adult and Senior), and several Family memberships, plus the super-charged Sherman Society. To say thank you to our members, Sherman hosted Member Appreciation Week in February 2025, generously presented by Kay Azuma and Robert Chavez, with increased discounts in the Garden Shop, special tours of the gardens and library, and dedicated activities for our youngest members.
The Sherman Society
After a period of dormancy, Sherman’s premium level of membership, the Sherman Society, was revitalized from an invitation-only membership to an expanded group with a more robust set of benefits. The result was a 51 percent increase in memberships for the fiscal year. New Exclusive Sherman Society Benefits: • Exclusive invitations to three hosted annual events • VIP reserved parking
•C oncierge assistance with dining, class, or event reservations
Events Sherman Library & Gardens hosted 52 events this year! These included beloved Sherman traditions such as Nights of 1000 Lights and the Summer Garden Party, along with creative new programs that drew new audiences.
Nights of 1000 Lights – December 2024
Happenings at Sherman
Sherman’s much loved holiday extravaganza returned for its 10th year with the theme “A Visit to Christmases Past” and delighted guests with the most popular displays from the past decade. This event saw more than 12,100 happy guests stroll through the gardens.
Summer Garden Party – August 2025
This event is traditionally hosted by the Volunteer Association with substantial help from staff. This eagerly anticipated event returned with a spirited hat competition and a fabulous silent auction and raffle. Proceeds from the Summer Garden Party supported Sherman’s vital youth education programs.
Botanical Ball – October 2025
While the actual event was not part of this fiscal year, this “tent pole” event was developed and planned during FY 24-25 as a major fundraiser that would showcase the gardens as a premier venue for elevated philanthropic events that generate strong community excitement, attendance, and press coverage.
More Ways to Play in the Garden
As Sherman staff looks at expanding the reach of our community events, we sampled new events to draw in families, nearby neighbors, and single interest enthusiasts, such as car aficionados. 1. Petals and Pistons – Sherman’s first car show 2. A fter Hours in the Garden – a fun way to expand visits into the evening with food and entertainment 3. S unday Fundays – for families to experience the gardens with special displays 4. T hird Thursdays in Corona del Mar – establishing a presence outside the gardens to gain greater awareness of Sherman 5. M onthly Sound Baths – Sherman’s first step into wellness programming has been a sell-out success
History A Centennial Celebration
Sherman Library & Gardens proudly hosted the centennial commemoration of The Great Rescue of 1925, a defining moment when 12 fishermen were saved from near-certain tragedy off the coast. The heroic rescue pushed Corona del Mar into the national spotlight for the first time in the village’s history. More than 200 community members gathered for the commemorative event, with live music and a keynote conversation with Paul Burnett—author and co-owner of Surfside Sports.
Sherman Library Sponsors History Students
Sherman Library was proud to sponsor the top prize for Regional History Research for National History Day 2025. The students who won this year advanced to compete in Washington, D.C., where they received the Latino American History Special Award.
The Sherman Pillars
Sherman Library Celebrates 50 Years
This year marked the 50th anniversary of Sherman’s library and archives. The milestone was celebrated with a lively open house that tied founder Arnold Haskell’s vision to the treasures from the archives that started the mission of Sherman Library.
Horticulture In preparation for the Grow The Gardens construction project, the Horticulture team worked tirelessly over many months to prepare for a big plant relocation to the Santa Ana Zoo. In total, more than 125 plants and specimen of all sizes found new homes within zoo habitats. What could have been a moment of loss for Sherman instead became an opportunity for renewal at the zoo and a strengthened partnership. The Horticulture team also worked side-by-side with Gensler architecture firm to help finalize the landscaping plans for Grow The Gardens while maintaining Sherman’s valuable collections. The team also facilitated the donation of a significant bonsai collection of more than 50 mature bonsai trees from William and Suzan Beck that will become a destination in the new gardens and be displayed during construction.
The Sherman Pillars
Arts & Education Sherman offered many inspiring programs to feed the curiosity of members, visitors, and guests: • S herman’s popular school field trip program, Habitat Explorers, continued to offer students an immersive learning experience bringing STEM concepts to life in Sherman’s living classroom. •L ittle Seedlings Story Time invites children of all ages and their families to a joyful introduction to the gardens. This free program cultivates curiosity about nature, living things, and the world around them at a crucial stage of early development. •K id participants ranging from 7-10 years old spent a week exploring the gardens at Sherman Summer Camp, which offered hands-on activities that encouraged curiosity, creativity, and connection with nature. Campers completed daily challenges and earned badges to deepen their understanding of environmental concepts and create lasting memories in the gardens.
3,500
elementary students visited on field trips
950+
children attended Little Seedlings story time
780
guests participated in art classes
498
attendees took part in
• Sherman was proud to host a collaborative wellness-focused programming installation with Laguna College of Art + Design displaying the work of talented students in the garden throughout the summer. The exhibit, “Reflect. Take Pause. Connect.” examined the human connection to nature and was made possible by the generosity of Marilyn Macy-Green. This is the sixth major art installation hosted at Sherman.
