(Chesapeake) Pinky Derieux, Pauline Price; (Fauquier) Frank Reilly, Jim Scibek; (Gloucester) Florace Arnold, Kathy Klein; (Halifax) Bill McCaleb; (Hanover) Pamela Armstrong, Cheri Haggerty, Evelyn Parker; (Henrico) Susan Anthony; (Lynchburg) Catherine Powers; (Northern Neck) Jinny Estell, (Prince George) Cheryl Sebera; (Prince William) Pat Reilly; (Roanoke) Kathryn Debnar, Virginia Craig, Shelby Snider; (Rockbridge) Kate Jenks, Ted Jenks, Caroline Norrington, Chuck Norrington; (Suffolk) Betty Freedman; (Virginia Beach) Paul Campbell, Fran Shelton; (Western Tidewater) Jack O'Leary; (Williamsburg-JCC) Jean Barter, Suzanne Brown, Angela Cingale, Tony Dion, Leanne Dubois, Dale Firestone, Jean Ripley, Barbara Schroeder; (York) Sybil Przypek.

President Jim Scibek called the meeting to order at 1001.

President Scibek welcomed us all to the August meeting in Williamsburg. President Scibek introduced Dale Firestone who in turn introduced the Williamsburg-JCC agent, Leann Dubois. Leann came to Williamsburg-JCC via Cornell University. Leanne and Tony Dion gave a presentation of MG projects in the Williamsburg-JCC area.

The June minutes were accepted as corrected. The list of scholarship recipients was incomplete and therefore corrected.

"The Audit Committee, meeting on 9 July 2003, reviewed and compared the books of VMGA, Inc. It is our opinion that the books fairly and materially represent the finances of the VMGA, Inc. Barbara Geer, Chairman"

The Audit Committee was composed of Barbara Geer, Julie Cochran, Ann Gorrell and Bill Scott.

Treasurer Shelby Snider reported:

President Scibek has received several more donations for the Endowment Fund. The New River Master Gardeners sent a check for $150.00 from their Silent Auction at MG College. The Fauquier Master Gardener Association sent $43.50 from the sale of the horticultural Update CD. The $15.00 leftover from the after party donations was also donated to the Endowment fund.

President Scibek received a letter from Dr. Greg Eaton, Assistant Professor, and Social Committee Chair, Department of Horticulture, Virginia Tech. This letter addressed Dr. Relf's retirement and that she requested no retirement gifts. She has suggested that anyone wishing to consider an acknowledgement may do so by making a donation to fund the construction of a new garden in her honor at the Virginia Tech Horticultural Garden. The board members present discussed whether to make the annual contribution to the Hort Garden or just donate to Dr. Relf's garden. A motion was made and seconded to donate $500.00 to the VA Tech Hort Gardens. A motion was also made and seconded to donate $1000.00 to the "Relf Garden Project" from VMGA.

The officers met with Dr. Umberger and were assured that Dr. Relf's and Sarah Linebergers's positions were critical to be filled. They plan to re-advertise the search nationally. He is very enthusiastic about the VMGA. He said that all our efforts last fall regarding the budget cuts were very important and appreciated. The new director for ANR is Charlie Stallings.

Members who attended the International conference gave their impressions.

The Northeast Regional meeting will be in Baltimore in October 2004.

Rich Marini can be contacted for immediate needs at Virginia Tech.

Lenore was not in attendance but sent word through the President. The plans for the September 27 education event are finalized. The form was included in the August newsletter and is posted on VMGA.net and attendance will be limited to 130. Until September 10, only VMGA members will be registered. Peter Hatch will speak on Heirloom Apples. If he is unavailable, Tom Burford will speak on his behalf. Special thanks to Fran Shelton and Pinky Derieux for arranging catering for lunch, Margaret VanWinkle for designing the registration form and Debbie Hamilton for receiving and tabulating registration. The next meeting of the Education Committee will be October 20 at the extension office in Stafford/Fredericksburg.

Florace thanks everyone for his or her input. Do not hesitate to send articles or ideas for articles.

Our roster shows we now have 579 members. However, included in this number are 126 expired memberships. That is: membership which officially expired on May 31, 2003 and for whom I have not received a renewal notice as of this report.

Membership will man a table at check-in at the upcoming continuing education event at Monticello. This will serve a dual purpose. It is hoped that all non-members who have indicated that the additional $10.00 registration fee should be applied to membership will be able to receive their cards at this event, and that anyone else with an expired membership will take this opportunity to renew their membership.

It would be most helpful if someone from the Educational Committee involved in registration for this event could let me know in advance the names of those who have checked the "apply to membership" box.

Members: Pat Reilly, Karen Sacasky, Kerry Goldmeyer, Cheri Haggerty and Frank Reilly and whoever else we need.

Members: Cheri Haggerty, Angela Cahn, Shelby Snyder and Chair Frank Reilly and whomever else we can get.

8. Membership Applications are available on-line at the Membership page

The Unit reps attending presented written reports or have e-mailed them to the secretary. They will be posted at VMGA.net.

Evelyn reports that all the dates have been filled. The State Fair has changed the hours for the booth. They are now until 9:00 PM on weekdays and 10:00 PM on weekends. She has contacted the involved units and there is no problem. When she receives the tickets, she will mail them to the contact person.

Master Gardener College 2003 was the largest ever with nearly 200 registered students, 50 faculty members and innumerable volunteers from the New River Valley Master Gardeners. Evaluations have been tallied. They will be on the website soon and shared with faculty members.

As reported under the Treasurer's report, the audit has been completed.

A nominating and election committee was formed. Proposed members are Pat Reilly (Prince William), Kathryn Debnar (Roanoke), George Graine (Fairfax) and Mike Holmes (Central Rappahannock). The committee will be confirmed at the October meeting.

The 2004 Budget was presented and approved. During this time, an electronic newsletter was discussed. The consensus was to keep it the way it is.

Future Board meetings are scheduled as follows:

October 11 Lynchburg (Central District)

December 13 Prince George (Southeast District)

February 2004 Charlottesville (Northern District)

April 2004 Northern Shenandoah (Northwest District)

The meeting was adjourned at 1325.

Respectfully submitted,

Cheri Haggerty

Secretary

VMGA