2005 Spring Minutes AIS Board of Directors

FULL MINUTES OF THE AIS BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING ST LOUIS, MISSOURI MAY 9-10, 2005

The Spring Meeting of the AIS Board of Directors was called to order by President Jeanne Clay Plank at 1pm on Monday, May 9, 2005. President Plank welcomed all attendees. All Board Members, Committee Chairs, RVPs, and guests in attendance introduced themselves.

Present during the various sessions were: Officers: President Jeanne Clay Plank, 1st Vice President E. Roy Epperson, 2nd Vice President Judy Keisling, Secretary Jill Bonino, Treasurer Jay Hudson; Immediate Past President Terry Aitken Administrative Officers: Registrar/Recorders Mike and Anne Lowe, Membership Secretary Tom Gormley, Publication Sales Directors John and Kay Ludi, Advertising Editors George and Margaret Sutton; Directors: Louise Carson, Paul Gossett, Donna James, John Jones, Brad Kasperek, John Ludi, Jim Morris, Bill Mull, Joyce Poling, George Sutton; RVP Representative Jim Giles; Past President Clarence Mahan, Legal Advisor Robert Plank.

Committee Chairs: Susan Boyce, Cheryl Deaton, Rita Gormley, Maureen Mark; RVPs: Dave Nitka (1), Robert Keup (2), Ginny Spoon (4), Carolyn Hawkins (5), Betty Coyle (14), Jim Giles (15), Carol Goldsberry (22), Gary White (21); Guests: Ellen Gallagher (1), Ron James (2), Glenn and Susan Grigg (4), Jill and Jim Copeland (6), Barbara Aitken, Jim Craig, Carol and George Lankow, Lorena Reid, Doris Shinn (13), Kitty Loberg (14), Pete DeSantis, Avery Poling (15), R. A. Ives (16), Bob Pries, Riley Probst, Kendal Rohr (18), Cal Reuter (21), William Goldsberry, Betty Lou McMartin, Monte Stahl (22).

MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING , at Little Rock, Arkansas, November 5-7, 2004: There being no additions or corrections, it was moved by Gossett, seconded by Epperson to approve the minutes as published in BULLETIN 336. Motion carried.

REPORTS OF OFFICERS President:

1. Asked for and received approval to appoint Mike Lowe as parliamentarian. Moved by P. Gossett, seconded by Epperson. Motion carried.

1. Asked for and received approval to appoint Cheryl Deaton as Recording Secretary Pro Tem for the St. Louis Board Meeting. Moved by J. Jones, seconded by

Gossett. Motion carried.

1. Asked for affirmation of Board interim action taken by email votes since the November, 2004 Board Meeting:

1. 1. That AIS print 15,000 copies of the Invitation to Join brochure as per Rita Gormley’s bid from AG Press. Moved by Epperson, seconded by J. Jones. Affirmed.

b. That Brad Kasperek be appointed to the Board position vacated by Jason Leader. Moved by J. Jones, seconded by D. James. Affirmed

c. That Brad Kasperek be appointed to the position of Affiliates Chair. Moved by J. Jones, seconded by Gossett. Affirmed.

1. Announced that an AIS Membership Poll has been given to all convention attendees in an effort to gather information from members about how they view AIS and about how AIS can be improved.

1. Reported that the three chairmen of the three separate AIS Scientific operations had resigned over the winter, each citing work overload as the reason. Stated that she felt that it is important that AIS be involved in scientific work, Pres. Plank is working on a reorganization of AIS scientific activities.

1st Vice President – Epperson deferred his report until later in the meeting.

2nd Vice President – Keisling deferred her report until later in the meeting.

Secretary – J. Bonino

1. Reported receipt of the Dykes Medal from the British Iris Society.

1. Announced that stationary and envelope packets are available for all new RVPs

1. Moved (effective with respect to the 2005 spring meeting) that full minutes of the meetings of the AIS Board of Directors no longer be published in the BULLETIN; That in lieu thereof, a concise standing article be published in the BULLETIN twice a year providing a summary of spring, and fall meeting actions, and any

interim actions of the Board. The summary minutes shall be prepared by the Secretary (or Recording Secretary as the case may be) concurrently with the preparation of the full minutes. The summary minutes shall be coordinated, vetted, and approved in the same manner as the full minutes.

