DRAFT OMGA BOARD OF DIRECTORS2ND QUARTERLY MEETINGSATURDAY JUNE 6, 2015

Benton County Extension OfficeSunset Conference Room4077 SW Research Way

Corvallis, OregonCorrections are in italics

The meeting was called to order by President, Al Cook at 10 a.m. Twenty four chapter representatives and alternates, eight officers and committee chairpersons and Gail Langellotto were present.

Jana Tindall, Benton County Master Gardener, gave us a warm welcome us to Corvallis, home of Oregon State University.

Barbara Davidson, Jackson County, moved the agenda be approved with flexibility. A report from Marcia Sherry on the Gardener’s Pen and a report on the OMGA officer vacancies by Al Cook were added. Eric Bosner, Central Oregon, moved the amended agenda be approved. Judy Nate, Polk County seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.

It was requested that the list of people attending the Board of Directors meeting be included in the minutes. Sue Nesbitt, OMGA Secretary, will include the list. (It is on the last page).

Audit Committee Jens Frederickson, Wasco County, reported that the committee consisting of himself, Sandra Stephens and Jim Liskey and found the books to be in accordance with standard accounting practices. They also reviewed the IRS form 570 to check for compliance and found it to be complete. Sharon Tucker, Lane County moved to accept the audit report. Randy Peckman, Linn County, seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.

The Audit committee also reviewed both the long and EZ forms for the IRS 990 for both the group and the parent. They also reviewed the 990-N for all the counties with revenues under $50,000 and found all of them to be in order.

Financial Report Katherine Johnson

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The 2nd quarter report is .03 short due to the manner in which the investment accounts are reported. In addition the $166.80 for the 2014 speaker’s fee check that was not cashed and on which payment was stopped will continue to show as an expenditure until the books are reconciled at the end of 2015. The Quicken program will not allow this change before that time.

Year end assets = $102,920,15; Income = $21,761.74; Expenses = 13,960.49. Total Assets on June 1, 2015 = 110.888.23. The difference is $166.83 as explained above.

Quicken, the accounting package OMGA uses, will no longer communicate with E-Trade until it is upgraded to Quicken 15. Thus, there is no update on the interest earned on the investments.

OMGA active paid memberships are down 118 members compared to December 31, 2014. A few more will be received in the next few months.

A thank you note was received from Jordis Yost, Multnomah County, for the PNW Handbooks which OMGA provides to each county (Plant Diseases and Insects). In the original mailing some counties only received one of the two handbooks. This has been corrected.

If a county Master Gardener donates funds to a Political Action Committee (PAC) to lobby for a specific action or event they must file Form 5768 both at the beginning of the lobbying effort and again at the end. There is a 25% tax on any donated funds that the county Master Gardener organization must pay in addition to the donated funds. OMGA policies state that OMGA is not responsible for this tax. As part of their successful efforts to obtain a service district in Jackson County, the Jackson County Master Gardeners made a donation and paid these taxes. OMGA paid the $36 mailing expense. It is important to understand the regulations before donating. Marion County also has a new service district; but, they did not donate to a PAC.

The Ray McNeilan Scholarship recipients this year are: Victoria Brown and Pashalle Johnson. They each received a scholarship of $1,000.

$2,500 was given to the Agriculture Research to help with the creation of an online reference for IPM. They are obtaining support from several sources to build a website that will support home owners with insect management. Mock-ups will be available in the next few weeks. Hopefully, there will be a beta version by Mini-College.

Executive Committee Report Al CookThe Executive Committee met twice since the March Board of Directors meeting to handle Larry Byrum’s resignation as Database Manager and OMGA Web Master. It was decided to split this position into two parts: Database Manager and OMGA Website Manager. New position descriptions have been written for both positions. It

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was decided to recruit the new Database Manager from OMGA members as soon as possible. This person’s responsibilities will begin in November with a notice to all the chapters requesting the list of their new officers. The database needs to be updated by January 1, 2016.

Barbara Davidson, Jackson County, asked for clarification of who is included in the database. Al Cook explained that it is just the Chapter officers. The list of chapter members is maintained by each chapter. The position will require approximately 8 – 10 hours during elections and 1 – 2 hours a month after that. There is a template that can be filled in.

The President-elect position will be filled after the 2015 Mini-College. At the present the duties have been absorbed by other officers.

The position of the 3rd Vice President has been discontinued.

Drop Box Seamus RamirezThis is a tool used by the OMGA Executive Committee that allows members who do not live in close proximity to work on the same document without emailing the different versions to each other. It is a tool the Chapters might find useful. While we use a Professional Version (due to the amount of storage space the Executive Committee requires) there is a free version which would probably be sufficient for a Chapter. Seamus is developing a protocol that the Chapters could use to set up this tool.

OMGA Equipment Katherine JohnsonAll of the equipment, computers, etc., are now stored at Katherine Johnson’s house. It will be transferred to the next person when appointed.

