Board Meeting Minutes
Attendees:
Lorrie Stromme, Gary R. Johnson, Jim Hermann, Ken Holman, Fletcher
Johnson, Michael Max, Kimberly Thielen-Cremers.
Call to Order. Lorrie Stromme, MnSTAC President, called
the board meeting to order at
Approval of
Minutes. The Minutes of
the previous board meeting (
Announcements:
Kimberly Thielen-Cremers reminded board members about
the recently enacted state law requiring tree servicing companies to register
their businesses with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), which
maintains the new tree care registry.
The primary purpose of the registry is to enable MDA to notify tree care
companies quickly and efficiently about gypsy moth quarantines and other
threats from exotic tree pests. Board
members urged Kimberly to contact Dave Norgard and
enlist his assistance in getting the word out to members of the Minnesota
Society of Arboriculture.
Ken Holman announced that the kickoff event for the Southeast Asian Outreach
project (a NUCFAC grant project coordinated by Tree Trust and MN DNR) will take
place on November 6th at
Ken also
announced that the MN DNR and Minnesota Society of Arboriculture (MSA) have submitted a grant proposal to the USDA Forest Service
for a “Visiting Urban Forester Program,” which would establish regional
mentoring in
Old Business
Executive
Secretary.
Michael Max, Ken Holman, and Lara Newberger
are serving as a subcommittee to develop a job description and budget for a
part-time executive secretary to handle clerical tasks, manage databases, etc.,
for MnSTAC. Lorrie encouraged them to
contact MSA, since MSA is also looking into the possibility of hiring a
part-time executive secretary. Since
there is quite a bit of overlap in activities and membership, perhaps the
MnSTAC and MSA could hire the same person and coordinate databases, mailings,
etc.
Advocate newsletter production at DNR.
Ken Holman reported that the DNR’s internal
production of the Shade Tree Advocate
newsletter is on schedule and working out well.
The Autumn 2003 issue should be in the mail by
the end of October.
New Business.
National Urban &
Community Forestry Conference,
Openings on the Board. Lorrie Stromme informed the board members
that Ken Simons has informed her that he is very interested in serving as
MnSTAC President for the 2004-2006 term. Lorrie is not available to serve a second
term as President. Ken Simons is one of MnSTAC’s founders.
Since he is now semi-retired, he feels that he can devote about 20 hours
a week to MnSTAC activities, including travelling to other parts of the state
to connect with regional STACs. James Burks has agreed to serve as the
interim chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, in Ken’s absence.
Two non-designated
positions on the board will be open at the end of 2003. Jim Hermann has shown interest in serving a
second two-year term on the board, and Kirk Brown said that he is interested in
returning to the board for a two-year term.
Kathy Widin’s term will end at the end of
2003. While she is not available to
serve on the board, Kathy said that she would like to remain active on MnSTAC’s Forest Health Committee.
How to Make a
Difference workshops at October, November, January, and February MnSTAC membership
meetings. Lorrie Stromme
informed the board about a recent meeting with representatives from the League
of Women Voters, who are interested in facilitating a series of workshops at
upcoming MnSTAC meetings on “How to Make a Difference.” These workshops would coach the rank-and-file
MnSTAC members about how to advocate for urban forestry when interacting with
legislators and local decision makers.
Lorrie has contacted MnSTAC’s Legislative
Committee chair (Mark Schnobrich) about this
strategy. The intent is to help give
direction to the Legislative Committee in its advocacy in 2004 and 2005. The workshop facilitators will help MnSTACers to develop a road map for 2004-05 for funding and
fulfilling MnSTAC’s mission and goals. The majority of the board backed this
approach.
Adjournment. Motion/Second/Carried: Ken
Holman/Michael Max, Approved. The meeting was adjourned
at
Respectfully submitted by Lorrie Stromme