• [That full minutes of individual meetings be automatically and timely provided by the Secretary to all Board members, officers, committee chairs, administrative personnel, RVPs, and presidents of sections and cooperating societies twice a year in the form of attachments to e-mail.]

• [That full minutes be provided by the Secretary to all other persons requesting same of the Secretary at no cost in the form of attachments to email.] Those with standing requests for full minutes shall be responsible to keep the Secretary timely advised of address changes.

• [That the Secretary, on a case by case basis, shall be allowed to exercise discretion in providing an individually printed copy (no inventory authorized) at full cost to the requesting party when no other alternative for the requestor is feasible.]*

Seconded by Gossett. Discussion followed stressing the importance of the full historic content of the minutes be available to everyone and that indexing include current and past compilation of past minutes in electronic form.

A motion to amend the motion was made as follows concerning the starred areas: “To provide only a summary of minutes in the BULLETIN. That in place of emailing minutes, the AIS website provide a page that will contain the most recent approved minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors and a historical compilation of minutes of past meetings that are available in electronic form.” Moved by J. Jones, seconded by Epperson. Motion and amendment carried.

Treasurer – J. Hudson

1. The report was distributed and discussed. It included the List of Assets and Restricted Funds as of April 30, 2005, a General Fund Income Statement, a Balance Sheet Comparison of April 2004 and April 2005, and a Profit and Loss Statement from October 2004 to April 2005, and a Proposed Budget for fiscal year ending September 30, 2005.

1. The current report covers a period of 7 months to better reflect the financial situation. Best estimate projections for the year are income; $162,000, expenses; $187,000, leaving a deficit of $25,000. It is unknown at this point how the increase changes in dues, registrations and storefront will impact this year’s

budget.

1. J. Hudson moved that AIS hire Wendy Boyce, CPA to perform a negative audit on the AIS books as of September 30, 2005. Seconded by T. Aitken. A discussion followed that the IRS has no requirement that AIS conduct any audits, and that a negative audit would satisfy AIS rules. The motion carried.

1. J. Hudson estimates that a negative audit will cost between $3,500 - $4,000, which has been budgeted.

1. J. Hudson recommended that all financial members (all directors and chairs who handle money) and officers of AIS be bonded. The cost would not be prohibitive.

At the Fall Board Meeting, Insurance Chair Michelle Snyder will have information about increasing the amount of the deductibles on the primary liability policy and about the cost of bonding the President and Treasurer of AIS. This information will be placed on AIS Discuss prior to the Fall Board Meeting if it is available.

Treasurer Hudson, having served as AIS Treasurer since the fall of 1998, has tendered his resignation effective September 30, 2005.

A standing ovation of appreciation was given to J. Hudson for his years of service as AIS Treasurer.

President J. Plank announced that Jill Bonino has agreed to move from AIS General Secretary into the office of Treasurer and that Patricia Randall (23) has agreed to fill the office of AIS General Secretary.

In order to facilitate the change in these offices by the end of the fiscal year which precedes the AIS Fall Board Meeting when elections are held, President Plank asked for approval of the pro tem appointment of J. Bonino as Treasurer designate. So moved by Epperson, seconded by J. Jones. Motion approved.

For the same reason, approval of the pro tem appointment of P. Randall as General Secretary designate was moved by J. Jones, seconded by Gossett. Motion approved.

A proposal to obtain a credit card processor for the Portland Convention in 2006 was discussed at length. Credit card processing can be done through merchant credit firms, which can be very expensive and necessitates contracts. However many AIS Board members and commercial gardens have used NOVA which they’ve obtained through Costco with no contract involved. This option will be explored at the convention chair meeting.

Editor – B. Filardi was not present but J. Bonino distributed and read his report. The change of mailing services for the April issue of the BULLETIN was successful with most of the deliveries taking place the first week of April with many of the overseas members receiving their April BULLETINS before they received the January issues.

