MCMGA Board Minutes for November 28th, 2023

/

Present: Present: Lorna Schilling (President), Cynthia Chase (Vice President), Marcia McIntyre (Programs and Speakers), Rich Becker (OMGA Chapter Representative, IE Plant Sale), Christine Semeniuk (Bookkeeper) Mike Rutherford (Administrator G-Suite and Historian), Linda Goldser (Co Director Demonstration Garden), Jack Lazareck, Susan Marcus, Carole Hardy Alternate OMGA Chapter Representative) Lisa Kirby, Jen Hazan, Shuju Wang, Heidi Nichols (membership), Angela Myatt (Secretary)

Approval of Minutes
Cynthia moved to approve the October 2023 Minutes with two amendments. Linda seconded the motion. The motion was passed.

Chapter Membership Directory
The history of the Directory was discussed. At present there is no Directory. Hard and email versions have existed in the past. There was agreement that there should be a Membership Directory in some format to be made available to members.

Chapter Membership
Heidi opened a discussion on membership dues. The timing of membership dues was discussed at length. It was noted that $7 goes to OMGA. It was decided that if dues are received by March 1st then the member’s name will appear in the directory.

Heidi moved that the membership dues scale be from $7 and up. Anything over $20 is tax deductible and $30 is a suggestion.

Cynthia seconded the motion which was passed.

Linda asked that information on members’ interests, specifically interest in the Demo Garden be forwarded to her. Discussion followed.
Heidi asked that the format of information received from Square be more compatible with her Excel spreadsheet. Heidi will talk to Mike about possible solutions.

Heidi then left the meeting.

Sparrowhawk Monies
Cynthia asked that it be noted in the Minutes that the Board voted by email on April 4th 2023 that money from Sparrowhawk be given to the Demo Garden.

Demo Garden Report
Linda reported:

  • Demo Garden

    • You all know that gardening never stops, it just takes on different tasks due to the time of the year

      • The edible beds have been closed down & prepared for over-wintering

        • Last month I reported that we donated 1910 pounds of produce to local food banks and we are proud to be able to help those in need while maintaining an educational demonstration garden

      • The perennial beds have been prepared also by pall pruning and planting

        • We leave lots of our plants with seed heads over the winter for the wildlife

    • We added 21 new volunteers this past year

      • 10 current MGs who have never worked at the garden before, 7 (2020,22) interns & 3 community members

    • Our events have wrapped up and have had their year-end reporting turned in to the program

      • We had 11 events this year which used an additional 732 volunteer hours (in addition to the 3,095 garden maintenance hours)

    • Behind the scenes, the Bed Design Teams are

      • Recapping the 2023 beds with results and lessons learned

      • Designing the 2024 beds with edible varieties, perennial developments and demonstrations planned for the coming year

    • At the same time we are beginning planning for our 2024 year with the development of two groups to handle activities at the garden

      • One group will plan & execute events & workshops

      • One group will handle school field trips & garden tours and will continue to develop community outreach

    • Even though we have stopped our regular garden open days, we continue to work at least one day a week on various projects

      • Our current project is continuing the growth of the garden at the south end which entails lasagna mulching a huge area for spring development

        • Lots of schlepping of large amounts of cardboard, steer manure, leaves and arborist chip mulch

        • If anyone is in the mood for garden exercise, just let me know and I will hook you up with a work party at the garden.

Chapter 2024 Budget
Christine initiated a discussion on the proposed Chapter budget for 2024.

Cynthia moved that $7500 be given to the MCMGA Garden Legacy Endowment.
Rich seconded the motion. The motion was passed.

Christine noted the Chapter’s insurance runs out on January 2024. Susan is investigating coverage. OMGA may also be able to provide coverage. More information will be available following a meeting with Janet Magadenz, the OMGA Treasurer.
Funds for attorney’s fees will be retained in the budget.

Cynthia moved that the budget as discussed be presented to the membership for approval.
Susan seconded the motion. The motion was passed.

2024 Board Positions:
Lorna: Past President
Cynthia: President
Carole: Vice President
Susan: Secretary
Jen (Hazen): Treasurer
Rich: OMGA Representative
Mike: Historian ( to be appointed by the President)

Cynthia noted there will be a committee to co-ordinate the monthly Chapter speaker program. This will continue to be virtual in 2024.

Cynthia announced that Lorna has been elected President of Coos County MG Chapter.

Voting on Board positions will occur in mid December 2023.

IE Plant Sale
Rich reported on progress of the 2024 IE Plant Sale. Rich is working with Carole and Beven Peters. He noted that Westwind Nurseries will be able to accommodate changing needs due to weather and other factors. He reported that the 2023 revenue was impacted by the need to develop new technology and by the ordering of too many plants.

Brainstorming Review of October 17th meeting
Lorna lead the discussion on the submitted suggestions from the meeting of the Board on October 17th 2023.
The role of Lisa Kirby and other OSU personnel in implementing suggestions was discussed at length.
There followed discussion on several of the suggestions, including how to solicit more suggestions from Chapter members.
This will continue to be addressed at the January Board meeting.

The meeting closed at 8.40pm. The December Board meeting be on January 2nd 2024.

Minutes submitted by Angela Myatt (Secretary) November 29th 2023, revised November 30 2023