The Grow The Gardens campaign was a major focus at Sherman, bringing in significant community support for the reimagination of the gardens. That effort was augmented with a public-facing campaign that included direct mail to identified supporters that generated grassroots support for the initiative. An advertising program in the Orange County Business Journal also brought critical visibility to the campaign and helped us publicly thank some of our larger donors. Sherman also engaged in operational fundraising, such as our first year-end fundraising appeal in December 2024 that yielded over $47,000. A later campaign in April 2025 yielded nearly $20,000 in operational support.
Donor List $1,000,000+
$10,000 - $24,999 (cont.)
$5,000 - $9,999 (cont.)
Argyros Family Foundation
Janet Curci Family
Gensler
Pat and David Lamb Family
Fudge Family Foundation
Becky Halladay
Josephine Herbert Gleis Foundation
Patricia Hathaway
$100,000 - $999,999
Philanthropy
Anonymous Emily and Henry Ford III Susan Lintz-Williams Janet and James “Walkie” Ray
$25,000 - $99,999 Kay Azuma and Robert Chavez Herbert Family Foundation Johann Jonas Andy Kempler & Brandon Vu Barbara and Greg MacGillivray Marilyn Macy-Green Peter W. Mullin Family Charitable Foundation Whittier Trust
$10,000 - $24,999 Anonymous Barbara Belveal
Kay and R. “Kelly” Kelly Katherine Lam Karen Noonan PBS Engineers, Inc Dorothy Ray South Coast Plaza Stanley W. Ekstrom Foundation
J.P. Morgan j-u CARTER Dorothy Larson Susan and Geoff LePlastrier Lifescapes International PBS Engineers Regal Resources Inc. & HR Foodies Donna Marie and Walter Sebring
$5,000 - $9,999
Slater Builders Inc.
Dennis and Diane Baker
The James and Glenys Slavik Family Foundation
Robin and Linda Boyd Min Hee Theresa Chang City of Newport Beach Donna Clark Concept Studio Jennifer Cook and Andrew Guarni Covenant Philanthrophic Solutions
Kim Smith Law Office of Kent G. Snyder Solid Rock Structural Solutions Sterling Public Relations, Inc. Tait & Associates Virginia Templeton Pamela Weinstein
Philanthropy
The Sherman Society Argyros Family Foundation
Maralou Harrington
Peter Rooney
Char and Michael Armstrong
Robert Haskell
Linda and Robert San Miguel
Kay Azuma and Robert Chavez
Libby and James Huyck
Sally and Michael Schreter
Diane and Dennis Baker
Karen and Jim Jacoby
Kathy and Ken Schwarz
Joan and Donald Beall
Joanne and Dennis Keith
Donna Marie and Walter Sebring
Suzan and William Beck
Kay and R. “Kelly” Kelly
Jennifer and Anton Segerstrom
Hyla and Richard Bertea
Jenny Klein
Phyllis and Roger Shafer
Cari and Brad Bierbaum
Beth and Thomas Knapp
Trudi Bonnet
Pat and David Lamb
Emilia Yin and Emmanuel Sharef
Catherine and John Campbell
Courtney Lamb-Roberts and David Roberts
Diane and Richard Cannon Donna and Arthur Carter Terry Causey Jennifer Cook and Andrew Guarni William Corkett and Rick Van Fossen Janet Curci and Jerry Gilbreath Judy and Dan Daniels Barbara and Thomas Davis Michelle and Timothy Dean Emily and Henry Ford III Penny and Jon Fosheim Myra and Jeff Ganz Dede and Richard Goddard Stephen Hampson and Harold Koopowitz
Elizabeth Shea Kim Smith
Dorothy Larson
Kent Snyder
Diane and Brent Liljestrom
Nicole and Josh Strathman
Michaela and Jeff Mazur
Andria and Peter Strelow
Karen and Jonathan McCulley
Shannon Tarnutzer
Lori and Joe McKay
The Samueli Foundation
Madylon and Dean Meiling
Amy and Gary Uyemura
Julianne and Phil Meserve
Beryl and Georges Van Den Abbeele
Gretchen and Dick Miller Pam and Sandy Munro Pam and Jim Muzzy Jill Nelke and Richard Bruck Judy Posnikoff Dorothy Ray Janet and James “Walkie” Ray Mimi and Dick Riley
Trisha Yount
Board of Trustees Brad Avery
Gary Pickett
Peter Rooney
Tim Collins
Judy Posnikoff
Kristen Yokomoto
Jennifer Cook*
Janet Ray
Dan Daniels
James “Walkie” Ray
Staff Leadership Scott LaFleur, Executive Director Alex Anderson, Philanthropy & Community Relations Donna Carter, Marketing Lisa Wagner, Education and Programs
*Joined the Board of Trustees in Fiscal Year 2025-2026
2647 East Coast Highway Corona del Mar, California 92625 949.673.2261
www.TheSherman.org Tax ID: 95-2672431