Content about State MGV Advisory Committee

Master Gardener State Advisory Committee Meeting

June 9th, 2009

Dawes Arboretum

In Attendance: Cindy Burskey, Troy Cooper, Tim Malinich, Julie Crook, Faye Mahaffey, Donna Foss, Susan Liechty, Dan Poast, Gene McCluer, Carolyn Allen, Candace Pollock, Pam Bennett, Greg Meyer, Carol Edmister, Lori Stanton, Denise Ellsworth, John Haley, Judy Niggemeyer, Diane Bambenek.

OSU Master Gardener Volunteer

Advisory Committee Meeting

Monday, March 10, 2008

Introductions:  Members introduced themselves.

Review of Minutes:  Mary O’Rourke made motion to accept/Fred Rufener seconded.  Voice approval.

Election of Officers: 

·  Greg Meyer Elected Vice Chair/CFO (Nancy Kronberg moved/Dave Dyke seconded/Voice approval) 

·  Secretary – Mary O’Rourke moved/Fred Rufener seconded/Voice approval)                              Nancy Kronberg elected to above position

STATE MASTER GARDENER VOLUNTEER ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Meeting Minutes for September 10, 2007

Ohio State Governor’s Residence, Columbus, Ohio

Meeting Attendees: Pam Bennett, Carolyn Allen, Sarah Baehr, Lynn Bauer, Jim Chatfield, Troy Cooper, Schroeder Dodds, Dave Dyke, Kathleen Evanoff, John Haley, Steve Hudkins, Bill Jones, Anita Kefgen, Nancy Kronberg, Susan Liechty, Tim Malinich, Greg Meyer, Mary O’Rourke, Tammi Rogers, Fred Rufener, Rich Sherman, David Shetlar, Kay Studer, Pam Tate, Ellen Weilnau.

Absent Members: Joe Boggs, Diane Bambenek, Tom Beckett, Barb Davis, Mary Maloney, Barb Mills, Rosalie Perry, Thais Reiff, Tim Rhodus, Bud Smith, Kathy Smith, Robin Stephenson.

Guest Attendees: Judy Cordes and Gerry Herman from Summit County.

Master Gardener Volunteer (MGV) State Coordinator Pam Bennett called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m.

After introductions of all attendees, the meeting began with Jim Chatfield reading a short extract from "Omnivores Dilemma" written by Michael Pollan as an "invocation."

Pam advised that all counties have paid their state support fee with the exception of Adams, Clermont, Highland, Morgan, Meigs, Monroe, Portage, and Washington counties; however, Clermont is in the process of paying the fee. Counties considered paid include those who submitted payment for all previously registered MGVs in the county as well as those counties who submitted $10.00 payments for only a portion of the previously registered MGVs. Pam distributed a letter from Denise Ellsworth, the OSU Extension Horticulture Educator from Summit County, expressing her concerns regarding payment of the state Master Gardener fee. There was an extended discussion regarding what action should be taken in regards to MGVs who do not pay the state support fee.

There was continued discussion regarding the pros and cons of the new fees/expenses which included: -OSU invests a great deal in the program such as agent time which is not expensed to the group -volunteers provide a great many hours of service to the University -the name of the fee should more closely state it's purpose, e.g. support fee, etc

Pam asked for recommendations to encourage counties to pay the support money in the future.

Steve Hudkins made a motion, seconded by Fred Rufener, that Pam be given the authority to initiate establishment and implementation of restrictions for those counties or individuals not paying their annual state support money, and to determine how to implement graduated fees for such activities and items as the state conference, advanced classes, apparel, nametags, etc. The motion was approved by voice vote.

Greg Meyer discussed the current state of the budget. The budget document provided by Greg Meyer reflects that total income with carryover equaled $26,191.28, and total expenses equaled $21,784.75. The nametag fee is a one-time fee, so some of those funds will be carried over to next year, and the nametag fee will decrease significantly. Pam and Greg will develop a new budget for next year. In response to a question, Pam explained that the budget is based on a calendar year but some counties use fiscal years that do not correspond to the calendar year. Using calendar year for this budget makes it easier in terms of annual fees. A motion was made by Fred Rufener and seconded by Bill Jones to accept the budget as resented. The motion was approved by voice vote.

Pam discussed a proposal from Fine Gardening Magazine who will donate $10.00 to the state MGV program for each NEW subscription to the magazine. Subscription information for the magazine is currently provided on the Ohio MG website. Pam encouraged all to share this information with volunteers and she will send a notice out on the county coordinator listserve.

