Meeting Minutes, November 2014

Burnett Garden Club
Meeting Minutes
Date November 13, 2014

The meeting was called to order at approximately 6:45 PM.

In attendance were: Pam, Kris, Georgianne, Linnea, Becky, Mary G, Jacki and Jennifer

Secretary’s Report: Minutes posted on the blog, no corrections noted. Minutes were approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Georgianne reported a current balance of $1800.65. In preparation for our end of year audit, Pam and Georgianne will go over the books and present them for audit to a volunteer auditor or auditors from the club.

Announcements:
⦁ We received at thank you for participating in Grantoberfest. Next year’s date is set for September 19, 2015.
⦁ The holiday party for December 11 will be at Kris’ instead of Linnea’s due to renovations going on at the Seume house!!

Standing Committee Reports 

Plant Sale (Kris): nothing to report

Sign /Memory Lake /Library project report (Pam):
⦁ Update on Library project, we have approx $1300.00 from the village approved for the new gardens.
⦁ There will be a sculpture of a bench with children reading in the garden-donated by a Friend of the Library. Georgianne will donate flagstones for stepping stones to the scuplture for children to feel welcome to sit on the bench
⦁ Linnea to check with Wayne Lake about large rocks.
⦁ Will use Karl Forester grass from sign plantings in the library garden.
⦁ Will be looking for other plant donations. Kris offered day lilies

Holiday in the Park (Lisa): 
⦁ Lisa not present. We talked about purchasing a trailer to use for the display and maybe to use for a float for parades!! Would need a place to store it.
⦁ Trailers can be expensive. Need to decide on what we are willing to spend if we want to do this.
⦁ Lisa arrived later for the workshop and said she might have a loaner trailer to use this year.
⦁ Single axle trailers do not need to be licensed!!

Planning/Yearbook (Kris/Mary C): 
⦁ The new officers and committee chairs will form the planning committee for 2015. All members welcome to attend.
⦁ Will meet Sunday, Nov 23 6:15 at Pam’s. To attend Pam: Georgianne, Kris, Mary C, Wanda, Audrey, Lisa and Rosemary, open to membership.
⦁ We will consider all ideas put forth and brainstorm new ideas for the program for 2015. We need programs for Jan, Feb, March, April WRGC preview, May Tea Party if the Byers sister are willing. Sept. Oct, Nov, December is the holiday potluck. So we will need 6 programs.
⦁ Volunteer and suggestion sheets are in the back of the room.
Special Committee Reports:
⦁ Tours (Rosemary): Rosemary not present. We have Sandra Harmon and possibly Sharon Danielson for the local garden tour. We will discuss other options at planning meeting.
⦁ Grantoberfest (Georgianne): nothing to report other than date for next year, Sept 19.

Old Business: 
⦁ Placques for gardens: Rather than purchasing signs for the gardens we maintain and plant, we are discussing a sign-making workshop. Mary C has old pallets to use for the wood.
⦁ press releases will be done by information officer, Pam
⦁ Georgianne’s ideas
1) More meetings held in various locations such as the library. We will look at planning a meeting at the library and maybe look at resources the library has for gardening as part of the program.
2) Develop a list of resources that club members have that they are willing to lend and a system for lending. Library may already have a lot. We could donate to the library.
3) Garden Club display at the library and possibly a permanent garden club shelf with books the club donates.

New Business:
⦁ Election of Officers: Since there were no contested offices we approved the slate presented: President, Kris; Vice President, Wanda; Secretary, Audrey; Treasurer, Georgianne; information officer, Pam.

Any Other Business: 
⦁ A new competition was announced! Pam handed out pieces of cedar (approx 9 X 8 X 1) to be used in any creative way and brought to the January meeting for showing and prizes!!  One or more pieces can be used. Pam has lots of these pieces. They can be picked up at her house. We could use the finished pieces to sell at Grantoberfest or as models to make more to sell at Grantoberfest.
⦁ Pam taking donations of gardening related items for next years Grantoberfest. She will store them at her house.

Sharing Time: 
⦁ Kris brought some sedum plants that were needing a new home.
⦁ Mary G announced earlier that she has a new kitty, Phoenix, and that her Christmas at the cabin will be held on December 6th.

Next Meeting: December 11, 6:00 at Kris’ Holiday Potluck and optional gift exchange.  Sign up sheet for what you will bring.  Arrive any time from 6:00 on.

We adjourned at approximately 7:25 for refreshments provided by Mary G, Kris, and Becky, and the program.
Program: Willow weaving workshop with Jacki Bedworth!

Thanks to Linnea for taking the notes in Audrey’s absence.

Another great willow weaving workshop by Jacki Bedworth

Eight of us participated in Jacki's willow weaving workshop and had a great time making bottle caddies.

Jacki is available to do private workshops. Kris and Linnea and maybe Wanda will be going over to Jacki's on Thursday, November 20 at 10:00 AM to make more bottle caddies for gifts. Check with Jacki if you would like to  participate or to arrange another time with her.  Cost is $7.50 per caddy.

Here are some pictures of the evening's endeavors.

Getting started 

Bend this this way but be sure it...

We all need a little help!

Trimming off the excess

Lisa hard at work

Lisa's unique creation!

Finishing off the top

A unique use for the bottle caddies, cell phone holders! 

