CACTUS AND SUCCULENT SOCIETY OF SAN JOSE
Apr 12, 2015 Board of Directors Meeting Minutes


Attending: Bill Kurtz, Kathi Cambiano, Sonia Dyer, Linda Delgado, Loyd Monaco, Roger Lane Called to order at 10:55 AM.

Kathi has a signup sheet for the Bascom Community Event, 10-1 on April 25. She will bring seeds and cuttings, and a page from a coloring book. She is looking for volunteers to assist her.

Kathi has an idea for Ask Me buttons for use at the show. Aprons might be good too. Kathi to investigate the cost.

Loyd will investigate having club pins made that can be handed out to people who come on the field trips.

Kathi suggests we consider getting a storage locker for the show's rolls of paper, boxes of forms and ribbons, etc. Right now the stuff is scattered amongst the garages of various members. Loyd will put an article in the newsletter and on the website asking if any members have room, and if no one volunteers then investigate the storage locker idea.

The show went well. A friend of Joseph's set up shop in the parking lot and people were asking what to do about it, if anything. Linda will talk to Joseph and Peter.

Bill K will review the existing process document for reserving space for the show, to apply to our use of Peterson for the show.

Bill K is waiting for the school secretary to get the school's upcoming schedule so we can firm up the date for the fall show.

Loyd would like the board to consider which month to hold the Country Store. July? November?

It's not clear whether May's meeting is going to be on the 3rd (Cinco de Mayo), or the 10th (Mother's Day). Bill will check his notes at home regarding which date is booked with Prusch. Loyd will tell the membership to check the Courier for the correct date.

Sonia proposed that the club adopt a policy of having some kind of field trip for the members every year (ideally in April or May), and that the next trip be to Bancroft Gardens. Kathy says Bancroft has a sculpture-in-the-garden tour in June. Loyd will investigate with Bancroft. Loyd will also investigate a possible field trip to UC Santa Cruz.

Roger submitted the treasurer's report. The show did well, and we have a healthy bank balance.


Old Business:

Loyd is working with Rich on the newsletter. Loyd would like to have the newsletter come out on the last full weekend of the month, regardless of when the next meeting is. Linda would like Rich to send out an email reminder on those months when the meeting is on the second week of the month. Currently 55 people get hard copy of the newsletter but can change to the email version by giving Loyd their email address. Loyd will announce this during the general meeting.

Kathi had previouslysuggested considering moving all future meetings to the second Sunday of the month starting in 2015. We will take a closer look at the schedule possibilities in the next meeting after the show.

Kathi suggests that at the sale we let customers opt to get their coupon by email instead of by mail. There was some concern that people might print out multiple copies of the coupon.

A club member has suggested to Loyd that we do a better job identifyingwhich of the two Prusch meeting rooms we will be in. This is decided by the Park, and sometimes changes with short notice. Kathi has a picture of each building and we agreed we could put a copy of the picture of whichever room we expect to probably be in in the newsletter. Loyd to discuss with Rich.

There was a discussion of Rich Kroll's email suggesting a plant/disease contest, as he is getting about one request per month as webmaster. Having it be a contest was generally vetoed in the previous meeting. There was further discussion -- the newsletter seems an inappropriate venue. A presentation at our general meeting wouldn't reach random members of the public that are asking the questions. Kathi suggests we possibly refer questions about diseases to the Master Gardeners, and we possibly could also invite them to give a presentation to the club. She will investigate their hotline numbers. Also we could provide links to other sites that are good for plant identification. - Kathi has gotten the contacts to give to Rich. Loyd will discuss with Rich.

A new member recently joined via our web site, and reported that two weeks later she had not received any kind of acknowledgement of her application and her check had not been cashed. It was generally agreed that we need more clarity on what the process is when someone joins via the web site, and we need to have a committee to address ways to make new members feel welcome, such as by some kind of Welcome Package. Sandy Carter reports by email that we now have 167 members, and that she will be putting together a membership process for the Board to review.

Adjourned at 12:05 PM.