Pam discussed a proposal by the Garrick Corporation for supporting the state MGV program through the providing of materials for MGV projects. Pam and Tim Malinich are going to explore this opportunity, but with due concern regarding the undesirable affect of the MGV program showing support of specific companies or segments of the green industry. It was agreed that a determination on whether or not OSU has a policy on such donations is needed. Similar questions arise if local companies donate to county MGV projects. Donations to the state MGV program by large companies, such as Lowes, might present a problem between large counties with Lowes stores and small counties without Lowes stores. The question also arises that if we open the door to the Garrick Corporation, how we control the door thereafter. Pam and Greg will report their findings back to the Advisory committee.

John Haley advised that they have had conversations with OSU Department of Horticulture and Crop Science Chair, Dr.Bill Randle - regarding the re-energizing of the existing master gardener endowment program. Dr. Randle was in favor of the proposal. There also were discussions with Karen Frees who handles the financial transactions. John Haley is working on a "case" to present for establishing the endowment. Problems regarding previous tracking of donations to the MGV endowment, which were discussed at the last meeting, have been resolved. The new account information for the account for "Support of the Master Gardener Volunteer Program" is Department Org #: 55270 and Fund #: 480039. It was mentioned that some large companies will do up to a $4,000 match when donations are made to endowment funds.

Pam advised that the Advisory Committee has an opportunity to sell books at the OSU Nursery Short Course on January 21-22, 2008, with profits going to the MGV program. Volunteers are needed to assist at the MGV booth. Pam will send an email to the coordinating committee and other volunteers requesting assistance. Michael Dirr will be at the Sunday evening program. .

Pam called for sub-region reports. John Haley announced that in sub-region 4 (southwestern), they had met and had a brainstorming session resulting in many questions. They decided that input among regions would be beneficial to preclude each sub-region from inventing the same wheel. The group will meet again next week to focus on business issues, like recruitment and volunteer hours. This led to an extensive discussion on the varying policies between counties regarding accounting for MGVs performing volunteer work outside the county where they live. Relationships and policies between county commissioners and MGV coordinators vary considerably.

Dave Shetlar discussed his need as an OSU staff member for volunteer efforts for his many study projects, and the studies are not necessarily related to any specific county. Since some counties need additional volunteer hour opportunities for large numbers of MGVs, and some counties have insufficient number of MGVs to perform the needed volunteer efforts within their own county, Dave made the following motion, that was seconded by Dave Dyke: "The MGV Advisory Committee should establish a general policy of encouraging county based MGV programs to count volunteer hours for projects and efforts that are state or regional in scope, with the understanding that there may be a need for county political and administrative over site." He also encouraged state and regional exchanges, recognizing county restrictions. Various proposals were made for resolving cross county volunteer efforts, with communication being the first step. One possibility would be to establish a second category of volunteer hours for those hours spent on efforts expended outside the county where the MGV lives. Participation in the emerald ash borer efforts would be an example of programs that could be included in this new category. Dave Shetlar’s motion was then voted on and approved by voice vote.

Pam requested decisions on the future use of existing pins denoting the number of volunteer hours, such as the 50-hour pin. Susan Liechty, Mary O’Rourke, and Kay Studer volunteered to evaluate options for use or elimination of the pins, and they will make a recommendation regarding the issue.

Pam advised that OSU is strongly involved in "branding and marketing" efforts related to OSU programs. This includes the designation of specific colors and symbols for each program. The advisory committee then voted on the specific shade/tone of green and the specific MGV emblem to be used for the MGV program statewide. The PMS color number is 349 and will be the official logo color. In addition, updated logo ideas from the office of Communication and Technology were presented and an updated logo was selected by popular vote. The logo will include the word volunteer.

The initial distribution of the new nametags has been completed, and henceforth the nametags can be ordered by the counties online. A surcharge will be added to the cost of each nametag for inclusion in the state MGV budget.

Annual MGV awards will be announced and distributed Friday night at the state MGV banquet. Mrs. Taft and Mrs. Strickland will participate in the award ceremony. Pam advised that in the future more nominations are needed for each category of award, particularly for MGV coordinators and Extension educators.

Carolyn Allen advised that the state teacher's conference will be held at the Ohio Heritage Center on September 26th from 9:00 until 4:00. Special recognition will be given to retired teachers. An invitation was issued for the MGV program to provide a booth/display for the convention. MGVs would be needed to staff the booth from 12:00 to 4:00. Fred Rufener volunteered. Pam advised that she had purchased a new display board, and requested that pictures with titles of MGV activities in the counties be forwarded for inclusion on the display board. Pictures should be submitted by email in JPEG format with 500 kilobytes to 3 megabytes per picture.

The Master Gardener Volunteer training manual will be updated and available by December 31, 2007. This will be a minor revision – not a major overhaul. Minor updates and a new chapter on invasives species will be inserted.

A policy sub-committee was established to review the current policy and make any recommendation for changes. Steve Hudkins, Tim Malinich, Dave Shetlar, and Bill Jones volunteered for the committee. Pam will organize a conference call among committee members.