Anna and David Cadd and Clarence Mahan have agreed to serve as International Co-Editors, with the Cadds beginning immediately, and C. Mahan becoming active in early 2006.

The creation of an Obituary Editor/Memorial Editor position was proposed; this editor would procure and edit obituaries in the BULLETIN. The proposal was discussed, but no decision was made at this time.

The Editor’s report recommended, the following actions will be taken:

1. J. Bonino will check with the Glendale, CA Post Office regarding the requirements of the ‘Statement of Ownership’, and P. Randall will check with the New Mexico Post Office regarding same.

1. The Membership Chair will send the membership numbers to the editor 3 to 5 days prior to sending the issue to the printer. Before shrink wrap, the damage per

issue was approximately 75 per issue. Since shrink wrap, damage is moot, so the large overruns produced are no longer necessary. G. Sutton and T. Aitken will cochair a committee with B. Filardi to examine the possibility of reducing the cost of each issue of the BULLETIN.

The Editor supported the idea of eliminating the full Board Minutes from the BULLETIN, and moving the Exhibition Reports to the October issue with the shorter Nelson Report and Fall Show reports remaining in the January issue. The meeting recessed at 2:55pm. The meeting was called back to order at 3:15pm. Advertising Editor: George/Margaret Sutton provided their report. Overall revenue has increased since the inception of the new rates, but the number of ads in the April issue has decreased. This could be due in part to the addition of ads in other publications, though it is too soon to tell. Advertisers generally have a finite amount to use for advertising. A suggestion was made for the BULLETIN Committee to breakdown the cost of the ads.

A discussion followed regarding the content of the BULLETIN, such as the number of advertising pages, business pages and articles in each issue and how it is determined. The January issue contained primarily business items, and only one article on iris. Epperson suggested that business items be pulled from the regular BULLETIN, and placed in a supplement, allowing the BULLETIN to be smaller (fewer pages) such as is done in the British Iris Society and the American Hosta Society. The Editor should have discretion as to what is put in each issue of the BULLETIN. Would it be possible for these business things to be posted on the website instead of publishing a supplemental BULLETIN? Important accomplishments need to be out there for the general public to read such as show winners, judges, other appointments. Approximately 20% of affiliate presidents do not have email addresses which could lead to problems. An advisory committee to Editor Filardi consists of T. Aitken, J. Morris, B. Pries. Any volunteers for this committee should contact J. Plank no later than the Fall meeting in November. M. Sutton will work on getting the name and location of advertisers printed on the ad instead of just anonymous ads, i.e. those with websites only. Anonymous introductions of iris are not allowed in the R & Is. Website information will be provided if the name and address of website is given to the Registrar.

J. Hudson asked that Insurance report be moved up the agenda for discussion at this time. Insurance –Chair Michelle Snyder was not in attendance but sent her report. The umbrella policy has been cancelled. She has had no luck finding another carrier to handle general liability, but continues her search. The insurance form on the webpage seems to have been successful.

Chairman Snyder recommends that a brief article on obtaining insurance certificates automatically be printed in each Bulletin. The chairman’s recommendation was seconded by B. Kasperek. Motion carried. J. Jones said that this information could be placed in the white area at the bottom of the pages in the BULLETIN in much the same way the AIS website information is placed.

A reminder: To obtain Certificates of Insurance go to www.irises.org/insurance.htm and click on the text Request for Certificates of Insurance.

Membership – AIS Membership Secretary Tom Gormley observed that AIS continues to experience a downward trend in our membership. Since 1989, membership in AIS has dropped almost 30%. T. Gormley believes it is time for AIS to mount a concerted membership campaign with the goal of achieving a membership level that can sustain our current operations and allow us to offer our members increased value for their membership dollars.

R. Gormley wrote an article in the January 2004 BULLETIN giving 17 reasons to join AIS. J. Poling thinks that each affiliate should do one program yearly on AIS and what it does for membership. It was suggested that for membership form be placed on the AIS website in PDF format.

