Master Gardener Volunteer State Advisory Committee Meeting
Columbus, Ohio
Dec. 10, 2007
I. Introductions - attendees introduced themselves and the county represented
II. Brief summary of year’s accomplishments -
A. New web site established; counties beginning to use and post articles and calendar entries; created county coordinator list serve for communication, developed impact statement from survey of 2006 program; developed speakers bureau for MGV training programs; held State Coordinators Conference in November; implemented and collected State Support Fee; created new name tags and purchased for every active MGV in state; rejuvenated and revamped the State MGV Awards program; developed sub-regions and secured representatives; held 2 advanced training programs statewide; provided 5000.00 support for speakers for the state conference; improved communications across the state within the Extension system and with volunteers; created the first budget and carried through successfully; revised the policy; and updated all forms necessary for MGV training.
III. Budget
A. Spent the money for all county Master Gardener volunteers to have the same name tags.
B. The encumbered money for name tags and pins has money left over, next year funds will have to be encumbered for new manuals and name tags, pins. Money given to county sponsoring State Conference needs to be accounted for to the State Advisory Committee. Greg Meyer volunteered to chair a sub-committee whose mission will be to study policy for giving money to fund counties hosting state events and programs state wide. Committee is composed of Greg Meyer, chair, Tim Malinich, Carolyn Allen, John Haley, Mary O’Rourke, and Rosalie Perry. They will report recommendations at the March 2008 meeting.
C. Another task will be to develop a system for getting records of these events as to how funds were used back to the committee. Pam will contact Jane Martin for an accounting of the 2007 funds for the speakers at the state conference.
D. Development of the budget for 2008
1. Know expenses that we’ll have for 2008.
2. No money spent on marketing in 2007, will need marketing committee to suggest an amount for 2008 MGV week.
3. $25,000 will probably come into the account from State Support Fees.
4. Need to build funds such as endowment.
5. Greg and Pam will put a rough draft of the budget together and submit at the March 2008 meeting.
E. State Support Fee directions for paying were discussed.
1. In January update database on State Web site.
2. Print of copy of active MG phone list.
3. Send/with transmittal form to state office.
4. Deadline for payment of State Support Fees is February 28, 2008.
IV. Manual Update Status
A. Almost all revisions are done, but pictures were not scanned at high enough resolution and those are stilled being redone by Dave Shetlar. Completion date by next Thursday, December 20 if all goes well.
B. Manuals will be purchased from State Office and ordered through Holmes Printing.
V. Quick Hits
A. Update Policy on out of state transfers, they must be fingerprinted and have a
background check. Refer to new Master Gardener Policy found in forms to download on state web site.
B. Recommendations from participants at the November Coordinators Conference were to hold a six month update in sub regions.
C. Webex could be a tool for the future for instructing coordinators on web site
Use and sharing documents while at the same time talking by phone. Pam will be coordinating these in 2008 as necessary to teach people how to use the web site for uploading articles.
D. Garrick Corporation Update – Tim Malinich and Pam Bennett toured the plants
They will work with us supporting our efforts in fundraising but no monetary donations. They will need recognition for their product donation, such as signage. Products: organic matter, leaf compost, pine fine, etc.
E. The question of sponsorships and donations came up. Should these come through OSUE or Master Gardener volunteers? Discussion followed. It was recommended that we meet with Legal Consul from OSU to inquire about State/County 501c3 status. The following will look into this issue: John Haley, Greg Meyer, and Dave Dyke.
VI. Marketing Update
A. Dave Dyke reported that Master Gardener Volunteer Week is week of May 20; we all need to plan projects with High visibility that week
B. Committee Members: Charlene Stapleton, Mary O’Rourke, Dave Shetlar, Susan Liechty and Ch. Dave Dyke will meet and determine the process for getting all counties involved in the MGV week.
C. MGV Brochure - Pam will look into Holmes Printing costs to have a basic brochure for marketing the MGV program.
VII. Sub-region questions were discussed, including the following issues that came up:
A. Inactive Status---Background check---Fingerprinting
B. PowerPoint’s for the Manual do we need these?
C. Jane Martin has prepared training materials for purchase.
D. Denise Ellsworth has Tree Specialist program for purchase.
E. Montgomery County---Earthwise Corp. Name This Tree Program Earns money for Master Gardener Program. This county would like to have their hours earned on pin.
VIII. Introduction of new Committee Members and Thank you to those retiring from committee.
A. Pam presented gift certificates from Barnes & Noble to retiring members and thanked them for their service.
IX. Pins
A. Discussion followed. Pam stated that majority of participants attending the Coordinators Conference used the 50 hour pins. Opinions of the committee were varied, with a number of members feeling the Name Tags were all they needed. As of now the pins will be used and the hour dangles will be shortened to 250, 500, 700, 1000, 2000, and 3000 since we have in stock. Suggestions were given about other ways to recognize volunteers for the many hours they contribute to the organization.