Pam announced that all tours during the State MGV Conference have been filled, but the number of expected attendees wasn’t available.

The recent advanced training class at Cedar Point was very successful. Two more classes will be scheduled for advanced training at the state level in 2008

A discussion was held regarding the site for the 2008 State MGV Conference. Responsibility for hosting the conference has not yet been accepted by a county or sub-region. The fall back position is that Pam will select the site and lead the planning effort.

Pam and Dave Shetlar advised that an effort to review all OSU Horticulture fact sheets is being initiated, and volunteer help will be valuable. Each fact sheet needs to be reviewed for current, correct information, and updated as needed. Pam will send information to the MGV coordinators regarding this needed effort.

Pam announced that there will be a County MGV Coordinators meeting on November 15th.

The next meeting was scheduled for December 10, 2007, at a time and location to be established.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.

Schroeder Dodds

Secretary

State Master Gardener Coordinating Committee Meeting Minutes Friday, September 8, 2006, 10:00 a.m. Howlett Hall, Room 139, OSU Campus, Columbus, Ohio

In attendance: Carolyn A., Sarah Baehr, Diane Bambenek, Lynn Bauer, Pam Bennett, Schroeder Dodds, Steve Hudkins, Rose Perry, Tim Rhodus, Tammi Rogers, Fred Rufener, Bill Jones, and Kathy Smith

State Coordinator Update:

 • Sub-Region visits: “Getting the Pulse” tour. Pam will be visiting sub-regions in the state (approx. 5 counties each sub-region) and talking to MG volunteers to get a feel for what is needed and what is expected and at the state level also learning what programming counties are doing.

 • Communications: Has been difficult at best and it is continually being worked on. o Listserv for County Coordinators: Hand-out was passed around. Efforts are being made to keep it current and updated. o mgshare listserv: Cheryl Fischnich has been managing this listserv. Pam asked the group if this is something useful that we, as a group, would like to see continue. It is out-of-date as the MG State web site (http://mastergardener.osu.edu/) provides a central location to get pertinent MG information. The group agreed that it shouldn’t be continued.

 • Speakers Bureau: Form to sign up to be on the list is on the web site, if you are willing to speak to groups. As a group, we reviewed the form and made suggestions for changes. Carolyn and Pam will work with Tim R. to put a complied list on the web site. It will need to be updated annually. Not for the public- MG use only.

 • County Coordinator’s Workshop: November 15, 2006. Time will probably be 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Cost will be in the $30 range. More info. coming. Topics may include: Volunteer issues, statistics and recording, state awards, cost recovery, EAB, etc. Pam asked for additional topics and/ or speakers. We would like for a Coordinator’s workshop to be more regular, possibly twice a year.

 • Updating Application o No longer need driver’s license # or social security #

 • Logo Use: Pam stressed the need for the OSU Extension logo to be used in conjunction with the MG logo. We are working toward specific guidelines to using the MG logo, similar to those of OSUE (http://www.osu.edu/identity/logo.php).

 • Apparel: Carolyn is working with a new vendor for apparel and “MG paraphernalia”. There was talk of new apparel orders returning a profit for the MG State Fund, ordering through new company would not be mandatory nor would inventory be held by State office. In the future, there will be an on-line catalog showing colors, pictures of items, etc. Goodman’s is still providing MG apparel at this time. Order forms available at: http://mastergardener.osu.edu/coordinators/mg_apparel/index.html

 • Department of Rehabilitation Pilot Program: Correctional facilities in Pickaway and Madison Counties are piloting this program. Inmates will be taught “the basics” in order to help facilitate possible employment with businesses in the green industry. Inmates completing the program will not be Master Gardener volunteers. Cost recovery is involved due to the “private good” of its nature. Fees are still being discussed. This program will use the MG manual initially, but will very probably morph into its own program.

 • Governor’s Heritage Garden: First Lady, Hope Taft established the gardens at the Governor’s Mansion. Native plants from all 88 Ohio counties are wanted. Plants should be identified, collected and then planted in October. o Seeking plants: A “wish-list” of plants has been sent to County Coordinators. Plants will be accepted at the state Conference, contact Pam. 1 o Ambassador’s program: Would like to see a volunteer from each county to be trained to speak on the Heritage Garden. Requirements include: must be a MG in good standing, attend training at the Governor’s Mansion, a good public speaker, and a decent knowledge of native plants would be helpful. MG volunteers should contact their County Coordinators or Pam. Roster Update: An updated roster of the MGCC was distributed http://mastergardener.osu.edu/coordinators/downloads/roster_2006.pdf). Recruits are still needed in the following positions: West Region- MG Coordinator to replace Barb Mills and MG Volunteer alternate; Southeast Region- MG Volunteer alternate; North Central Region- MG Volunteer alternate. Contact Pam with your recommendations.