The meeting recessed at 5pm. The meeting was called back to order at 8pm. Registrar/Recorder – Mike Lowe/Anne Lowe

M. Lowe provided his report. The 2004 R&I booklet was printed in January and 1,200 copies were sent to the Publications Sales Director. Registrations in 2004 numbered 1,052 with 792 recordings of introductions. As of May 5th, 2005 registrations are at 340. Registrations can now be done on a CD for specific sections in newer introductions. Recording Secretary – no report

Publications Sales Directors – John/Kay Ludi reported that the 2004 R&Is are almost gone and recommended that another 1,200 be ordered. Of the 15,000 ITJs ordered with the new rates, approximately 2,500 are left. He has received a quote of $3,332.68 for 15,000 ITJs and $4,817.62 for 25,000 ITJs from the printer of the R&Is. J. Jones moved and P. Gossett seconded to reprint 25,000 copies of the ITJ at the best bid available using the previous printer. Motion carried.

J. Ludi reports he has received requests for notecards. At this time it was not deemed a good idea to offer notecards at the AIS Storefront since they are readily available in many places.

RVP Representative – Jim Giles reported no questions or complaints were received from anyone.

There was no unfinished business. No new businesstime. Reports of Special Committees:

The Operations Manual: Epperson reported that the Operations Manual will need to encompass job descriptions for all new positions/melded committees. A job description for the Editor is needed for the purpose of drawing up a contract. It is Epperson’s goal to get the Operations Manual done so that it can go on the AIS website by the Fall meeting.

Non-profit Incorporation: B. Plank reported that Non-profit Incorporation Tax Exempt Status (501©(3)) applications submitted last year were approved by the IRS. Currently working with Region 7 and the S. Sierra Society in Region 14 conversions. Region 4 approved new by-laws so that they can become 501©(3). The Racetrack Design: J. Jones reported that electronic copies of the Racetrack design have been supplied upon request. Progress is being made. CD Checklists: J. Jones reported that the CD creation for the checklists of 1989 and previous years is a complicated undertaking and that no reportable progress has been made.

Reports of Standing Committees:

Affiliates – Chair B. Kasperek reported that there were 179 approved AIS affiliates, 177 renewals and 2 new affiliates – River Valley Iris Society, AR and Southeast Tennessee Iris Society, TN. 146 clubs had their fees waived – 116 for 50% AIS membership, 28 with 40+ AIS members, and 2 new affiliates.

It is the Chair’s intention to provide affiliate forms to all RVPs as early as mid- November. He moved to change the process to require the individual societies to return their affiliate applications to their RVPs by January 31st. Seconded by Gossett. Motion carried.

Affiliate Contest: Winners will be announced at the Awards banquet Saturday night.

Awards – Chair Epperson reported that he had no report other than the first ballots were returned within a week of mailing them out.

Calendars – Terry Aitken reported that with the death of Olive Rice Waters there seemed to be a good possibility that there would be no 2006 calendar. However, George Waters has several slides of gardens in sleeves that Olive had chosen to be the theme for the 2006 calendar. Using the slides in George’s possession, if Terry can assemble 12 suitable pictures for the calendar and deadlines can be met, the traditional AIS calendar will be printed and dedicated in honor/memory of Olive Rice Waters.

Additionally, Terry has been approached by a calendar company offering to publish a calendar for us (at no cost other than providing the pictures) from which we would receive 5% of the sales. All they ask from us are 12 pictures and text. The calendar is large (approximately 16” x 12”) and would cost @$15 plus shipping and handling. Since there are currently few if any calendars dedicated to irises (other than the AIS calendar), he will explore this opportunity further and report back to the Board.

Report of the Nominating Committee – Chair G. Spoon, B. Filardi, Will Plotner, Betty Roberts, R. Epperson. Chairman Spoon read the following Roster of Nominees to be chosen as candidates for the four director positions on the American Iris Society Board of Directors: Louise Carson(22), Betty Coyle(14), James Craig(13), Rita Gormley(18), Ernie Henson(9), John Ludi(13), Robert Pries(18), George Sutton(14). >From the floor, Anne Lowe nominated Gary White, Region 21 RVP, past president of the Lincoln Iris Society, member of 8 sections, show chair or co-chair for the Lincoln Iris Society for the past 10 years. He accepted the nomination. It was moved by Epperson that nominations be closed, seconded by Gossett. Motion carried.

