Minutes for Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Board of Directors Meeting Held September 11, 2018 Call to Order The Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardeners Association held a board of directors meeting September 11, 2018 at 125 Prosperity Drive, Winchester, Virginia 22602. Cy Haley, President, presided over the meeting and called it to order at 5:53 PM. Sandra Ward served as secretary. Opening Remarks Cy Haley recommended cancelling the Fall Round-Up, scheduled for the upcoming weekend (September 16) as well as the September monthly meeting scheduled for the same day, based on the weather report that predicted heavy rain due to a hurricane. The Board agreed with cancellation. Attendees Voting Board of Directors Advisory Board Members Cy Haley, President Ginny Smith, Clarke County Coordinator Suzanne Boag, Vice President Sandra Ward, Secretary Bob Gail, Treasurer Mary Turner, Frederick County Coordinator Sharon Rodriguez, Shenandoah County Coordinator Bob Carlton, Volunteer Coordinator Mark Sutphin, VCE Agent Lynn Hoffmann, Publicity/Scholarship Chair Officers’ Reports Vice President 1
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Minutes for Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Board of Directors Meeting Held September 11, 2018
Call to OrderThe Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardeners Association held a board of directors meeting September 11, 2018 at 125 Prosperity Drive, Winchester, Virginia 22602. Cy Haley, President, presided over the meeting and called it to order at 5:53 PM. Sandra Ward served as secretary.
Opening Remarks Cy Haley recommended cancelling the Fall Round-Up, scheduled for the upcoming weekend (September 16) as well as the September monthly meeting scheduled for the same day, based on the weather report that predicted heavy rain due to a hurricane. The Board agreed with cancellation.
Attendees Voting Board of Directors Advisory Board MembersCy Haley, President Ginny Smith, Clarke County CoordinatorSuzanne Boag, Vice PresidentSandra Ward, SecretaryBob Gail, Treasurer
Mary Turner, Frederick County CoordinatorSharon Rodriguez, Shenandoah County CoordinatorBob Carlton, Volunteer CoordinatorMark Sutphin, VCE AgentLynn Hoffmann, Publicity/Scholarship Chair
Officers’ Reports Vice PresidentSuzanne Boag, Vice President, reported on the program for upcoming Association meetings:
September’s Association Meeting was to be held Sunday, September 16, 4:00 p.m. at Sunflower Cottage & Backroom Brewery. However, it was cancelled due to weather.
October’s Association Meeting will be held Sunday, October 21, 4:00 p.m. at the Shenandoah County Office Building. We will have two guest speakers: Cathy Mayes, Chestnut Foundation President, will talk about the history of the Chestnut and what lies ahead with the effort to develop a blight resistant tree. Eric Day, Manager of the VT Insect ID Lab, will update us on the Spotted Lanternfly. The business meeting will be abbreviated to accommodate both speakers. Shenandoah County Master Gardeners will be hosting this meeting.
November’s Association Meeting will be held Sunday, November 18, 2:00 p.m. at the Warren County Government Center located in Front Royal. We will hold our annual
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Minutes for Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Board of Directors Meeting Held September 11, 2018
business meeting and election plus review the year and our accomplishments. The Warren County Master Gardeners will be hosting this meeting. Cy would like the County Coordinators to send pictures of each respective county’s Master Gardeners at work/events – please send in PowerPoint format. Cy will create a PowerPoint loop to be played at the meeting using the photos that she receives.
SecretaryBob Gail moved to approve the August board meeting minutes as emailed by Sandy Ward. Suzanne Boag seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Correspondence: None.
TreasurerBob Gail presented the Financial Reports for August (see appendix for the August financial reports)..The Board discussed whether it was necessary to have Association meetings in months where NSVMGA had major events occurring, like Symposium, Garden Fest, and Fall Round-up, that involved a lot of our members and a big time commitment.
Motion: Bob Gail moved not to hold Association meetings in the months that Symposium, Garden Fest, and Fall Round-up occur. Suzanne Boag seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Old BusinessNone.New BusinessSuzanne Boag reported on the Education Committee’s upcoming trip to the Mt. Defiance Cider Barn, located in Middleburg on October 24 at 1:00 pm. The tour is free and a cider flight will cost $12 for those interested. Group payment must be made by one person – payment deadline to Suzanne will be the October 21 Association Meeting. Carpooling can be organized for those interested.
Approval of New ProjectsNone.
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Minutes for Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Board of Directors Meeting Held September 11, 2018
County Coordinators’ Reports Clarke Ginny Smith reported that Clarke County has finished up with their projects for this year – the County Fair was their last event.
FrederickMary Turner reported that the fall meeting of Frederick County Master Gardeners and Interns was well attended. Those present heard about and signed up to assist with current and future projects. In addition, members agreed that all county master gardeners and interns should be added to the Community Garden Talks list.
The Old Town Farmers Market continues through September 29, Saturday mornings, on the mall in Winchester.
Gardening After School has resumed at Fremont Street Nursery and will continue use on Wednesday afternoons through mid-October.
Volunteers have cleared weeds and failed corn crop from the veggie portion of the Timbrook Community Garden. Work will continue Thursdays at 5-7 PM into October for people who can’t come during the day.
The Greenwood Mill Elementary School Garden Club project starts September 18. Six sessions are planned, Tuesday mornings at 8:10 am.