 • Future Committee Structure Discussion: The committee discussed the function and make up of the committee. The purpose is to act as a support group for the State Coordinator (Pam), bring ideas back to the counties and be more advisory/policy oriented. We want to keep the group small, but also bring in help from specialists, other coordinator, volunteers, etc, as needed, for projects. The committee should help to facilitate Regional meetings and it was agreed that more MG volunteers were needed on the committee. First and foremost, we need to remember that the MG program should focus on education. Financial Update

 • Account Status: The committee is now solvent. The Consumer Hort. MG Manual account has $938.75 and the MG Donation & Operating Fund contains $2769.41, which will become $4211.76 with the proceeds from the ONLA book sales. Travel will now be paid by the committee by those wishing to be reimbursed. This will help save counties travel expenses.

 • Kinko’s/ FedEx MG Manual Money: Dick Funt may have included cost recovery with the MG manual sales and that may be where the $938.75 comes from. After several months and a lot of “digging” the bills from Kinko’s for printing MG manuals in 2006 will be going out to those counties that have not received their bills. The HCS Dept. paid this bill in error instead of the individual counties being billed. Michelle Hobbes has invoiced those counties this week.

 • Endowment: For info, contact Mary Maloney. $13,000-$15,000 has been raised and Pam will continue to work with key people, interested in promoting the Endowment. Discussion ensued on length of time to raise funds and exact dollar amount. The Endowment pledge form will be put on the web site when details are worked out. State Conference: Robin Stephenson and Rich Sherman have taken the lead on this and all is running fairly smoothly. Diane reported they have been meeting every Tuesday at Piketon Center (6:00 p.m.) to work on details. Carol Cottrill is in charge of getting volunteers to work at the conference and more are needed. Contact Carol with volunteer names. Awards program: The State award winners have been decided; non-MG judges were used. The winners will be announced Friday night at the Conference. The award criteria will be re-vamped for next year. Manual Update: All reviewers are to have their revisions complete and turned in by September 30. Revisions can be done on-line (hand out was distributed on how this is to be done). There are still a couple chapters that need reviewers. The hope is to have all revision done by January 1, 2007 for the next training classes. Cost Recovery discussion: The general consensus is that the term “Cost Recovery” is very negative. We agreed a better, more positive term is “MG State Support”. This fund will support the travel, supplies, etc. of the State Coordinator as well as State awards. For county volunteers and coordinators to support a possible “head tax”, a case must be made. Volunteers and County Coordinators must be presented with a budget, spelling out what the funds will be used for and what they can expect by supporting the program on a state level. Master Gardener Priorities: Answers to the question that was posed in Mach 2006, “If we had a State Coordinator, what would your priorities be?” We generally discussed the responses. Contact Pam for a 2 copy of the hand out. It seems most of the priorities are being worked on, by this committee, now. Pam will be gaining more information as she visits with individual counties. Miscellaneous:

 • Volunteers are still needed at the FSR- Utzinger Garden

 • Need news stories to promote Master Gardeners through OSU News. Idea for news story? Contact Pam.

 • MG name tags will be re-vamped with OSUE & MG logos. Discussed how to attach pins. Next Meeting Date Friday, February 9, 2007 from 11:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m., Room 139 Howlett Hall

State Master Gardener Coordinating Committee Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, May 11, 2005, 10:00 a.m.
Howlett Hall, Room 139, OSU Campus, Columbus, Ohio

In attendance: Pam Bennett, Joe Boggs, Tim Rhodus, Mary Ellen Beardmore, Sarah Baehr, Tammi Rogers, Fred Rufener, Bill Jones, Dr. Stephen Myers, Jim Chatfield, Maurus Brown, Steve Hudkins and David Shetlar

I. Introductions
The first meeting of the State Master Gardener Coordinating Committee began with everyone sharing their name and county/ location. All were instructed to read through the minutes of MG Advisory Committee meetings dated August 16, 2004 and December 14, 2004 in order to refresh us on what has led up to this meeting.

Steve Hudkins updated on “The Meeting of the Five” as discussed in December 14, 2004 meeting minutes. Pam Bennett, Joe Boggs, Jim Chatfield, Steve Hudkins and Mary Maloney met with Keith Smith, Nikki Conklin, Steve Baertsche and Stephen Myers to discuss interim leadership of the Master Gardener Program and how the consumer horticulture team will evolve. The bottom line is that, although there is no monetary support of a State MG Coordinator, the Master Gardener program is a valuable part of OSU Extension. There may be the possibility of matching funds, although, no amount has been set.

II. Elections of Officers
Pam Bennett was immediately nominated and selected as the Chair of this committee. Vice Chair/ Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will be Steve Hudkins. As vice-chairs historically have few responsibilities, it was decided that the Vice-Chair position will also field questions about the State MG Endowment Fund and other MG fund questions (i.e. State Conference) and duties. Tammi Rogers will serve as Secretary.

