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New England Region Organizational Meeting
July 14, 2011, Bow, New Hampshire
The meeting was opened at
10:00 AM by Joyce Kimball, NER Regional Director at the Old Town Hall in Bow,
NH. Forty NER Board Members were in attendance. Director Kimball introduced the
three past NER Directors that were present at the meeting: Jeanne Marie Parkes, MA, 1997-1999, Pamela
Hebert, VT, 2005-2007 and Kathleen Thomas, MA, 2009-20011. The NER State Presidents were also introduced with the
exception of Ronnie Schoelzel, CT and Judy Hager, RI who were
unable to attend the meeting. Each
president announced the theme she chose for their 2011-2013 term of office.
Director Kimball lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Following the Pledge the NER Board Members,
including Officers and Committee Chairmen, were introduced by state. ( see attached) Director Kimball asked that all manuals,
timelines, past-records, etc. be passed on from the past chairmen to the new
chairmen and encouraged the former chairmen to mentor the newly appointed
chairs.
Director Kimball informed attendees that she had
a supply of 2011-2013 NGC Directories with her to give to any board member in
need of one. NER Webmaster Kathy Thomas will
be adding the listing of NER Chairmen and their contact information to the
website, requiring the User Name “member” and the Password “hummingbird”to enter that area of the website. In
the meantime, Director Kimball is available to answer any questions members may
have.
Helga Frazette, NER Treasurer, presented the
Treasurer’s Report, which will be filed for audit.
NER Finance Chair, Kathleen Thomas presented the
preliminary budget for approval. She
explained at this point there are no fund raisers planned. The preliminary budget was approved.
Nancy Donaldson, 2011 NER Annual Meeting Chair
gave an overview of the upcoming Oct. 17th - 18th meeting
to be held at the Radisson in Chelmsford, MA.
Thelma
Shoneman, 2011 NER Symposium Chair gave a report on the NER Symposium that will
be held immediately following the annual meeting, October 18th – 20th.
It was pointed out that information and registration forms on both meetings are
currently accessible on the NER Website . A small
supply of printed copies were available for attendees.
De Feldman, Chair of NGC’s President’s Projects
gave a report on NGC President Shirley Nicolai’s proposed projects for her
term. They include: Photo Archiving of
Accomplishments (FLICKA); Plantings
for Public and Special Places and Protecting
Aquatic Ecosystems. De will send each state president and NGC President’s
Projects state chairman the information concerning these projects.
Director
Kimball’s NER Project will be “Plan Before You Plant.” This will be a campaign to make the public
more aware of how important it is to select the right tree for the right space,
taking into consideration how close and what types of trees home owners should
be planting near power lines as well information about the benefits of
trees for cooling and sheltering a home
from wind – both energy savers.
CHAIRMEN REPORTS
Diane McMillen and Vera Bowen, Awards Co-Chairs,
explained the changes in the NGC awards procedures for the upcoming year. After the meeting they will present a Power Point
program with additional information for State Award Chairs and anyone who
wishes to attend.
Joyce Bakshi, Personnel Chair would like each
chairman to access the Personnel Form on
line, fill in the information requested and
send it to her with a photo for her records by September 1st.
Youth Chair Elaine Dates explained that there is a $1000 award available for a winning high
school essay entitled “The Benefits of
Community Gardens” . Entries must be a600-700 word essay, typed and titled. The entry should be sent to your state
youth chair by January 1, 2012.
Kathy Thomas, NER Webmaster, announced that the
NER website was up and working and reminded members that the web address is www.ngcner.org
. Articles or information, calendar
events, etc. to be added to the website should be forwarded to: kathythomas@aol.com.
Kathy announced there is an NER newsletter
naming contest in place with a $50 cash prize going to the club of the member
winning the contest. Past NER presidents
will judge the entries. Send entries to Kathy.
President Kimball reported for Nancy Atwell, the
new NER Newsletter Editor as she was unable to attend today’s meeting. Nancy
had asked her to reiterate that all articles, calendar events, etc. relative to
September 2011 – March 2012 should be sent to her no later than August 26th
at atwelln@aol.com. The NER newsletter is currently published in
September and March.
Helen Pritchard, Garden Study Chair, asked all
state presidents to let her know when Gardening Study Schools are being
planned in their respective states. She
also recommended Greg Pokorski’s article
in the National Gardener for members to review. Contact Helen at dpritchard@ashlarvlg.org .
Donna Nowak, “Plant it Pink Chair” reported that
the project continues and reminded members to “Think Pink” for Garden Therapy. Donnanowak2011@comcast.net
.
Shirlene Gosline, Publicity Chair, needs all
state presidents to report to her informing her which newspapers generally
publish their articles enabling her to send mass press releases out regarding
regional happenings as appropriate. Please send this information to Shirlene atshgosline@myfairpoint.net
Sandra Sears, Garden Therapy Chair, needs the
names and contact info of all Garden Therapy state chairs. Contact Sandy at sears725@aol.com.
Terese D’Urso, Landscape Design School Chair,
informed the group that the National Capitol Area has a new landscaping book
out on their area gardens. She noted that it was a fundraiser for the National Capital
Area.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Sept. 8th - NH Judges’ Council Petite
Flower Show,
12-4. White Rock Hill Senior Community Building, Bow, NH.
Oct. 17th & 18th - NER
Annual Mtg. Radisson Hotel & Suites, Chelmsford, MA.
Oct. 18th -20th, NER
Symposium, Radisson Hotel & Suites, Chelmsford, MA.
Nov. 12 & 13th - Environmental School 4, Hull, MA.
Director Kimball led a discussion regarding a
fund raising project for NER. There were
many interesting ideas presented, but much of the conversation centered around
ways to continue “Plant it Pink” in new ways, i.e., sell seeds
for pink plants, raffles of pink items, etc. Suggestions were also made to sell more ads for the newsletter and/or website
or to solicit “Sponsors” requiring a token payment to be listed as an NER
supporter. Attendees were asked to ponder these ideas for a future discussion.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Robinson
NER Recording Secretary
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