Website Management Sue NesbittTwo bids were received: one from Jim Parks and one from Pine Box Studio. Economically Jim Parks was the best choice. He assisted with the design of our present website and people found him to be both congenial and efficient. His responsibilities will be to manage the website and not to correct or edit documents. However, he must have the entire Microsoft package including Publisher.

All information that needs to be posted to the OMGA Website must be directed to Jim Liskey, Past President, who will be the Website gate keeper.

Review of the OMGA Bylaw Updates Sue NesbittThe words active and current are used interchangeably and it was suggested that one of these be selected and used consistently throughout. It was also suggested that the word selected be defined.

Barbara Davidson, Jackson County, suggested that the change in Article IX be revised to “the Board of Directors will decide on the dispersion of any remaining funds”. Gail Langellotto expressed her opposition to the suggested change in Article IX that would

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allow remaining funds be given to any tax exempt organization. It was pointed out that if OMGA were to dissolve there would probably not be any funds to disperse.

A copy of the proposed revisions will be sent to all Board of Directors members. Eric Bosler, Central Gorge, moved to accept this presentation as the first reading of the proposed bylaw changes. Chuck Petersen, Columbia County, seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Policies and Procedures Jim LiskeyThese were updated to reflect present practices, to add missing information and to move items to more appropriate locations. Renumbering when appropriate was completed and the History of Changes was updated. Specifically the following changes were made:

1.10 Matching cash awards to help chapters who receive Search for Excellence International Awards attend the conference was moved to 4.36.

1.15.3 Electronic voting was added.1.20.2-.18 Vulnerable Population Protection was added.1.28 through 1.28.7 Revision(s) of all OMGA documents was added. 2.1.1 Changed to reflect the new Executive Committee schedule2.2.6 and 2.2.8 were eliminated since they are now covered by 1.28.4.1 Changed to reflect the new reimbursement policy.4.37 Funds for the Send-A-Friend grant was moved from 5.105.8 The words requiring a periodic return to the OSU campus in Corvallis were

eliminated. All the OMGA position descriptions were updated and added to the Policies and

Procedures. Appendix P, Travel reimbursement guidelines was added.

Mini-College Marilyn SchefflerMini-College website is: http://www.omga.org/mini-college. Any chapter interested in participating in Chapter Sales should contact Randy Peckman, Linn County, or Jana Tindell from Benton County.

The Send-A-Friend Scholarship provides $200 to each chapter to help send their members to Mini-College. Interested chapters should contact Sandy Stephens,

The Silent Auction is OMGAs only fundraiser. Each chapter is requested to bring 10 items with a value of $25 or more. It is also possible for a Chapter to make a donation of $250 instead of bringing items to sell. Please return the completed donation forms to Sue Nesbitt, Yamhill County.

An outstanding list of presentations is scheduled for this year. All of them, except one, will count toward recertification. Lynn Trimpe thanks all the chapters who sent ideas and suggestions for presentations. There is a place on the form to check if you are

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willing to volunteer as either a speaker assistant or a door monitor. Each of these people are needed for each class.

Registration is now open. Jeanette Woosley is the online registrar or there is a printable form that can be mailed in. The accommodation link is not yet available; but, it should be ready soon. Space is also reserved at selected motels in the McMinnville area. These are listed on the Mini-College website. You must call the hotel directly to make the reservation.

Barbara Davidson, Jackson County, asked about fliers that could be used to publicize Mini-College. Marcia Sherry, Yamhill County, will send the flier to every chapter so they can print them.

There is one schedule change. The Leadership Forum is free and lunch is optional. The lunch is $12 and may be ordered at the time of registration.

The meeting continued following a delicious lunch served by the Benton County Master Gardeners.

Travel Reimbursement Policy Al CookIt was updated to be more in line with the State of Oregon travel policy. The mileage did not change – it is .30 cents per mile – the meals and lodging were increased. Eric Bosner, Central Gorge, asked if the .14 cent difference between the federal mileage rate and the OMGA rate could create a tax issue. Al Cook, President will check on this. The new schedule can be found in Appendix P of the Policies and Procedures.

Change in the OMGA Officer Year Al CookIt was proposed that the new officers will be voted on and take office at the November meeting which accelerates the nomination and voting period for new officers. It will give them a role in creating the new budget and a head start on their duties. In the past there was a new officer retreat in January. If we wait until March for the new officers to begin their duties 3 months of productive work are lost. Under the new calendar the retreat would be held in November. Marcia Sherry, Yamhill County, asked for clarification – would the elections be held at the beginning of the meeting or at the end of the meeting. If they are held at the end of the meeting how could the new officers participate in the budget process? This could be important if one of them had a special project they would like to propose. This question was tabled. The request for nominations will be sent out in August or September. If officers are elected in November it doesn’t mean they would assume office at that meeting. They could be installed at the January meeting with the understanding that they would be involved in OMGA business from November forward. Barbara Casteel’s, Tillamook County, summary was that this change provides a formal transition period for the new officers.

Gardener’s Pen Marcia Sherry

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Articles for the next issue of the Gardener’s Pen are due August 17, 2015. The theme will be “Propagation”. Book Reviews, highlights of chapter projects, short articles and pictures are all welcome.

