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Minutes of the Master Gardeners of Union County
Education Hours: .5 Hour
Volunteer Hours Earned: .75 HourSecretary, Carolyn Gibeaut, called the meeting to order in Marsha Kiss's absence and since Chris was doing the Educational Program.
Secretary Report: Last month's (April 2007) minutes are on the web. No changes were noted. The minutes were approved.
Treasurer's Report: Audrey Hall was absent but she had sent in the account balance to be reported. The balance stands at $9,038.67.
Old Business:
Carolyn Gibeaut addressed the state fee issue. Below is the summary she used for the presentation.
This year the state program hired a state level coordinator, Pam Bennett. The program had been without a coordinator for several years for program supervision and development. In late December, we were notified that the state was requiring a $10 fee per active member in order to cover this new position and its budget expenses. At the January finance meeting, the officers and the finance committee members discussed the best ways to deal with this new fee. We considered taking the fees from our reserves. However, we were concerned that the members felt the reserves were for local community projects and education. Though we have a large account balance now, an annual $400 -$500 withdrawn would drain our current reserves more rapidly than we had expected. Additionally, we did not anticipate having a Tour of Gardens, which had produced sizable income in the past years. We also discussed that we wanted to expand our education offerings, which might include bringing in paid speakers. Therefore, since the fee appeared to be on an individual basis, we decided to ask members to pay the fee. We were concerned that for some of our members, this might be a financial hardship. Therefore, we added a provision that anyone with a financial hardship should contact George and their fees would be paid from the reserves.
Several members have raised concerns over the fee requirement for active membership. Based on the earlier explanation that we received, it appeared that it would be a requirement. However, we did contact Pam Bennett, the State Coordinator, and asked her advice regarding the fee's purpose and payment. Her explanation included that " They have to pay the $10.00 state fee to be eligible for advanced training, state conference, name tags, and any other OSUE MGV benefits - more to come in the future hopefully." She also indicated that some counties are using a project to cover the state fee rather than charging individuals. She also advised us not to amend our Constitution at this time. I believe the active status is being used as a method to allocate costs since active members are the ones benefiting from the services. She also has indicated that other states also charge fees to their membership.
George is in the process of updating our roster based on the hours that members have entered. If someone does not have the 10/6 requirements, they will be marked inactive. The state will use this roster and based on the active count, they will bill us $10 per active member. If an active member doesn't pay, the funds would still come out of the treasury so we can pay this bill. I personally am viewing this $10 as a donation to cover the services of the state coordinator and to give her a chance to bring some improvements. However, if you are upset at the idea that someone does not pay and you already did, we will offer you the opportunity for a refund.
Please contact me in Audrey's absence after the meeting or contact Audrey Hall by MAY 31, if you either want to pay or want your fees back. Also make sure you have enter any missing hours by May 31.
Next year, probably at the January meeting, if the state fee continues to be required, we will bring the issue to the membership again and offer the option to designate a project whose profits will go toward covering each active member's fees. I am not anticipating individual collection in the future.
We hope this answers the questions that you have raised. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused and appreciate your patience in this new process.
CYOC - Carolyn gave an update on this project. A group of 6 MGs worked with 6 residents to completely plant the vegetable garden on Monday, May 21. We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, peppers, sweet potatoes, red cabbage, brussel sprouts, and marigolds through out. It was a very positive experience for everyone. The county did till the leaf compost , but unfortunately, they did not reach deep enough. Thus, the residents learned about digging holes and mixing clay with the compost. The flower group will be meeting on June 4 for a design session. Eunice indicated that there were some extra plants available at the meeting for the taking.
Vets Memorial - Karen Long shared that the Vets Memorial project was done. She shared that the planting was successfully completed and that the Union County Master Gardeners were recognized during the dedication ceremony for their contribution. She indicated that she has metal ID tags on order to help visitors in identifying the plants. She also indicated that she had instructed the county maintenance team that they would need to be watering the plants, if we don't get 1 inch of water during the week.
Plant Sale - Nancy Mead passed around a book to sign up for help with the plant sale. She also indicated that they were planning on also selling some plants at the Farmers' Market Festival on August 11. If you have some plants that are coming along sooner than expected, you might consider donating them for that. The proceeds from those sales will be part of the Plant Sale profits. Remember bags of dirt and pots are located in the shed at the Ag Center.
