Bi- Monthly Meeting

April 18, 2009

 Louisa (Central VA)

(Draft)

Attendance:

(Albermarle) Joyce Grunewald, ( Arlington/Alexandria) Joe Kelly; (Brunswick)Virginia and Edward Myrick, (Bedford) Bob and Patty Gamache, Patty Richard ; (Chesapeake) Pinky Derieux; (Fairfax) George Graine;(Fauquier) Jim Scibek; (Gloucester) Bonnie Bernard;  (Green Spring) Joan  Richards;  (Hanover) Christy Brennan, Cheri Haggerty, Betsy Lyon; (Hill City, Lynchburg) Gracie Lanier, Karen Sacasky;  (James City County/Williamsburg) Jim and Nelda Pressly;  (Louisa) Tina Chalekie, Ira Wallace, , Martha Neff –Smith, Jack Wimer, Richard Hinde, Edna Musser , Eva Marking,  ;  (MGACRA) Linda Dunn; (Prince William) Janet and Bill Scott, Frank Reilly; (Newport News) Anita Smith;  (Northern Neck) Edward Munns , (Norfolk) Donald Snipes; (Prince George) Barbara Geer ;  (Rockbridge) Ted Jinks, David Mims; (Roanoke)  Kathryn Debnar, Ginny Craig;  (VA Beach)  Mary Anne and Jim Kincaid, Fran Shelton, Betty Villers; (VATech/VCE) Dave Close; (York) Jackie Lohr.

Call to Order –

President Betty Villers called the meeting to order at 10:00am

Introductions;

 Unit Representative, Tina Chalekie introduced the President of the Louisa Master Gardeners, Marty Smith who welcomed everyone to Louisa The unit has been in place since 1997 and there are12 new Master Gardener Interns this year.  Louisa MG’s are very active with numerous gardens and restoration projects including an n herb garden in a historical garden, farmers market, and participating in the Relay for Life and Weeding for Life. The Louisa group is very active with plant sales in September, a speaker’s bureau, and manning the help desk.

Betty read a quote about the All American Volunteer, which was in honor of all Master Gardener Volunteers and very appropriate since April is Volunteer Appreciation Month.

All attendees were recognized by name and the unit they represented.

Minutes:

Minor changes were made, and will be posted on-line.  The minutes were accepted with the changes.  

Treasurer’s Report – Bill Scott

Bill presented copies of the treasurers’ report. There have been no significant expenses incurred. The treasurer’s report was accepted as read and will be filed for audit.

The report is attached at the end of this document

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Education – Barbara Geer

The committee has been corresponding by e-mails and phone calls. The committee would like to remind units to e-mail them request and ideas for educational events, and to recommend good locations for specific programs.  The committee has decided that several events per year are an attainable goal, and they are soliciting request and information as they try to plan training events in different districts around the state.

Using the information obtained from the survey:  advanced training has been planned in October in the Charlottesville area with the Master Naturalists on native plants and back yard habitats. In 2010, the Bedford area will host a general gardening and staying green training session.   Training is also planned in Rockbridge focusing on the School cafeteria and garden program.

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Newsletter- Peggy Fox- Content Editor

-         Peggy was not at the meeting but asked that all articles be submitted by April 25^th.  

-          Please send all unit reports to Cheryl Sebera by April 25^th,

-         Remember to include special recognition of units and members and  include the unit reps name

-           
 

Membership – Mary Ann Kincaid, Chair

As of April 14, 2009, there are 578 members of the Virginia Master Gardener Association.  Of these, 413 are Active members, 8 are Auxiliary members and 157 are Lifetime members.

This is an increase of 18 members since February and an increase of 64 members since a year ago this month.

Renewals notices were sent out this week to 356 Master Gardeners whose memberships expire May 31.

Please make note that VMGA By-Laws require that Unit Reps be members of the organization.  If there are any questions about this policy, please contact MaryAnn.

Communication/Unit Support - Frank Reilly, Chair

Unit Support Members: Members: Pat Reilly, Karen Sacasky, Pinky Derieux, Bill Scott, Kerry Goldmeyer, Chair, Frank Reilly and whomever else we need. 

Kerry Goldmeyer helped a unit to successfully apply for their IRS 501c3 status.

Communication Committee - Frank Reilly, Chair

Members:  Cheri Haggerty, Betsy Lyons, Kathryn Debnar, George Graine, Jim Kincaid, and Chair Frank Reilly and whomever.