III. Additional Members
We are still in need of members. Not all of the spaces have been filled, but the final roster should be solidified soon. We hope to have a final count of approximately 25 members. In previous MG State Advisory groups there has been 2:1 volunteer to educator ratio. This won’t necessarily be so. The formula is two educators, two MG Coordinators and two MG Volunteers with one alternate, per region with additional representation from the Centers at Wooster and Piketon, Dept. of Hort. and Crop Sciences, Dept. of Plant Pathology, Dept. of Natural Resources and Urban Landscape Entomology.

Discussing representation, Troy Cooper (Knox Co.) is in the North Center Region, not South East Region. Steve Hudkins clarified that Regional representatives were originally thought to be the disseminators of information to their respective regions. Joe Boggs suggested that the state be divided into North, South, East and West, to make distribution more uniform. Steve H. and Jim Chatfield believe in keeping with the state designated Regions. Pam B. suggested simply leaving the representation into Regions with the understanding that it could be changed later.

Bill Jones has questions about volunteer representation. He thinks there may need to be more volunteer representation. Pam noted that the committee will always have the opportunity to bring in volunteers to help with specialty projects and asked the group if we needed more volunteer representatives on the roster. The Committee is in agreement that too many members can be counter productive. We now have included Department representation. We need to have volunteer alternates, with the understanding that alternates will not need to attend meetings, but will receive minutes. They will be added as members if a MG Volunteer rep. is no longer able to serve on the Committee. Pam also suggested having representation from Chadwick (Mary Maloney) and Secrest (Joe or Ken Cochran) Arboretums.

Maurus Brown asked if the three Regions should be holding update meetings. Pam and Steve H. agreed that this was the original intent. The West Region has had meeting in the past. It will be up to the individual Regions to decide if they’re meting and to keep other Educators/ Coordinators informed of the Coordinating Committee’s meetings. It was agreed by the group that this committee is starting from scratch.

IV. Consumer Hort. Update
As noted under “Introductions,” Steve Hudkins updated us on “The Meeting of the Five” (See December 14, 2004 meeting minutes). Pam Bennett, Joe Boggs, Jim Chatfield, Steve Hudkins and Mary Maloney met with Keith Smith, Nikki Conklin, Steve Baertsche and Stephen Myers to discuss interim leadership of the Master Gardener Program and how the consumer horticulture team will evolve. The bottom line is that although there is currently no monetary support available for the State MG Coordinator, Master Gardeners are a part of OSU Extension and valued. There may be the possibility of matching funds, although, no amount has been set.

Jim Chatfield asked about travel funding- travel and parking reimbursement- does money come out of county funds or do we need to have a budget. Joe B. agreed that we will probably need to have operating money. Some people have budgets to allow for travel, etc. and some do not. Pam would like to table this discussion until the afternoon. When we show our progress to the counties, then matching dollar may come into play. Until then, the committee members will have to find their own means of reimbursement. The previous Master Gardener State Advisory Committee had an Organizational fund and the Endowment Fund that are already set up and can be charged from. Steve H. will investigate that and report back at the next meeting.

V. State Conference Update
a) Conference: Allen County is working on the 2005 State Master Gardener Conference on October 8, 2005. This year will be a one-day only conference, as time is a factor with this year’s planning. After this conference we can decide whether to have a one-day or two-day conference.

b) Awards Process: There is a need to set up an Awards Committee and set guidelines for the 2005 conference awards. In 2004, the awards were set up a bit different- the same guidelines were used, but “Gold”, “Silver” and “Bronze” places were awarded for all submitted Project of the Year and one project was awarded State Project of the Year. In 2003, there were five District winners in each category and then one became the state winner.
Pam suggested forming a sub-committee to decide. Steve H. suggested we, as a group, need to set precedence. The forms will be due in August, so there will be enough time to set up the award selection procedure. Steve noted that the conference is self-supporting at this time and that the 2004 awards were paid out of conference funds.

The question was posed as to if some of the conference fees could be directed back to help with the funding of this Committee, or would that cause ill-will. Jim C. remarked that since the precedence has been set (the conference is self-supporting), we should continue. Steve also noted that hosting a conference is very lucrative for counties involved. Steve H. started the $2,000 seed money out of the state conference income. It needs to be clear that our Committee will not run the conference, only ensure that there is an annual conference, that there are state awards presented and provide a State Master Gardener Coordinating Committee update at the conference. If no county steps forward to volunteer hosting the next conference, this committee may need to decide. In the past, every other year the conference was held in Columbus. Jim C. mentioned that holding the conference in Columbus could be a “default.”