Scholarships and Grants Al CookThe names of the awardees will be sent to the chapters as soon as they are decided so the recipients can be notified and make plans to attend Mini-College to accept their award.Report from Gail Langellotto, Program LeaderThe International Master Gardeners Conference will be held July 10-14, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. Oregon State University has not yet signed the contract with the Oregon Convention Center. Both are state agencies and there are issues with the indemnification policy. Three hotels have signed contracts as have several speakers.

A formal request for speakers will not be made until after the 2015 conference so we do not compete with it. Fifty percent of the speakers will be from Oregon and 50% from outside the state. Two of the keynote speakers are: John Marzluff, professor at the University of Washington, who has written books about how we have shaped the behavior of birds and what we might do that would be beneficial to them. Two of his books are Crows and Ravens and Subirdia. John Carlson, M.D., Ph.D. writes about the tracks and signs of insects on humans. Ciscoe Morris, a Seattle area Master Gardener, will be the Master of Ceremonies. He has his own radio program and has been on several TV shows.

The trade show will feature Oregon products.

Sponsorships are just above $60,000. The only expenditure at this time is for the magnets, bookmarks and a credit card fee.

A request for a horticulture position for Eastern Oregon where there is both a resignation and a retirement was written. Another will be written for the Oregon Coast which is also underserved. Klamath County, which has a service district, funded ½ time coordinator. They are asking OSU to fund the other half of the position so they can have a full time position.

The Community and Home Horticulture Working Group (CHAP), composed of the 30 Horticulture faculty in Oregon, functions by consensus. This is cumbersome so Gail is restructuring it to form a 5 person Advisory Committee which will take recommendations to CHAP for final votes. The Advisory Committee consists of: Stacy Haw, a Clackamas County Master Gardener; Al Cook, President of OMGA; Brooke Edmunds, Linn County Extension faculty; Amy Jo Detweiler, Deschutes County Extension Faculty and Gail Langellotto, Program Leader. They will be working on developing a road map for Master Gardener recertification.

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Gail is participating in the National Community Horticulture committee. They are working to obtain a tax ID number for Community Horticulture. To apply for a USDA grant you must have a Tax ID number and it is not available for Community Horticulture.

Summary of the Leadership Forum Jim LiskeyPresentations were made by Gail Langellotto, Program Leader; Derek Godwin, Regional Administrator West Central Region; Al Cook, President OMGA; Brooke Edmunds, Linn County Extension Faculty; Toby Habot, Marion County Master Gardener President; and Ellen Tapon, Benton County Master Gardener.

The focus of this excellent Leadership Forum was to clarify the roles of the different groups of people involved in the various aspects of the Oregon Master Gardener program. The goal was to provide clear information about each group of people and their responsibilities. The majority of problems are caused by either incomplete communication or miscommunications. One of the issues is that the Extension Faculty are supervised by the Regional Administrators; but, they are evaluated by the metrics of the Department in which they are located. For example, Brooke Edmunds is in the Department of Horticulture and is evaluated by their metrics; but, she is supervised by Derek Godwin, the Regional administrator for the West Central Region. To meet the evaluation metrics the County Extension faculty must also prepare scholarly work showing the impact of their work and adoption of it by their peers.

Gail was asked how she uses the information from the Master Gardener Chapter quarterly reports. She replied that it supplies the human interest side to the number of hours spent by Master Gardeners providing education to the public.

Meeting adjourned at 2:15 p.m.

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Future Meeting Dates

Executive Committee Leadership Workshops

Board of Directors Location

Thurs. Aug. 6, 2015 p.m.

Thurs. Aug. 6, 2015 a.m.

Mini-College-Linfield College, McMinnville

Fri., Nov. 6, 2015 a.m. Fri., Nov. 6, 2015, p.m. Sat. Nov., 7, 2015 Lin County

2016 Future Meeting Dates

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Fri, March 4, 2016 Fri., March 4, 2016 Sat., March 5, 2016

Fri. June 3, 2016 Fri., June 3, 2016 Sat., June 4, 2016

Mini-College Mini-College Mini-College

Fri., Nov. 4, 2016 Fri., Nov. 4, 2016 Sat., Nov. 5, 2015

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ACTION ITEMS

ITEM PERSON RESPONSIBLE

Send Database Manager Position descriptionto the Chapter Representatives, Alternates, Presidents and State Program Leader. Sue Nesbitt

Continue working on the protocols for the Drop Box Seamus Ramirez

Make suggested changes to the proposed bylawchanges and send to the Chapter Representatives,Alternates, Presidents and State Program Leader. Sue Nesbitt

Make final changes in the Policies and Procedures Jim Liskey, Sue Nesbitt and and post on the OMGA Website Webmaster

Find out if the .14 cent difference in the mileage ratebetween the OMGA rate and the federal rate will create a tax issue. Al Cook

Rewrite the change in the OMGA Officer year to clearly specify when they will be elected and whenthe new officers will be installed. Al Cook

Send names of scholarship and grant recipients to the chapters. Al Cook

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