1. Since the February regularly scheduled meeting the web page has been updated on 89 separate occasions.  
2.  There have been 3237 visitors to VMGA.net.
3. The most popular pages in the last three months have been the front page, MG College page, about VMGA, Membership, and Resources which is a gate way to Hort updates and Links.
4.  Remember that we can help you host your site for awhile under certain conditions.
5. The page of links to local units/association web sites has been updated. It now contains links to 26 local associations.  Not all of these sites are being kept current, and at least four links are dead.  Some groups are using pop-ups and Active X controls. While these techniques can make a stunning site, many people now employ pop-up blockers and spy ware prevention. The end result is delayed response time and in some cases pages that do not load properly. One site I tried to visit has lost its URL and you get a pseudo –site with sale items that load using key words gardening. Please check with your unit to see if they have a site, if it is listed and if the address we have is correct. Ask your web master to look at the site to insure that this is what you want.
6. A new page to promote MG College is now open. There is a link to the MG College recruiting PowerPoint presentation. Information about Housing is already posted there.

Finance Committee – Ted Jenks, Chair

Members:  Jim Kincaid (Virginia Beach), Bill Scott

Ted presented the recommendation for next year’s budget. The budget has been included at the end of this report. Please e-mail Ted any questions as you review the proposal. The budget will be voted on during the next meeting in June at Master Gardener College.

The Finance Committee recommends an electronic method for delivery of most of the Directories to help the budget.  Dave Close mentioned the idea of posting the directory on the web site with password for members to access.

Special Committees:

Endowment Committee :  Kathryn Debnar, Chair

The balance of the endowment is $287,717.54. This includes the deferred gifts which are currently registered.  This number is lower than previous reports due to the stock market conditions. The endowment has a new person at the VT Foundation, Terry Mulligan who has come up with great ideas to help us keep moving forward. We seem to be stalled in the 25% range. There has been very little response to the committee members. Please re-commit to the group and help it go forward.

Mary Anne Kincaid will provide a space at the membership table for Endowment Information.

Bill Scott   mentioned that a formal report to show the bottom line would be helpful.

A recommendation from the floor was to ask members to pay $ 5.00 a month with a credit card.

 VA Green Industry Council:  Cheri Haggerty, Chair

-           The Virginia Green industry Council also partners with the Virginia Agribusiness Council and Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS).

Arbor Day _ April 24^th – two trees have been donated for the capital (Elm and Kousa Dogwood) the celebration will be held at 11:30.

-         GO Green, Garden Festival scheduled Saturday, September 12^th   at the Science Museum in Richmond. The theme this year is grown /Made in Virginia, Cheri Haggerty will be coordinating MG volunteers.  

-         Rick Baker is soliciting speakers, demos, and vendor exhibits. To participate contact Rick.Baker@vdacs.virginia.gov

Fund Raising: Susan Giandomenico, Chair

       Susan was not at the meeting.  She will not be at MG College and is looking for someone to sell MG items for her. Patty Gamache volunteered.  

Search for Excellence:  Christy Brennan, Angela Cingale and Bud Gregory

Christy mentioned that at the last meeting the proposal has been sent to each unit rep and there were few comments.  Contact Betty Villers by June 1^st to reserve your table and electricity for Brag Boards at MG College.

 James City - Williamsburg received national recognition during the Search for Excellence.

P. Diane Relf Education Endowment Fund : Paul Campbell, Chair

Paul was not present but has added an application to the web site and  distributed  through the  LISTSERV. He has had several inquires already. Applications  must come form the unit coordinator or agent.  May 18^th is the last date for applications for a scholarship to MG College.

State Fair- Christy Brennan, Chair

The State Fair will be held at The Meadow in Doswell, VA this year. September 24^th till Oct 4^th

New this year each Sunday will have a different focus group. The first Sunday will feature Jr. Master Gardeners and the second Sunday will be for Master Naturalist Programs. Please let Christy if your unit is interested in volunteering. .

Extension Liaison - Dave Close,  State MG Coordinator

·                     State Survey results on recycling ag plastic are in:

The highlights are:

·         41% dispose of plastics with the rest of their waste in the dumpster

·         95% Ranked plastic disposal as either very important or important issue – both for their company and for the industry as a whole.

·         79% are interested in participating in a plastics recycling program

·         16% are interested in serving as a collection site for plastic waste from the green industry; 36% might be interested in collecting these materials

·                     National MG Program review is complete. Just a few highlights of the data: ~95,000 volunteers, 5.2 million hours in 2008, valued at $64.5 million.

·                     Dean update: national search has been conducted. Intend to have new permanent dean in place by fall 2009. Interim VCE Director – Dr. Rick Rudd from Ag & Extension Education. He is maintaining his departmental responsibilities along with VCE responsibilities. Anticipate a decision to be made about a full-time permanent Director once the new Dean is in place this fall.

