Virginia Master Gardener Association, Inc.

Annual Meeting

June 21, 2008

21^st Master Gardener College

VA Tech 

(Draft)

Call to Order –

President Cheri Haggerty called the meeting to order at 7:00pm

Introductions

Cheri welcomed everyone and introduced the 2007 Officers, the board and committee members.

Minutes – Angela Cingale

The minutes from the Annual Meeting of 2007 were accepted as submitted.

Treasurer’s Report – Ted Jenks

Ted presented the 2007 Annual Budget Report and discussed the new format which shows the new balance, a new fund-raising inventory section, expenses, assets, lifetime memberships, CD activity, and liabilities.  Treasurer’s annual report was accepted as read. The report is attached.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Education - Fran Shelton (VA Beach), Pinky Derieux (Chesapeake), Co-Chairs,

Members:  George Graine (Fairfax), Katherine Debnar (Roanoke), Debbie Hamilton (Prince William)

Fran reported that the Spring program at Montpelier was cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control.

 The Committee  has put together an interesting program at Mount Vernon.

Registration will start at 9:00 AM, Friday, September 19.

The fee for VMGA members is $20.00 and $32 for non-members. Non-members may apply $12.00 to membership in the VMGA. Registration forms will be available at VMGA.net.

Newsletter- Cheri Haggerty: Interim Content Editor

Florace Arnold  (Gloucester), retired in December 2007 after serving as the Editor of the VMGA Report for 5 years. Thank You Florace!!!

 A newsletter team was created with the following members:

Tom Bolt (Norfolk): Electronic Distribution Editor

Dawn Meyerricks (Loudoun): Graphics Layout Editor

Cheri Haggerty (Hanover): Interim Content Editor

Bi-monthly mailing averages 125 and the remaining 425 via e-mail

Membership – Mary Ann Kincaid, Chair

 As of June 15, there are 473 current members of the Virginia Master Gardener Association.  Of these, 307 are Active members; 6 are Auxiliary members; and 160 are Lifetime members.

This is an increase of 50 members since June 2007.

We are awaiting renewal of 147 members whose memberships expired 5/31/08.  This is a decrease in non-renewals of 35 compared to June 2007.

In an effort to update the roster information for VMGA Lifetime members, a Lifetime Update Form was e-mailed where possible and mailed otherwise to all 158 Lifetime members February 19, 2008.  On March 10, a second request was e-mailed. 85 Lifetime members (54%) responded.

                Information gained from the responses  indicates that  survey updates by Lifetime members have value and should be planned periodically

Communication/Unit Support - Frank Reilly, Chair

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

Handled two units’ questions regarding 501(c)3 status, filing for it, sales tax, and non-profit status.

Began a project to track Unit impact throughout the state – We need some additional help to bring this to fruition.

Frank reminded Units  that a unit web site can be hosted by VMGA.net

Communication Committee - Frank Reilly, Chair

 Members: Cheri Haggerty, Kathryn Debnar, Shelby Snyder, Betty Truax, Tom Bolt, Paul Campbell, George Alapas, George Graine, Bob Schmidt

  November 12th marked our Ninth Anniversary as VMGA.net. 

There have been more than 300 pages of content, with 168550 visitors to VMGA.net since last year. 

The most popular pages are:  Hort Update, College, Calendar, Minutes, and Membership.

Nearly all of our visitors visit the front page during their stay.  On average for every 100 who enter through the front page,  only 35  stay on the page.  The balance of visitors visit someplace else in the site.  This makes it a very productive place to make announcements, and is why most new messages are mentioned there. The committee has noticed a large reduction in the number of up-coming events posted on the site.  This is a wonderful resource for units to advertise events.

Finance Committee – Bill Scott (Prince William), Chair

Members: Ted Jenks (Rockbridge), Jim Kincaid (Virginia Beach), Nancy Golden (Goochland Powhatan), Brenda Shimchek (Hanover)

 The committee members met  to  compile the proposed budget using the following guidelines:

Membership dues are based upon prior year actual collections.

Revenue from education activities is projected on past experience and forecast to offset expenses.

Fundraising revenue represents income from the sale of t-shirts and other merchandise.  Silent auction revenue will be given directly to the VT Foundation and will not flow through VMGA records.

The combined line item for Communication/Support expenses is composed of $250 for Communications and $50 for the Unit Support Committee.

Education represents the expenses of FY2009 educational activities forecast at a break-even level.  Refer to the related income in the revenue section of the budget.

EEF Scholarships are forecast to be paid from operating funds in FY2009.  The current VMGA endowment does not generate sufficient revenue to fund the scholarships and growth accumulation.

