2013-04 Minutes

MINUTES

April 2, 2013

The April meeting of the Hill ‘n Hollow Master Gardeners was held at 6:30 PM at the Newton County Extension Office. President Jutta McCormick called the meeting to order at 6:38 PM with 28 members and one guest present.  Our scheduled speaker had to cancel at the last minute, but was very apologetic and hoped to reschedule soon.

SECRETARY’S REPORT: The March minutes were e-mailed to members and posted on the website. Minutes were read during the meeting, and a motion was M/S/C to accept the Secretary’s Report.

TREASURER’S REPORT: The bank balance as of April 2, 2013, was $2,804.16, excluding any outstanding receipts. A motion was M/S/C to accept the treasurer’s report.

OLD BUSINESS

Plant Sale Tags:  Tags were still backordered as of April 2, but Sherry McBride was hopeful that they would arrive before the plant sale. If they arrive in time, an email will be sent to club members and they will be available for pick-up at the Extension Office.

Donations:  Potting soil, mulch, and pots were donated to the club by Wal-Mart. John Hobbs will send an email with information about where to pick them up. These supplies can be used for the plant sale or for group projects.

Golden Living Center:  Jutta McCormick reported that the work days at the Golden Living Center involved lots of hard labor from several volunteers, whom she thanked for their assistance.

Morse Park:  A recent workday at Morris Park was successful, again thanks to hard-working volunteers who mulched and pulled weeds.  One more workday should probably be scheduled there in the future.

Courthouse:  Jutta McCormick recognized Doug Coberly for his hard work at the courthouse project.

Rose Seminar:  Gordon Spencer reported that the rose seminar held in March at the Hoyez home was very informative and enjoyable.

Volunteer Project:  Gordon Spencer led a workday at the home of a local disabled woman that went very well.

Neosho Farmers Market:  Jutta McCormick reminded club members that an email was sent recently about the Neosho Farmers Market vendors and referred everyone to the email for more details., if they are interested.

NEW BUSINESS

New Master Gardeners:  Recent graduates of the Master Gardener class were welcomed to the club for their first official meeting.

Name Tags:  John Hobbs has magnets for those who would like to replace the pins on their name tags. New name tags can be purchased for $8.50 with the newly designed logo.

Plant Sale: The club had originally voted to move the annual plant sale up a week to April 27, but this spring hasn't been as warm as anticipated.  Jutta McCormick proposed moving the sale to the first weekend in May to give plants an extra week to grow and get strong. Club members voted and the plant sale was moved to Saturday, May 4.

Discussion of the plant sale continued and members were advised to price plants at approximately 2/3 of the nursery price, if plants are well developed.  Members were also asked to bring empty boxes for stacking plants, extra tables, and cinder blocks and rope to stabilize the tent.  A 7 AM set-up time was designated, with the sale set to being at 8 AM.

EXTENSION COUNCIL UPDATE

The Newton County Extension office space is being taken over by Crowder College.  John Hobbs reported that the Extension office is hoping to find a new space by July 1.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Work Days:  A workday was scheduled for April 11 at Morse Park at 9 AM.  An additional workday at the Golden Living Center was scheduled for Saturday, April 6, at 10 AM, assuming the weather cooperates.

Neosho Fish Hatchery:  It was announced that there would be an Open House at the Neosho Fish Hatchery on April 21, from 9 AM - 2 PM, with Rhonda Marion overseeing the Master Gardeners booth at the event.

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Hill ‘N Hollow Master Gardeners will take place at the Newton County Extension Office on Tuesday, May 7, at 6:30 PM.

After club members enjoyed some refreshments and gardening videos, President Jutta McCormick adjourned the meeting at 8:50 PM.

Submitted by:

Lynn Fleshman

Lynn Fleshman, Secretary