The open meeting was recessed at 9:30pm, Monday May 9, 2005. The Executive Committee went into session to select the Directors nominees. The meeting was called to order at 8am on Tuesday, May 10, 2005. President J. Plank announced the results of the Executive Board meeting. Director nominees selected for terms which expire in 2008 are: Louise Carson, John Ludi, George Sutton, and Gary White.

Names not selected as candidates for Directors from the list provided by the Nominating Committee are placed on a reserve list from which the President shall appoint a replacement if one is needed during the year.

Between now and August 15, nominations can be made by the membership following rules detailed in the AIS Bylaws. If no additional nominations are received, the Board selected nominees are considered elected. New Board members become full voting members of the AIS Board at the beginning of the Fall meeting replacing those Board members going off the Board.

It was moved by B. Kasperek and seconded by J. Jones, that a notice be placed in the BULLETIN requesting the membership at large to submit the names of individuals to the nominating committee for consideration as candidates for the election to the Board of Directors. Motion carried

Following discussion, it was the consensus of the Board that placement of this notice should appear in the October and January BULLETIN issues, and include the name and address of a contact person for the Nominating Committee.

Convention Liaison --Chair Gossett provided a list of conventions that are scheduled through 2009. He is currently looking for a 2010 location on the East Coast. A change in the Fall Board meetings was discussed. It was moved by Gossett and seconded by G. Sutton to move the Fall Board meeting to Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina in 2007 and to move the Fall Board meeting to Tulsa, OK in 2008. Motion carried.

Donations – Chair Donna James reported that overall donations have been going down for some time, but that this is experienced by many organizations. Donations from October 2004 to May 2005 totaled $2,595. These are broken down as follows: 21 Memorials - $720, 9 Insurance Defrayments - $1,825, and 1 Gift in Honor - $50. Region 15 was recognized for its generosity in donations to offset the insurance costs. Possibly a donation option could be added to AIS Membership Renewal Notices in like manner as other non-profits organizations have done.

Electronic Services – Chair John Jones reported that on line subscribers for the Checklist database are at 213 with $3,665 received in subscription revenues. The search engine is being revamped so that Registrar’s information can be used. There will be only one database containing all the registered and reserved names as well as entries from all the Checklists, lagging by one year per AIS Board stipulations.

Digital projector is in use at a rate of once a month with great results. Backup storage sites have been established for the Membership Secretary, Treasurer and the Secretary to keep copies of important AIS documents off site from their respective locations. These are password protected sites not available to anyone other than the specific individual, the AIS President, and Chair Jones as backup. How often these sites are updated should be placed in the Operations Manual. Judges Chair J. Keisling requested that the Judges’ database be backed up on the storage site also. John congratulated Chris Hollinshead for the professional way the AIS Website is being managed. A special page is being established for making public all AIS documents to be downloaded, such as Board minutes, AIS Charter, AIS By-Laws, list of judges, symposium, etc.

• As it was John’s last meeting as a voting member, he was thanked by all for his service.

Exhibitions – Chair Roy Epperson reported that 171 approved show schedules, one show has been canceled, he has received 105 orders for show supplies and 97 have been processed.

He is concerned with shipping costs and will have an analysis of costs available at the Fall meeting. He will also work with the ribbon company (Regalia) to shorten the streamers on the rosettes to fit the available shipping boxes.

AIS Foundation – Liaison Roger Mazur sent a report that was read by Secretary Bonino. The Foundation report stated that funding honoring requests will be over the budget by $1,700.

Dr. Blazek and Professor Rodionenko provided reports on the progress of their ongoing research, and the use of funding to date. J. Jones moved and Epperson seconded that Dr. Blazek be granted 5 years free access to the AIS Iris Register. Motion carried. In the future, granting free access to the Iris Register will be by AIS Board approval. Grants for Scientific Research – Chair Dr. Bill. Shear provided a report, which was read by J. Bonino. Bill advises that scientific reports should not be placed in the BULLETIN except as they pertain to the sharing of knowledge to every irisarian. He agrees that there should be one scientific committee that handles all scientific aspects of the society. He regretfully tendered his resignation as Chair due to increasing professional and personal obligations.