Election expenses represent the estimated costs of conducting the biennial election of officers.  FY2009 is a non-election year.

Fundraising Gifts to VT Endowment represent the contribution of revenue from the sale of merchandise described above to the endowment for the state coordinator.

Membership & Roster expenses approximate the costs of producing the membership directory and other expenses incurred to acquire new members in FY2009.  If an electronic solution were utilized, as discussed in the Finance Committee report, these costs would be significantly reduced.

Newsletter expenses are composed of $983 for printing costs and $317 for postage and labels to provide for the mailing of 125 issues.  This assumes the remaining 450 copies are provided electronically by email. 

State Fair expenses are forecast at $350.  This represents an increase of $50 compared to FY2008.

The Proposed Budget For 2008

Membership                                                              

                  Regular                                                                                $   1,600                                              

                  Lifetime/Advanced Payments                                              3,600                                       

                                    Total Membership                                    5,200                                                

                Gifts for EEF Scholarships                                                  -                                 

            Education                                                                                   3,000                                               

                Fundraising                                                                                 1,000                                               

                        Total Income                                                                                $   9,200              

            Expenses                                                                                            

            Communication/Support                                                   $      300                                               

                Coordinator Endowment Committee                                       100                                               

                Education                                                                                   3,000                                               

                EEF Scholarships                                                                         600                                                

                Elections                                                                                             -                                 

                Fundraising Committee                                                                   -                                 

                Fundraising Gifts to VT Endowment                                     1,000                                   

            Marketing                                                                                     300                                                

                Membership & Roster                                                              2,000                                               

                Newsletter                                                                                  1,300                                                

                State Fair                                                                                       350                                                

                Officers' Expense                                                                

                  President                                                                                      125                                                

                  Vice President                                                                              25                                 

                  Secretary                                                                                      35                             

              Treasurer                                                                                      65                                 

                                Total Expenses                                                $   9,200          

 The 2008 Budget was accepted as submitted.

Fund Raising Betty Villers (Virginia Beach), Chair

Since our annual meeting last year, we have sold 144 shirts, 448 license plate frames, and 303 decals for a profit of over $2,100 going to the State Master Gardener Coordinator Endowment. 

This year we are adding a water bottle clip that will fasten onto your water bottle so you can attach your water bottle to your belt, waist band, pocket, purse, etc.  These will sell for $2.00

Silent Auction Committee, Leslie Paulsen and Sharon Corbin  (Prince William), Co Chairs

    Silent Auction of 2007: Over 100  items donated

    Raised over $3300 towards the  MG Coordinator’s Endowment

P. Diane Relf Education Endowment Fund :George Graine, Chair (Fairfax),

Members: Jackie Lohr (York), Bud Gregory(No. Shenandoah), Don Snipes (Norfolk), Leslie Paulson (Prince William), Jean Bainbridge (Alternate) Halifax

The following six Master Gardeners were selected to receive a 2008 VMGA Scholarship to MG College.

                Tina Stephens                         Fairfax

                Karen Renda                           Virginia Beach

                Joyce Brannon                        Henrico                             

               Norman Garner                       Chesapeake

                Marilyn Spencer                      Prince William                 

               Jeannine Hall                          Halifax

                                  Endowment Committee :  Katherine Debnar,Chair

·         February I assumed the Chair of the Committee from Pat Reilly

·         In May Team met in Charlottesville with Linda and Larry  Zemke of Z Squared Marketing of Louisa. We expect a renewed effort with fresh materials

·         A number of presentations have been made to MGs around the state

·         We have passed the $250,000 mark with more than $1000 in checks  this year at MG College

State Fair- Christy Brennan, Chair

• The 2007 VA State Fair was a huge success. Not even the State Fair could produce rain for the Richmond area.  Because of the hot and dry conditions everyone came to the Fair -doubling our recorded contacts to over 10,000! Our best year ever!. Lorene Blackwood sent a wonderful Thank You Note to the Master Gardeners, thanking us for being a part of the Horticulture Pavilion, the largest out -door class room and Fairs success. Over 25 counties and units volunteered their time.  Thank You to everyone for a great Success!
• The 2008 State Fair will be held at the Richmond Race Way for the last time.  Dates are September 25^th to Oct 5th.  There are lots of educational opportunities for children and adult’s, we will have demonstrations on pruning crape myrtles, pruning in general, composting, vermiculture, good and bad bugs, and land stewardship including fire wise landscaping. 
• There are still lots of open slots for unit reps to volunteer their group, Contact Christy ctb47@comcast.net to schedule your unit.

Extension Liaison - Dave Close, MG Coordinator

• The handbook revisions have been received and are in the process of being reviewed and updated – scheduled release in October.  There will be no extreme changes and a wild life chapter will be added.