X. On-line Hour Reporting
A. Database not being used by everyone, 13 so far this year and it needs to be rebuilt. A request for $5000 for normal maintenance, can we afford to keep this up and running? An alternative program needs to be available for those counties who had all their records stored on the database. Some kind of general template with hour descriptions, committee will decide. Discussion followed. Maybe use State Award Categories for recording hours. Greg Meyer has a spreadsheet for tracking hours with categories. Greg Meyer motioned and John Haley seconded that online hour reporting be shut down by March 31, 2008. Motioned carried. Anyone currently using Excel should send Pam a sample of their form to assist others.
B. Dave Dyke motioned and Rosalie Perry seconded that we offer Tim Rhodus $3000 to maintain the State Web Site and put this item in our budget. Motion Carried.
XI. Other
A. Nursery Short Course will have a bookstore staffed by MG Volunteers with proceeds going to the State Master Gardener Volunteer fund.
B. Regional IPM has a brochure---Environmental Gardening Group---Pam is looking into getting a number of these; they would be useful for MG Training.
C. What constitutes Volunteer Hours? Discussion followed. There are no standards statewide for the hours; County Coordinators have the discretion to determine this.
D. Dave Shetlar is creating PowerPoint’s with voice over and self tutorials available for download. Fact Sheet Update needs to be done by specialists. Master Gardener volunteers can help by emailing when they come across a sheet that needs to be revised due to content, not just by date on sheet.
XII. Recommendations for 2008
A. Do great things
B. More Regional Happenings such as Advanced Training Opportunities
C. Protocol for counties to apply for seed money to host Adv. Training Classes and State Conference. Tim Malinich will have working copy by Feb. or Mar.
$250. (4) for seed money regional workshops spread it out.
D. Master Gardener volunteer Brochure would be good to have by May 20 MGV Week
E. MGVs have an important role to play in environmental issues facing the country.
F. Speaker’s Bureau for MGVs to use for their programs.
To celebrate Ohio Master Gardener Volunteer Week, Hamilton County Master Gardener Volunteers planted the master gardener garden at the Delhi Floral Paradise Gardens, Delhi Township on the morning of May 21.
Brown County Master Gardener Volunteer Faye Mahaffey recently journeyed to Wilmington as part of her Ohio Governors Residence and Heritage Garden Ambassadorial duties. Ms. Mahaffey is one of Brown County's two Heritage Garden Ambassadors recruited by MGV State Coordinator Pam Bennett. Faye's mission was to speak to the Six and Twenty Club of Wilmington.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener volunteers are serious about horticulture -- taking their passion for plants and the environment and passing it on to those they touch through education and community activities. Last year, volunteers committed more than 100,000 hours to community services, impacting more than a quarter of a million residents.
Coordinated efforts of several volunteer organiztions and charitable groups came under one roof at the Henry County Hospice Bazaar for the annual flower sale to raise money for Hospice of Northwest Ohio.
The Brown County Master Gardener Volunteers kicked-off their 2008 community service projects with some tree pruning on March 22, 2008. The Bradford callery pears lining the county campus driveway were long overdue for trimming. Indeed, one pear near the Administration Building had just split down the center--a common problem with these trees--and was eventually removed.
Master Gardener volunteers throughout the state of Ohio - mark Oct. 3 and 4 on your calendars for the 2008 state Master Gardener conference to be held in Trumbull County in Northeast Ohio. This is a conference you won't want to miss! Extension educators and Master Gardener volunteers from six regional counties, making up the Northeast Region in Ohio have been meeting regularly since November to plan the conference, which is expected to not only be exciting but uniquely educational. 
The Brown County Master Gardener volunteers recently helped the Gardening Group prepare their beds for winter. Twenty residents make up the Gardening Group at the Ohio Veterans' Home in Georgetown, Ohio. They had been growing many varieties of tomatoes, peppers and other produce all season long in their community garden at the Home. They needed some help closing their garden area before the winter freeze.
On October 30th, 2007, the Montgomery County MG Volunteers held their annual certification banquet at the Montgomery County Fairground Coliseum. Twenty-two interns completed their 2007 class time and the required 50 volunteer hours. They were annoucned by Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator Clare Thorn and greeted by members of the class committee, Extension Director Betty Wingerter, and MGV State Coordinator, Pam Bennett. They were presented with their certificates of recognition and a gift of a MG volunteer garment and became certified a Master Gardener Volunteers.
In early September the Knox County Master Gardener Volunteers hosted a fall gardening workshop to highlight the field trials they had maintained over the summer and to teach the public about a wide variety of topics including: harvesting and storing herbs, care and selection of bulbs, and planting trees and shrubs in the fall.
The Brown County General Hospital had a growing problem. The traffic island fronting their entrance was so overgrown with trees and shrubs, it obscurred the door. Hospital patients kept entering the clinic next-door by mistake. So, whom did they call? The Brown County Master Gardener volunteers!
The first-time state award, “Friend of OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program,” was presented to Allen County’s Ted Verhoff at the Master Gardener Volunteer State Conference. The awards banquet was held on September 14 in Columbus.
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