From left to right, front row: Pam and Mary G; back row: Jacki (our instructor), Lisa, Sandy, Linnea and Kris!

Georgianne is behind the camera, Jen got away before our final picture.

Thank you Jacki for another great workshop!

Jacki shared with us examples of her baskets, at least what was left over after her very successful sale at the Depot Art Show at Taylor's Falls' last weekend (pictured below). 

2015 Officers

Presidents-Kris Henning 715-689-2333 Frederic henning@grantsburgtelcom.net
Vice-President-Wanda Biorn 320-358-3858 Rush City, Mn wanda.biorn@grantsburg.k12.wi
Secretary-Audrey Edmunds, Grantsburg audreyedmunds@gmail.com
Treasurer-Georgianne Kleiss, 715-463-3343 Grantsburg georgianne@kleissgears.com
Historian-Lucille Danielson, 715-689-2288 Grantsburg lumd@grantsburgtelcom.net
Notification, promotion and blog admin-Pam Davies, Grantsburg pameladavies@yahoo.com

Treasurer Guidelines

Office of Treasurer, Burnett Garden Club

From the current by-laws: The Treasurer shall be the custodian of the funds of the Club and shall pay expenditures approved by the Executive Board or a simple majority at a regular meeting. Treasurer shall make financial report at every regular meeting, a yearly financial report at the Annual meeting, and be subject to an annual audit in October by the Executive Board. The Treasurer shall receive dues from the members, be in charge of filing membership reports to MSHS, and keep an up-to-date membership record at all times.
Guidelines:

When the treasurer receives the books from the previous treasurer, an audit of those books should have been done and signed off on by the executive board. The treasurer must insist this be done before accepting the books. Hand off should be in November or early December as our year begins with the December meeting.

1. The old treasurer will accompany the new treasurer to the bank to get the new signature card made out and the old one destroyed. The new president if there is one will also needs to be added to the signature card and the old one removed.

2. The treasurer will receive: the check book and all registers current and archived, any ledgers that have been kept in hard copy or digital (should have 10 years as an archive), the yearly audit report with signatures of the executive board and auditors, all archived receipts in bundles by years for ten years.

3. The treasurer maintains the club checkbook recording all checks, whether issued or voided, in the check register with check number, date, who to (and for what if room permits or note on check what it was for) and the amount as well as a running balance. (Any voided checks should be marked VOID and added to the invoice/receipt archive).

4. The treasurer keeps invoices or receipts for every check written. Any missing receipts must be replaced with a written and dated explanation and signed off on by the president or vice president. Price tags do not constitute receipts. These receipts will be bundled for the year and labeled and kept as an archive for ten years.

5. When paying a presenter for materials or fees, a signed receipt must be received from the presenter with an explanation of the costs or fees. This can be drawn up by hand by the treasurer and signed and dated by the presenter or can be made up by the presenter.

6. Honoraria in the form of gas cards (as has been the custom of this club where appropriate) must be documented in the ledger as to who received it, the amount, the date, and the presentation. (A column or columns can be added to the spreadsheet for this purpose)

7. The treasurer will keep a supply of thank-you cards and prepare the thank-you card with the gas card for the speaker for each meeting to be given at the time of the meeting.

8. The treasurer will balance the monthly bank statements against the check register filling in any omitted information into the register and adjusting the running balance accordingly.

9. The treasurer will make checks out to cash only to supply change for the cash drawer for the plant sale (or other official garden club event requiring cash). Cash will be immediately returned to the account after the event.

10. The treasurer shall keep a ledger, either a hard copy or digital spreadsheet, that will record all transactions including a detailed description of each expenditure and who approved it, whether common expenditure or approved by the executive board/committee or a vote of the club.

11. The treasurer will confer with the executive board/committee on any questions or issues that arise. The treasurer should ask for help from the previous treasurer or the executive board if they are ever feeling overwhelmed by the duties.

12. The treasurer will participate in the year end audit to be conducted in October or early November prior to the November meeting or as soon as possible after the close of the year. The audit will be overseen by the executive board but can be conducted by 2 or more members in addition to the treasurer.

The club thanks the treasurer for their diligence as this is a hard job!!

created 11/8/2014

Willow weaving workshop with Jacki Bedworth!! Please RSVP!

This lovely fall I have been looking around at all the wonderful natural materials from the wild and from the garden that could be made into beautiful and useful objects to adorn our homes and give as gifts. At our next meeting on November 13 we will have a chance to put some of this natural material to use!

Willow weaver, Jacki Bedworth, has come up with a fun project for us to work on.  She will teach us how to make a bottle coaster as pictured below.  We will use a premade, drilled wooden base. We'll weave with white willow and a variety of natural materials (daylily leaves, iris leaves, tamarack twigs and maybe some dogwood twigs).

Jack said she will look for some other pictures. I will share what she sends me in the meeting reminder email next week!

Cost of this project for materials is $7.50.  I will plan on about 10 participants but it would be good to know who is planning to participate in the workshop so Jacki knows what materials to bring if we go over ten participants. There may also be materials available to purchase for those wishing to make more coasters. Hope to see you all there!!

If you do not plan to participate in the workshop, please come to the meeting and enjoy refreshments and communing with other gardeners!!