• National State Coordinators Conference – Virginia will be the host Oct 8^th- 10^th in the DC area. There will be lots of opportunities for the MG’s to help out.

• State Record keeping system – has been approved but a slow implementation process.

• Unit E-mail addresses- the VMGA Executive Board met with Dean Quisenberry and Dean  McCann to discuss unique e-mail addresses for units. Dave will meet with units to discuss specific design and content needs.

• Landcare Training- 2 programs are starting in the James City and DC / Northern VA area. One unit, Hanover has an existing strong Landcare Stewards program.

• Firewise Landscaping- a prominent issue in several counties– MG’s are asked to target training needs for home owners and general public.  Extension has several publications available.

• The Plant Science Department will remain a separate degree program in Horticulture, although there is still an effort to combine efforts to develop a stronger department during the budget constraints. Recruitment materials are available through Va. Tech.

• There is a national review of Extension and the Master Gardener program and Dave will be working with the committee.

• Dave thanked the Zemke’s (Linda and Larry from Lousia) of Z Squared for advising the endowment team on marketing techniques.

Presidents Report:  Cheri Haggerty

This year have  VMGA members have participated across the state in several venues

                                June 2007  - June 2008   MGCAT

                                 September 2007 -   State Fair

                                 October 2007   - VGIC Garden Festival

                                 February 2008        Maymont Flower Show

                                Ongoing   -    Beautiful Gardens Program -- MGs statewide have volunteered  over  5500 volunteer hours valued at $19.72 an hour to this program

In April the by-laws were updated to allow for better means of communicating with the membership and possible electronic balloting. The suggested wording changes DO NOT REQUIRE electronic balloting.  The update replaced the words mail or mailed with words such as distribute or distributed.  This has the two-fold advantage of allowing future balloting and elections to use whatever the latest method of communication may be, while still allowing mail to be used for those who do not have ready access to electronic means of communication.

The Board had approved that the VMGA join the VA Green Industry Council  (VGIC).  We were asked to participate due to our strong volunteer base. Cheri Haggerty is our representative on the Council.

Sites for the VMGA Bi-Monthly Meetings –it was her vision to have each meeting in a different district and this has been very successful.  There are several opportunities for Units to participate for next year.

• The current 2007  meeting calendar is :

August – Prince William

October – Northern Neck

December- Clarksville

• For 2008 the schedule is:

February-Open

April- Open

June _ VA Tech MG College

August- open

October – Open

December- Open

Cheri thanked Gwen Ewing and the New River MGs for assembling the Goody Bags for MG College.

Unfinished Business-Cheri Haggerty

 We will need  a unit  to volunteer to assemble  next year’s MG College Goody Bags. 

 We also need Help for the Webmaster. This is the perfect time to see Frank Reilly, VMGA Webmaster, about how you or your Unit’s webmaster can contribute to updating the Website as needed.

  We are in search of  the Newsletter Content Editor, come join the VMGA Newsletter Team!

 Election committee:  Jim Scibek, Chair  Committee members – William McCaleb, Pat Martin, and Paul Campbell

Feb 16^th 2008     538 ballots were mailed to VMGA members

                            245 ballots were returned

Results of the election:

President – Betty Villers

Vice President _ Cheryl Sebera

Secretary-Christy Brennan

Treasurer- Bill Scott

The New Officers were introduced to the Membership

Announcements

Results of  2008 Brag Board Competition:

SLM 1 -James City County

SLM2 - Bedford

SLM3 – Loudoun

SLM4- Chesapeake

SLM5- Louisa

Best overall Chesapeake

The  Northern  Neck MG’s have issued a challenge to units that win all 5 SL’s and the Best Overall Award – they will be donating the trophy.

The total generated by the  Silent Action was over $4,200.00. That amount was  donated to the  MG Coordinator Endowment Fund.

:

Next VMGA meeting will be held on August 9th  – Prince William  10:00 a.m. 

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

 Christy Brennan, VMGA Secretary

Virginia Master Gardener Association, Inc

Annual Treasurer’s Report

June 21, 2008

• d area.  Because of the hot and dry conditions everyone came to the Fair -doubling our recorded contacts to over 10,000! Our best year ever!. Lorene Blackwood sent a wonderful Thank You Note to the Master Gardeners, thanking us for being a part of the Horticulture Pavilion, the largest out -door class room and Fairs success. Over 25 counties and units volunteered their time.  Thank You to everyone for a great Success!
• The 2008 State Fair will be held at the Richmond Race Way for the last time.  Dates are September 25^th to Oct 5th.  There are lots of educational opportunities for children and adult’s, we will have demonstrations on pruning crape myrtles, pruning in general, composting, vermiculture, good and bad bugs, and land stewardship including fire wise landscaping. 
• There are still lots of open slots for unit reps to volunteer their group, Contact Christy ctb47@comcast.net to schedule your unit.