The O'Sullivan Wellness Expo is September 27. Helen Lake is running this program which includes a master gardener information booth and she needs one more person.
Frederick County Greenline monitoring is being done by one volunteer each month. Ideally, they would like to resume in-office monitoring one day each week.
PageLesley Mack reported via email on activities in Page County. Cheryl McDonald and other MGs have been going to the Farmers’ Market on Saturdays in Luray (The market ends September 22). Susan Finlay and Kristin Gaulard chaired the Page County Adult Horticulture Exhibit for the Page County Fair on August 20. Charlie Newton chaired the Water Quality Booth at the Page County Fair for the entire week.
ShenandoahSharon Rodriguez reported that all Shenandoah County projects are winding down. Lowe’s help desk ends this month. Master Gardeners made 119 contacts at the Shenandoah County Fair.
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Minutes for Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Board of Directors Meeting Held September 11, 2018
WarrenNo report..Standing Committee Reports
Communications and PublicityStacey Smith sent out an events flyer for the first half of September, highlighting the Fall Roundup. She will send out another one for the remainder of the month.
EducationSuzanne Boag reported that the Education Committee will meet soon to generate ideas for fall programs. (See New Business for information on the October trip to a Cidery.)
MembershipJohn Stevens, an Honorary NSVMGA member, would like to return to active member status. He would need to go through the background check. Mark said he would call him and tell him about the background check requirements.
Motion: Suzanne Boag moved to have the Association pay for John’s background check. Bob Gail seconded the motion. Motion passed.
NewsletterStacey reported via email that September 16 is the deadline for the Fall issue of the Newsletter. This is the last issue before the recruitment drive, so the theme is “What MGs do.” She will ask for articles that help highlight why we are here and what we’ve done this year.
Special Committees
Fall Round-upThe Board cancelled the Fall Round Up due to the prediction of bad weather.
Suzanne Boag reported in her written report that the following vendors had committed to be at the Fall Round-Up: Olive Oil Soap to provide soap making demos; Katherine Phillips Native Plants to sell native plants; the Gourd Society to sell finished gourds and to offer demos of gourd cleaning preparation; Mary Rose Lavendar to offer a free lavender sachet making activity; and North Mountain Rescue and Valley Widelife Care.
Jr. Master GardenersLynn Hoffmann reported there no updates at this time.
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Minutes for Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Board of Directors Meeting Held September 11, 2018
Seed ExchangeNo report.
SymposiumLynn Hoffmann reported that they are still in contact with several people as speakers. There is nothing new to report.
MG Class of 2019No report.
Garden Fest 2019Stacey Smith reported via email that she is having a pot cleaning and sorting party on September 29. She also hopes to schedule a dig of Larry Haun’s plants for early October.
Scholarship CommitteeLynn Hoffmann reported that the Committee is working on a Public Award Grant Program, using money from the donation from the Larry Haun Estate. It would set aside money for MGs and for the general public, for education in the agriculture and horticultural fields. Examples could be tuition for a teacher in an advanced course, a request for a student program, a request to assist a public garden, etc. The committee will continue to work on the requirements and to draft an update to the Association Guidelines to include the grant.
There will be a meeting following the Board meeting to further discuss the guidelines.
WebsiteLynn Hoffmann reported in person and Stacey Smith via email.
Lynn Hoffmann reported that Donna has the new banner up on the Web page. It needed resizing, so she added a picture of the New Market Rain Garden. There is an update plan in place, and they are realigning web pages and creating content a little at a time. They hope to have the entire site updated by year end.
Lynn wants to have a committee to talk about web page layout. She and Stacey will be on the committee, and they are looking for more volunteers.
It is also time to start posting the Indoor Plant Clinic, the Seed Exchange, and Symposium.
ELC Member Report – Frederick CountyNo report.
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Minutes for Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Board of Directors Meeting Held September 11, 2018
VCE Agent Report Mark Sutphin reported that Kathy Doyle will be the new leader for the Children’s Garden.
State Leadership training is scheduled for Friday, November 2.
Next year’s Master Gardener College will be held September 19-22, 2019, in Norfolk, VA.A Frederick County Resident, Cynthia Berning, had contacted Mark about transferring in. However, she had not completed her internship in Washington State. Mark told her she would need to complete the class here, and she is unwilling to do that. An MG from West Virginia, Rod Yonkers, had expressed interest in transferring, but he did not respond to an email from Mark
Rebecca Davis, Mark’s counterpart for VCE’s Food, Nutrition and Health Programs, is retiring. Due to budgetary considerations, she probably will not be replaced very soon.
Volunteer Coordinator ReportBob Carlton reported that the Project Wrap-up for County Coordinators will be held October 10, at 2:00 PM, in the Shenandoah County Government Building in Woodstock.
Closing RemarksNone
AdjournmentSuzanne Boag moved to adjourn the meeting. Bob Gail seconded the motion. It passed with all in favor at 6:55 PM.
Respectfully submitted by_______________________ Date Approved___________________Sandra WardNSVMGA Secretary
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Minutes for Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Board of Directors Meeting Held September 11, 2018
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Minutes for Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Board of Directors Meeting Held September 11, 2018
APPENDIX
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Minutes for Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Board of Directors Meeting Held September 11, 2018
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Minutes for Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Board of Directors Meeting Held September 11, 2018