·                     Grant with US Forest Service has been filed and funding is pending. We will receive $60,000 to conduct the EAB Citizen Monitoring grant with the USDA Forest Service project.

·                     State Record Keeping System: back to square one with new interim director. Wants to make sure before he invests several thousand dollars in our upgrade it is the best use of funds. He assured us it wouldn’t be another 4 years before a decision is made and we have something better to work with.

·                      Dawn Myerricks, Loudoun County MG, has volunteered to digitize some of the VCE 35mm slides sets and transfer the scripts to power point presentations.

·                     On the endowment front, meetings with Corporate Relations officer have been productive and have given us some good ideas and directions to go. We have divided groups of potential donors into categories of gifts >$5,000 or gifts <$5,000. Those who are less than 5K will be approached to sponsor or support MG College. Those who are 5K or higher will be approached to support the Coordinator Endowment Fund.

·                     MG College: sponsorship packets were sent to targeted companies; a small numbers of vendors will be invited to set up booths; housing is up and active; conference registration will hopefully be up soon (May 1).

·                     Housing for MG College, Donaldson Brown will not be used for MG College this year. 

·                     The focus of college this year will be Tree Stewards.

·                     One major change – there will be no sessions on Sunday due to Father’s Day.

·                     If units have Power Point or other learning presentations with scripts please send to Dave.

Unit Reports:

The unit reps were asked to send their reports to the Vice President. They will be posted at www.VMGA.net and condensed version printed in the next newsletter

President’s Question of the Day : How is MG College College promoted in your unit? Listed below is a summary of the responses.

The majority of units start promoting MG College early in the year, many have those MG’s that attended college scheduled as a speaker for the unit membership meetings.  Most units also request MG College attendees  to submit an article for the local newsletter.

 Some units give MG College presentations during each of the scheldued  membership , recertification and  training /new class meetings to encourage attendance.  These presentations included: showing the MG College Power Point presentation during membership meetings, scehduling a break out session to answer spicefic questions concerning MG College, playing games which revolves aound the MG College experience .

The primary method of communication for many units is by e-mail , several unit send out MG College reminder e-mails several times during the year to keep the members posted.

One unit rep. has a sign up sheet for those MG’s who are intersted in MG College, and they are are kept up to date by e-mails.

MG College is listed on the Calendar of events every year.

Units which use Event Postcards add MG College and registration information several months in advance.

It was interesting to learn how units informed Master Gardeners about MG College. Several members expressed an interest in sharing some of these methods with their groups. 

Presidents Report:  Betty Villers

Since the last meeting, several Master Gardeners answered request for hints and articles for various Horticulture and Gardening magazines, several of our master gardeners have been published. 

The VMGA was asked to send a letter of support to the Beautiful Plant Program for a grant application. Over 100 Master Gardeners have helped with this project, from Halifax, Norfolk, and Bedford.

 Loudoun County MG’s achieved 501c (3) status with the help of the unit support committee and Kerry Goldmeyer.  They did not receive a single question form the IRS.

There will be information available at MG College for obtaining  501c (3) status. 

Unfinished Business-

           MG College - Goody bags -   Please contact Patty Gamache with any information on freebies or potential contributors for the Master Gardener goody bags. All items should be sent to Pattie in Bedford prior to MG College. Plan on at least 325 items for registered MGs and speakers.

                Silent Auction - Leslie Paulson was not present. This is an important fund raiser for the Master Gardener Coordinator endowment fund.  Leslie has sent the form to encourage all MG’s and Units to donate to this year’s Silent Auction, the form insures that the process goes smoothly and should be completed for MG donations prior to MG College. 

New Business:

An Audit committte consisting of  Jim Scibek, Barbara Greer and Tina Chalekie will  meet June 10^th  in Hanover  to perform the audit.  

Sites for the VMGA Bi-Monthly Meetings –   

• For 2009 the schedule is:

June 19- VA Tech -MG College

August 8- Lynchburg

October 10– Lexington area

December 12- Virginia Beach

Announcements:   

The Shorelines Restoration Gardens project at the Fisherman's Museum in Reedville (Northern Neck MGs) will be featured on Richard Nunally’s TV program, VA Home Grown, July 28th.

The Next VMGA meeting will be held on June 19^th 5; 00 pm, at Va Tech, Master Gardener College. Annual meeting will be held Sat. night. 7:00pm.   

Meeting adjourned at 1:32 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

 Christy Brennan, VMGA Secretary

Virginia Master Gardener Association, Inc

Treasurer’s Report

April 18, 2009

Virginia Master Gardener Association, Inc

Treasurer’s Report

April 18, 2009

Virginia Master Gardener Association, Inc

Treasurer’s Report

April 18, 2009

Proposed Budget 2009-2010