Garden Party - Chris Burnard asked members interested in planning the upcoming Garden Party to meet after the meeting to decide on a kick off planning meeting date and time.
Upcoming Tours - Mary McDonald shared that we should mark our calendars for Tuesday, Aug 7, at 10:30 am for a tour of the Governor's Residence. The Governor's Residence only offers tours on Tuesday. They will do lunch at the Franklin Park Conservatory Café and then take a tour of the Topiary Gardens at the Old Deaf School. They will try to leave the city by 3:00-3:30 to beat the traffic. She also indicated that they are looking at arranging a fall wine tour for another event.
Toledo Tour - George gave an update that we currently have 30 participants signed up. At the officers meeting the decision was made to proceed the tour even we are slightly short on the count. Local garden groups and the Homemakers groups have been informed of the tour. It was suggested that we contact the neighboring MG groups to let them know of the tour and the availability of seats on a first come, first serve basis. Mary McDonald shared that the committee was providing water and light snacks for the trip. Fun activities were also being planned for the bus ride.
Coordinator's Report. George indicated that the Friendship Garden Club had requested a speaker for Thursday, June 7, 7 p.m. on chemical and organic weed control. The talk would be 15-20 minutes. The meeting will be held at Melissa Grose's home on Ford Reed Road. Anyone interested should contact George.
George also asked Sheila Sands if she was still interested in doing Photo Opportunities. She indicated she was.
George passed out copies of the new MG Brochure that Deena Newell had developed. He asked everyone to review it and pass on any changes/suggestions. He was also interested in looking for a printer that could produce the color brochure for less than $.75 a piece.
McCloud Park - Karen Long gave the update. They did not have a very good turnout on Saturday May 19. They really need help in finishing up the planting. They will be at the garden Thursday, May 24 after 5 PM and Saturday, May 26 at 8 A.M. Please come help!
Upcoming Events:
Master Gardener Only Garden Tour
Chris Burnard passed around a sign up sheet for anyone interested in sharing their gardens with their fellow Master Gardeners this summer for an informal mini garden tour. Joe Johnson shared that the 4-H had tried a similar tour in the past and found it very well received and very informative. If you are interested in having your garden included, please contact Chris.
Garden Gab - Carolyn Gibeaut indicated that several members had indicated a desire for more opportunities for socializing to help members get to know each other. We are going to try informal gatherings on weekend evenings this summer. There will be no formal topic, just an opportunity to visit with each other .The first one will be at McCloud Park on Saturday, June 23 from 7:00 -9:00 p.m. Bring your lawn chairs, your own beverage and a dessert to share. Patsy Bushdorf and Karen Long will be available to give us a quick tour of the Park and its plants. Come and enjoy the evening and each other!
Education: Chris Burnard shared several handouts with good information on making and caring for Living Wreaths. She indicated the learning process had been quite the experience. She had been told it was too hard to do and then her dog proved it by tearing up the roll of cocoa basket lining she had planned on using to shape the wreath and maintain moisture. Lucky Master Gardener, John Walkup, got picked from the audience to help in the demonstration. The key ingredients were a wire frame (which can be located a craft supply store), sphagnum sheet moss (which she found at Oakland Nursery), shallow rooted plants, filament, and florist pins. The key is pushing the wet sphagnum moss as tight as possible in the frame. The plants are inserted with as much of the dirt as possible into the moss. Spanish moss is draped over it to help hold in moisture. Chris used filament to wrap the wreath to hold everything in place. There was lots of laughter in the meeting. Thanks to John for being a great sport.
The next meeting will be June 20 at the Ag Center.
Members in attendance:
| Debbie Brown |
Marcia Lee |
| Christine Burnard |
Karen Long |
| Barbi Conaway |
Mary McDonald |
| Faye Cox |
Mary McCord |
| Ellen Evans |
George McVey |
| Bev Ezerins |
Nancy Mead |
| Carolyn Gibeaut |
John Miller |
| Scheral Grieder |
Deena Newell |
| Joan Griffin |
Becky Rowe |
| Eunice Hornsby |
Sheila Sands |
| Phil Jackson |
Anna Swackhammer |
| Joe Johnson |
John Walkup |
| Hazel Lawruk |
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Revised June, 2007