Dave Shetlar suggested making a 3-4 year calendar so that Regions can look at the long-term conference locations, recruit counties, mentor new hosts, etc.

2005- West Region/ Lima
2006- South Region
2007- Columbus

Pam recommended we have an Awards Sub-committee to discuss, and report to the group, recommendations. Dave S. asked if there is a need to ask why the awards are being done and what are the benefits. Pam believes that these answers are in place it is just the nuances that need to be worked out. Fred Rufener stated that we simply need to decide how the awards will be presented this year. The award nominations will be due August 1, 2005 and the same forms will be used as last year.

State Conference Award Sub-committee: Pam Bennett, Dave Shetlar, Nancy Kronberg, Jack Kerrigan and Steve Hudkins. This group will be by conference call to iron out the remaining details.

VI. Master Gardener Web site
a) Data Collection: Tim Rhodus has updated maps, County Coordinator info. and program status. There are two facets to the MG site, Intranet (for our own use, i.e. recording hours, state forms, project information) and Internet (our outreach to the world).

The site is valuable for program accountability (shows what we’re doing, tracks volunteer and education hours), program management (sign up volunteers, shows how many volunteers are needed) and project descriptions. The “News” function was not well utilized.
It is a challenge getting updated Coordinator information. Pam’s assistant, Jo, is in the process of collecting Coordinator data.

MG-Share, the email list-serve, had a problem with people sending viruses. Some people have stopped using this list-serve for this reason. Joe B. mentioned that Barracuda has been working well to weed out viruses. The consensus is that MG-Share is a good way to keep MGs up-to-date and can be “tweaked.” Cheryl Fischnich works on adding/ deleting email addresses and basic management. It may be advantageous to break the MG-Share into 3 different list-serves: Master Gardeners, MG Coordinators and MG State Coordinating Committee. These list-serves could be set up so that one would not be able to send attachments. More parameters need to be set.

Steve H. asked if there is a way to use part of the Coordinator’s section on the web site for communication. It is really not the best way to communicate. Tim Rhodus suggests working with him and his group in order to keep the web site “clean.” Dave S. suggested maybe forming a weekly news/events report announcement with a web site link for people to visit if they want more info. This would be similar to the weekly Sports Turf email announcements.
A sub-committee of Joe Boggs, Maurus Brown, Steve Hudkins and Mary Ellen Beardmore will work with Tim Rhodus on the web site. Joe will report at the next meeting.

Our immediate need is to set up a list-serve for our committee and MG Coordinators/Educators. There may be a need to have a sub-committee for the MG-Share list-serve in the future. Pam will take care of setting up the Committee and MG Coordinator/Educator list-serves.

b) Updating Site: Tim R. has updated the MG site with county links and maps from Google®. Pam would like to see a place for county newsletters to be available, updates and events. Tim discussed the differences between newsletters and news stories.
Discussion progressed to counties updating their own county web sites and why more are not kept up-to-date. Our committee needs to nurture this process. It is imperative to make sure that our county info. Is up-to-date!

The next step is for all of us to look at the MG web site, use it and think about how you want to use it and what would make it more user-friendly. Pam assigned this task to all Committee members. After viewing the MG site (http://mastergardener.osu.edu:16080/index_flash.lasso), send your ideas or “wish-list” to rhodus.1@osu.edu

VII. Program Management Issues
There have been questions about where Coordinators are to order state pins and name badges. Michelle Hobbs has an inventory and will continue to order them as needed. We will find out from her where the inventory stands. MG Apparel is now ordered through Goodman’s and information is available on the MG site: http://mastergardener.osu.edu:16080/coordinators/mg_apparel/index.html
The MG Manual has not been updated in a few years. Members of the Manual Update Committee are Joe Boggs, Jim Chatfield, Tim Rhodus and Maurus Brown. They will seek additional help from Jack Kerrigan and also solicit help from MG Volunteers. The original document is housed in Comm/Tech.

Dave S. brought up the matter of cost-recovery for Michelle Hobbs’ time. Dr, Stephen Myers stated that at this time Michelle can continue to help with ordering name tags, etc. but that we need to continue to think about cost-recovery. Dave wants the Committee to look at these issues as long-term. Dr. Myers has offered to help with what he can such as getting meeting rooms, providing lunches, but would also like to see other Departments help, too. Steve H. will investigate current allocated funds to the State MG Coordinating Committee.

Jim C. and Pam will work on contacting Mary McClellan, Michigan State University, to see if she would be able to meeting with us via teleconference and discuss the MG Program model at Michigan State.

Questions concerning liability/insurance issues can be fielded by Ryan Schmiesing (schmiesing.1@osu.edu). It would be nice to have a Volunteer FactSheet to summarize insurance/liability issues and technicalities. 4-H has done all of this, but it should be put together for Master Gardeners. Other counties need to be asked if there are any additional administrative questions. As committee members have questions or hear of questions, please get them to Pam.