Historical Research – Chair Anne Lowe reported that she receives one or two requests each week for information about the past and that 99% of the questions are able to be answered within a week.

Honorary Awards – No report at this time.

Judges – Chair Judy Keisling reported there are currently 827 judges in the database, a decrease of 56 judges from one year ago. The number of judges dropped due to nonrenewal of membership was 12.

Judges Handbook Revision Committee – Chair Dr. E. Roy Epperson reported that the revision committee will be making recommendations at the Fall Board meeting. They have considered revising requirements of garden training for active master judges. They have concerns about the age of youth judges, questioning whether there should be a chronological age required to become a judge. Sections have been approached as to any substantive changes that may appear in their area of the Judge’s Handbook – substantive changes must receive Board approval. The committee’s intention is to have the new, revised Handbook in Portland in 2006. If there are any questions or concerns regarding anything in the handbook, e-mail Epperson and/or Keisling.

Librarian – Chair Keith McNames submitted a report which was read by J. Bonino. in which Keith expressed the need for upgraded computer equipment A motion was made by Epperson that the library be allotted up to but not to exceed $2,000 for a computer to be owned by the AIS to be funded by donations by Dr. Epperson and other members of the Board. Seconded by J. Jones. Motion carried.

McNames’ report contained a listing of the excess library items for the 2005 Convention Silent Auction for Board approval. It was moved by Epperson, seconded by J. Bonino that the items be approved for the 2005 Silent Auction. Motion carried. McNames’ report also contained a copy of the proposed contract with the City of Silverton for the Library space for five years with mutual approval at a cost of $1 per year. It was moved by Aitken, seconded by Gossett that the Board approve the contract negotiated by K. McNames for the Library in Silverton. Motion carried. New Historical Iris Chronicles – Chair Clarence Mahan reported that a disc done by Nancy Nies about Eric Nies has been sent to Maureen Mark. There are 60 slides included in the chronicle. It is ready for publication as soon as the AIS President completes the preface. C. Mahan requested that someone else take on this position as he has other priorities in his life at this time.

Policy – Chair B. Roberts - Would a handbook listing policies be helpful? Public Relations & Marketing – Chair Joyce Poling noted that the AIS display screen is up in the lobby, and that it has been used by several affiliates. Hopefully it will be used at all future conventions. Some articles about AIS have appeared in print an on websites but she is looking into placing small ads into well known flower and garden magazines to see what the cost would be against how many new members we may get. Old calendars have been put to good use by many affiliates. The Post Office has a new shipping box they call a Flat Rate Box that has halved the cost of shipping this year. Publications – No report from Chair Maureen Mark.

*M. Lowe advised of the need to arrange storage for the film from the 1999 checklist in a climate controlled area – the current company charges $45/year. He will contact K. McNames to see if the Library can store it. There would be a packing and shipping cost. A Japanese version of the “World of Iris” book has been donated to the Library. Robins – Co-chair Libby Cross handles the paper robins while new co-chair Susan Boyce, handles the E-Robins. Libby has received no requests for new robins since the beginning of 2004, but 8 continue to exist. One of the International Robins was restarted in 2005. Libby has nearly a thousand of the Robin Brochures available for inclusion in the New Member Packet. J. Poling requested 300 brochures be sent to her for inclusion in the new member packets. S. Boyce reported that the E-Robins went online on March 30th this year and there are 14 different E-Robins listed, but that currently only one subject is being discussed. Any suggestions would be welcome.

RVP Counselor – Chair Louise Carson announced the following election results from the RVP Counsel meeting: Chair Gary White Region 21, Secretary Rita Gormley Region 18, RVP Board Rep. Carol Goldsberry Region 22, Nominating Committee RVPs – Rita Gormley and Bob Keup.