Extension Liaison - Dave Close, MG Coordinator

• The handbook revisions have been received and are in the process of being reviewed and updated – scheduled release in October.  There will be no extreme changes and a wild life chapter will be added.

• National State Coordinators Conference – Virginia will be the host Oct 8^th- 10^th in the DC area. There will be lots of opportunities for the MG’s to help out.

• State Record keeping system – has been approved but a slow implementation process.

• Unit E-mail addresses- the VMGA Executive Board met with Dean Quisenberry and Dean  McCann to discuss unique e-mail addresses for units. Dave will meet with units to discuss specific design and content needs.

• Landcare Training- 2 programs are starting in the James City and DC / Northern VA area. One unit, Hanover has an existing strong Landcare Stewards program.

• Firewise Landscaping- a prominent issue in several counties– MG’s are asked to target training needs for home owners and general public.  Extension has several publications available.

• The Plant Science Department will remain a separate degree program in Horticulture, although there is still an effort to combine efforts to develop a stronger department during the budget constraints. Recruitment materials are available through Va. Tech.

• There is a national review of Extension and the Master Gardener program and Dave will be working with the committee.

• Dave thanked the Zemke’s (Linda and Larry from Lousia) of Z Squared for training advising the endowment team on marketing techniques.

Presidents Report:  Cheri Haggerty

This year have  VMGA members have participated across the state in several venues

                                June 2007  - June 2008   MGCAT

                                 September 2007 -   State Fair

                                 October 2007   - VGIC Garden Festival

                                 February 2008        Maymont Flower Show

                                Ongoing   -    Beautiful Gardens Program -- MGs statewide have volunteered  over  5500 volunteer hours valued at $19.72 an hour to this program

In April the by-laws were updated to allow for better means of communicating with the membership and possible electronic balloting. The suggested wording changes DO NOT REQUIRE electronic balloting.  The update replaced the words mail or mailed with words such as distribute or distributed.  This has the two-fold advantage of allowing future balloting and elections to use whatever the latest method of communication may be, while still allowing mail to be used for those who do not have ready access to electronic means of communication.

The Board had approved that the VMGA join the VA Green Industry Council  (VGIC).  We were asked to participate due to our strong volunteer base. Cheri Haggerty is our representative on the Council.

Sites for the VMGA Bi-Monthly Meetings –it was her vision to have each meeting in a different district and this has been very successful.  There are several opportunities for Units to participate for next year.

• The current 2007  meeting calendar is :

August – Prince William

October – Northern Neck

December- Clarksville

• For 2008 the schedule is:

February-Open

April- Open

June _ VA Tech MG College

August- open

October – Open

December- Open

Cheri thanked Gwen Ewing and the New River MGs for assembling the Goody Bags for MG College.

Unfinished Business-Cheri Haggerty

 We will need  a unit  to volunteer to assemble  next year’s MG College Goody Bags. 

 We also need Help for the Webmaster. This is the perfect time to see Frank Reilly, VMGA Webmaster, about how you or your Unit’s webmaster can contribute to updating the Website as needed.

  We are in search of  the Newsletter Content Editor, come join the VMGA Newsletter Team!

 Election committee:  Jim Scibek, Chair  Committee members – William McCaleb, Pat Martin, and Paul Campbell

Feb 16^th 2008     538 ballots were mailed to VMGA members

                            245 ballots were returned

Results of the election:

President – Betty Villers

Vice President _ Cheryl Sebera

Secretary-Christy Brennan

Treasurer- Bill Scott

The New Officers were introduced to the Membership

Announcements

Results of  2008 Brag Board Competition:

SLM 1 -James City County

SLM2 - Bedford

SLM3 – Loudoun

SLM4- Chesapeake

SLM5- Louisa

Best overall Chesapeake

The  Northern  Neck MG’s have issued a challenge to units that win all 5 SL’s and the Best Overall Award – they will be donating the trophy.

The total generated by the  Silent Action was over $4,200.00. That amount was  donated to the  MG Coordinator Endowment Fund.

:

Next VMGA meeting will be held on August 9th  – Prince William  10:00 a.m. 

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

 Christy Brennan, VMGA Secretary

Virginia Master Gardener Association, Inc

Annual Treasurer’s Report

June 21, 2008

Virginia Master Gardener Association, Inc

Annual Treasurer’s Report

June 21, 2008

Virginia Master Gardener Association, Inc

Annual Treasurer’s Report

June 21, 2008