Dave S. posed two program issues: What is the minimum standard to become a Master Gardener volunteer (core competency) and in what ways can those standards be delivered? It would be helpful to put another speaker’s list together. Pam and Tim R will work together to develop a web site where potential speakers could fill in their availability on teaching as well as topics, willingness to travel etc. Steve H. believes that eventually a sub-committee will need to be formed to look at additional MG Specializations, such as Insect or Weeds. This is a long-term goal.

Tim Rhodus has offered to chair this sub-committee, members include: Joe B., Steve H., Dave S., Jim C., and Bill Jones.

Bill Jones is in favor of set standards. We don’t just want to push people through the certification training. Becoming a MG volunteer should mean something. The problem lies within the different capabilities of people. The testing can’t all be done by standardized tests. The sub-committee will continue to pursue these issues.

VIII. Letter to Update MG Advisors
Jim Chatfield and Pam Bennett will compose a letter and have it out asap.
Master Gardener Endowment information will be tabled until the next meeting.
We will include other Department heads in the distribution of the meeting minutes. We may want to invite them to meetings, as well. An Administrative representative and Comm./Tech. Rep will also be looked into.

IX. Next Meeting Date
Wednesday, June 8, 2005 from 10:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. Location to be announced.

Respectfully submitted by Tammi Rogers

State Master Gardener Coordinating Committee Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, June 8, 2005, 10:00 a.m.
Howlett Hall, Room 139, OSU Campus, Columbus, Ohio

In attendance: Sarah Baehr, Lynn Bauer, Pam Bennett, Maurus Brown, Jim Chatfield, Troy Cooper, Schroeder Dodds, Steve Hudkins, Barb Mills, Tim Rhodus, Tammi Rogers, Fred Rufener, Kathy Smith, and Robin Stephenson

I. Letter to Coordinators, Roster, Minutes on Web Site
Introductions were made with everyone sharing their name and county/position. Pam asked if everyone had a chance to view the minutes on the web site. This site is where the committee meeting minutes, committee minutes and other pertinent information will be available.
http://mastergardener.osu.edu/coordinators/

II. Roster Update
a) Regional contacts: The roster has been updated since the May 11 meeting. The South Region still needs representation. Hal Kneen will be contacted by Robin S. to see if he is willing to serve as a South Region Educator. Tammi has a lead on another MG Volunteer Rep.

b) Regional meetings: Regional contacts (Pam, Steve and Tammi) will be in charge of organizing Regional meetings to keep the counties updated. Regional meetings should be held twice a year to make sure communication is kept current among the counties.
Agenda items III and IV tabled until after lunch.

V. Consumer Horticulture Team Update
Jim C. explained that the Consumer Horticulture Team was developed in the early 1990’s, but had gradually dissipated. Since Marianne Riofrio’s leaving the State Coordinator’s position, questions have come up about the need to re-develop a team to look more broadly at consumer horticulture. It could be useful to develop a team to expand FactSheets, web sites, etc. for consumer horticulture.

The team would serve several goals. One of these would be to support the MG program by having anyone from the State MG Coordinating Committee serve on the CHT. Another is to find ways that OSU can better serve gardening organizations i.e.- garden clubs, societies, etc., in Ohio. Consumer Hort. could provide education to these organizations as cost-recovery. Jim proposed we help profile different horticultural entities to develop a proposal on what OSU can provide educationally.

Jim listed questions that will be sent, in survey form, to horticultural organizations. He asked for suggestions of other groups that need to be addressed. Barb suggested Herb Societies; Lynn volunteered to gather their information. Maurus will work with the Gourd Society; Kathy will work with the Ohio Nut Growers Association. Jim volunteered Ken Cochran to work on Specialty Crops. Steve will gather info on Ikebana/ Bonsai. Other groups mentioned include: Bees, Iris, Rose, Daylily, Hosta and Daffodil, among others. Troy recommended starting with the biggest groups and the rest will cascade in. This will help us to network with other hort. groups, provide education and potentially bring in funds.

VI. Awards
Pam suggests keeping the format of the 2004 forms. They do need to be “tweaked” and updated. They will be due by August 1, 2005. The forms will remain basically the same. Forms can be found on the web site: http://mastergardener.osu.edu:16080/admin/
Pam will pull together the 3 committees necessary to judge the categories (MG Volunteer of the Year, MG Coordinator of the Year and MG Project of the Year). Previous year’s winners will be asked to serve on the judging committees. There will be three Regional awards for each category and one State winner in each category.

VII. State Conference
The 2005 State MG Conference is set for October 8, 2005 in Lima. Allen County is the host. The speakers have been contacted and they hope to have registration material out by September 1.

a) Conference Rotation: The state conference rotation was discussed. Troy asked if the participation numbers were greater when held in Columbus. Those numbers weren’t available at this time. Pam suggested the possibility of having this committee host a state conference.

