CMGA Annual Report 2011

January: The CMGA moved to our new meeting venue at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. We started the year with total funds of $1014.01 on deposit at the ACCU. Officers and committee chairs for the year were Jim Mast, President, Crys Wells, Vice-President, Loni Shapiro, Secretary, Ed Skiba, Treasurer, Val Bryant, Historian, Dana Prom Smith and Loni Shapiro, Education Committee Chairs, Molly Larsen and Julie Holmes, Community Support Committee Chairs, Linda Guarino, Master Gardener Projects Committee Chair, and Crys Wells Master Gardener Support Chair. The monthly membership meeting was held on January 13. Bea Cooley spoke on “Bird-Loving Plants.” Ed began collecting the $10 annual membership dues. Discounts included with membership were negotiated with Viola’s Flower Garden, Warners Nursery, and Flagstaff Native Plant & Seed. Crys Wells printed up and distributed the membership badges, which served as both I.D. badges at the meetings and discount cards as above.

February: Bi-laws were changed to reflect new membership rules. The monthly meeting was held on February 10 with Freddi Steele presenting a program on “Spiders of the Winter.”

March: The regular meeting was held on March 10 with Linda Neff presenting “Chaa Organic Farm in Belize.” A major event, our participation in the Flagstaff Home and Garden Show, was held March 25, 26, and 27 at the old Mega Food Building on 4th St. Faith Brittain and Pauli Velie did an outstanding job chairing this event. They recruited 22 Master Gardeners to staff the booth with at least two people there at all times. A total of 8 talks were presented over the three day event. Many thanks to all who helped with this big project.

April: In April the Garden Club officially became part of the CMGA. A listserv was put in place with Jean Hockman sending out messages. Crys Wells established an EIN and opened a PO Box for the CMGA. The Arizona Daily Sun column was removed from the Master Gardener Program, and Dana Prom Smith was contracted with the newspaper to submit the “Gardening Etcetera” column instead. Articles were still posted on the blog. A special finance meeting was held on April 28 to discuss use of funds. As a result, two Master Gardener projects were awarded grants in 2011. The YMCA and Sunshine Rescue Mission projects each received $150 and completed and were completed as proposed. $250 was approved for the Arboretum for sponsoring their Fall newsletter, with Dana Prom Smith providing a short artice for that issue. $250 was approved for the Shepherd of the Hills Church for use of their facilities for the year. The monthly meeting was held on April 14 with Loni Shapiro presenting a program on “Therapeutic Horticulture vs Horticultural Therapy.” Eric Downing, the President of the Yavapai MGA, was a guest at this meeting.

May: In May Jim Mast and Ed Skiba were able to secure a free checking account for the CMGA at the National Bank of Arizona downtown branch. Ed closed the accounts at the ACCU amd transferred all funds to the National Bank account. All officers could now sign on the account. Community Market participation began in May. Our members worked 7 Sundays and 5 Wednesdays with 2 volunteers at each market. Many thanks to th 16 Master Gardeners who donated their time and expertise and to Molly Larsen and Julie Holmes for chairing this project. Our table was a useful presence at the market with many people asking for gardening help and information. It also helped in promoting the Master Gardener Program and aided in recruitment of new members. The regular meeting was on May 12 with Art Babbott presenting on “Expanding Local Agriculture in Northern Arizona.”

June: The monthly meeting was held on June 9 with “Photographing and Painting in Your Garden” presented by Debbie Shepard. The calendar fundraising project headed up by Loni Shapiro was well under way with the monthly photos selected and 250 calendars ordered. They were to be sold for $10 each with some being donated to the county Board of Supervisors, the CMGA sponsors, and to the monthly speakers. An advertising page was added this year. Calendars were to be sold at Warners, Native Plant & Seed, CSA downtown, Community Markets, the Extension Office, the Olivia White Hospice Home, St. Pius Holiday Bazaar, and the Highlands Garden Conference in Prescott.

July: The regular meeting was held on July 14 with the program presented by Tom Mackin on “Friends of Northern Arizona Forests.”

August: The meeting on August 11 was a presentation on “Preparing County Fair Entries” with department supervisors Carol Burris, Marge Withrow, Nick Lipinski, and Ron Hiebert speaking. Galen and Andrea Guerrette and Jim Mast added input from their fair experiences.

September: September brought the annual Recognition Picnic held September 11 at Ft. Tuthill County Park. Attendance was good, and a bountiful pot-luck was enjoyed. New Master Gardeners were recognized. Again, thank you to all who helped with this event.

October: on October 13 Joel Kefuss presented the program “A Conversation on Native Pollinators and Making a Solitary Bee Nesting Box.” Many of our members attended the Arizona Highlands Garden Conference held this year in Prescott on October 22 with pre-conference tours on the 21st. Thank you to our members who manned our booth and sold calendars.

November: The meeting held on November 10 featured Steve Yoder, executive director of the Arboretum doing a program on “The Arboretum at 30 Years.” Officers for the next year were elected. The 2012 officers will be Debi Stalvey, President, Bea Cooley, Vice-President, Loni Shapiro and Ann Eagan Co-Secretaries, and Ed Skiba, Treasurer. Committee Chairs will be Loni Shapiro, Education, Molly Larsen and Julie Holmes, Community Support, Linda Guarino Master Gardener Projects, and Crys Wells, Master Gardener Support. Bea Cooley will be spear-heading the calendar project.

December: Our 3rd annual Holiday Party was held December 8 at Julie Holmes house featuring a potluck dinner and garden gift exchange. Val Bryant previewed the CMGA history she has been working on all year.

Other: in 2011 we had 47 CMGA members. Meeting attendance consisted of 71% Master Gardeners, 11% trainees, and 18% guests. As a group we provided our community with 6136.25 Volunteer hours and received 426.5 CE hours. New Master Gardener sites included the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Native Plant Garden and the YMCA Entrance Garden. Crys Wells created a logo and letterhead for the CMGA. Loni and Hattie established a listserv for communications from the Association. Over 100 people were added to this list. Meetings have begun for the 2012 Arizona Highlands Garden Conference to be hosted in Flagstaff by the Coconino Master Gardeners. Ann Eagan volunteered as a co-chair. We ended the year with cash on hand of $1289.15.

Once again, thank you to everyone for all your many hours of hard work this past year, and a special thank you to Hattie Braun, Master Gardener Program Coordinator, for making our group possible.

Jim Mast
December 31, 2011