Scientific – Chair Dr. Chandler Fulton has resigned. It was moved by Gossett and seconded by Epperson that Gary White be appointed as the Scientific Committee Restructuring Chair. Motion carried.

Section Liaison – Chair Jim Morris supplied a report listing the current section officers, cooperating society’s officers, and future conventions as of May 8th, 2005. The Section representative to the Nominating Committee will be announced later. Silent Auction – Chair Rita Gormley’s distributed report contained a summary of the 2004 Auction and the events leading to the 2005 Auction.

Slides – Chair Bill Mull requested that he be relieved of the responsibility of the rental of the 35mm slide programs so that he may concentrate on the creation of CDs for the CD program. Due to the inability to create more, slide programs have evolved into a service filling requests from the slide sets on hand. So far, 60 sets have been mailed out this year. Sets that have not been requested since 2003 such as past Conventions, should be sent to the Library, placed in the Historical Chronicles or offered to the Sections before being sent to storage.

It was moved by Kasperek, seconded by Gossett, that AIS charge a $5 shipping and handling fee for all users of the AIS slide sets. Currently users only pay for return postage of the slide sets. Motion carried.

Surplus Bulletins – no report

Symposium – no report

The meeting recessed at 11:47am to be resumed at 8pm. The meeting was called to order at 8pm.

Youth Report – Chair Cheryl Deaton reported that the youth membership has dropped 56 members since the end of last year. There are 12 youth members attending this convention. She is working on a new brochure/flyer explaining to the adults some of the programs offered for use with youth. Many affiliates do not realize what types of programs are available, so they cannot tell interested people about them. Winners of the Youth Achievement Contest are: Kristen Laing, Region 4, first runner-up Allison Greszkowiak, Region 18 and second runner-up, Joshua Winzer, Region 22.

A Youth Policy Committee was appointed consisting of Cheryl Deaton, Jim & Jean Morris, and Bob Plank. The committee will review policies as they relate to youth member activities at conventions, in gardens and other relevant issues. Nominating Committee Appointments – President J. Plank asked for approval of the appointments of Joyce Poling and Paul Gossett to the 2005-06 Nominating Committee. It was moved by J. Jones, seconded by Epperson that the AIS Board Nominating Committee Appointments be approved. Motion carried

The 2005-06 Nominating Committee members are;

1. AIS Board – Joyce Poling(15) 3. RVP – Bob Keup (2)
2. AIS Board – Paul Gossett (22) 4. RVP –Rita Gormley (18)
3. Section Rep – Jill Copeland (6)

ªBefore the close of the meeting, Epperson initiated a discussion pertaining to the length of the National Conventions, and the financial hardship National Conventions may entail. He suggested shortening convention times such as: garden tours shorter by one day, carefully selecting quality gardens, having a one day Board meeting on Wednesday, Section meetings on Thursday, gardens on Friday and Saturday, Awards banquet only. J. Morris agreed, saying the biggest complaint he’s heard is there is too little time in too many gardens. Most people come to see the gardens, shortening tours to 2 days may allow for conventions in smaller venues. Gossett and White felt that shortening the Board meeting is good, but fewer gardens is bad – people come to see the gardens. M. Lowe said that hybridizers and local people come just for the tours in his experience as registrar for 2 Nationals. There were over 600 registered in for the Fresno convention, and over 425 for St. Louis. Having shorter (morning only) bus tours with section meetings in the afternoon and repeat gardens on the third day is another suggestion aimed at solving convention scheduling problems. Although no action was taken, it was suggested the best place to do a survey on these issues would be at the Portland convention. Announcements -

The Fall Meeting will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota November 4-6, 2005. Bill Dougherty, Chair, may be reached at wmcdougherty@cs.com. President Plank extended thanks and appreciation to Riley Probst, Shirley Trio, the Greater St. Louis Iris Society, the Region 18 Committee members and all who worked toward producing this National Convention held in St. Louis, Missouri. It was moved by Epperson and seconded by J. Jones that the meeting be adjourned. Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Cheryl Deaton, Recording Secretary Pro Tem

Spring 2005 Minutes AIS Board of Directors PDF

-- BobPries - 06 Sep 2018