Discussion focused on whether or not the committee would host, and it was in Franklin county, would we be hindering Franklin County’s ability to make money from the conference. Troy pointed out that just because our committee would host the conference, it could be held anywhere in the state. The South Region needs to be addressed as to whether they want to host the 2006 State Conference. Tammi, as region coordinator, will determine this by the fall regional meeting. If not, then it would default to this committee. Regions that host as well as the counties that organize the conference, split the profits. Steve noted that three coordinators received cost recovery dollars for their time spent on the 2004 State Conference.

VIII. Manual Update
Dave S. reported that some chapters had been sent out for revisions a couple years ago, but nothing came of it. The MG Manual Committee members are: Joe Boggs, Maurus Brown, Jim Chatfield, and Tim Rhodus.

Tim suggested asking the counties for input on how the manuals are currently used. Schroeder asked if the manuals really need re-written or simply updated. There was a consensus that the manual only needs updated. Barb suggested that additional topic resources (books, Internet sites, etc.) be listed at the end of chapters. Everyone was designated a chapter to review and return to the next meeting with a recommendation on updates required for that chapter. Pam suggested utilizing MG Volunteers with this task, as well.

If we e-mail Tim (rhodus.1@osu.edu) after reviewing the assigned chapter, he will send you the password for the 100-level class version and that may be reviewed as well.

IX. Liability Issues
Pam has been working with Ryan Schmiesing about a “FactSheet” on MG liability issues- more to come.

XI. Mary McClellan/ Michigan State
Unfortunately, schedules didn’t allow Mary McClellan to be here via video conference to discuss how the Michigan State MG Program is modeled.
Jim suggested trying to have a teleconference or interview from another state or county in Ohio to see how others operate MG Programs. Tim has 20-minute interviews with Mississippi State and Colorado State and can either make them available to the committee on-line or we can watch them at the next meeting. It was decided to designate the first 20 minutes of the next meeting to watch the Mississippi State interview. We will also have a brief Power Point presentation on Richland County’s MG Program. This will be kept to 30 minutes, total, for both presentations. Additional updates from other states, etc. will be determined at each meeting for the next meeting.

X. Competencies
Dave S. has heard from industry personnel that MGs give “bad information” and give organic pest control options only. So, what does being a Master Gardener mean? The topic of “core competencies” was brought up. It was agreed that MGs should know the basics of growing plants.

Tim has a resource of final test questions from Marianne Riofrio. Jim says we trust that county educators/ OSU employees will give good information, but it is difficult to standardize the whole program. The important point is for volunteers to know where to get the correct information and that it is ok for them to say, “I don’t know.”

Tim suggests dropping “competencies” and assessing teaching styles and lesson plans. Jim suggests a “fact sheet” on “10 or 20 Things Master Gardener Volunteers Should Know.” What are our outcome objectives? Pam asked the committee to think about this question and email her five things that each member personally thinks a MG should know. She will compile the list and report the outcome at the next meeting. We will discuss the results and possibly form a sub-committee.

IV. Communication Issues
a.) Communication in general: Pam has updated the committee list-serv, she passed around a list for everyone to verify e-mail addresses. She has also put together a MG Coordinator list-serv. Cheryl Fischnich handles the MG Share list-serv. You must contact her directly (fischnich.1@osu.edu) in order to subscribe.

b.) Database: The database needs to be utilized in order to be effective. Steve mentioned adding another category beside “active” and “inactive” for the people that are “in between.” This will be determined after we get through this first round of getting people up and running on the database.

c.) Web Site: Tim informed that the web site started as a record-keeping system and PR for the MG program, then moved toward providing news stories and events. The current site has been updated with Google® maps and some county information needs to be updated. Tim is working to revise the database. The State calendar of events is up, but people need to be trained in order to load data on to the site. Regional contacts will organize training at their Regional meeting. Tim suggests focusing on the calendar and county updates.

A sub-committee of Mary Ellen Beardmore, Joe Boggs, Maurus Brown, and Steve Hudkins will work with Tim Rhodus on the web site.

III. Financial Update
a.) Steve has not yet spoken with Mary Maloney about the MG Endowment. There are two additional funds: the Operational fund and the Development account. There is currently $2,425.93 in the Operational fund. The Development account has $13,000-$15,000. The Endowment has approximately $7500. The Endowment has to have $25,000 before the interest can be used. Steve will have more accurate numbers for the next meeting. He will also find out how to access the Development account.

Pam will contact Allen County about getting the money ($2,000) for start-up costs for the 2005 State Conference.

XIII. Next Meeting Date
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 from 11:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. at the Richland County OSUE office.