The Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies meeting was held at the home of Dr. Larry Giroux and Steve Hoppin in North Fort Myers, Florida. Many Representatives arrived early to enjoy their extensive and beautiful collection, especially of Cryptanthus. Lunch was served at 12:00 noon. The Council meeting was called to order by Jose "Pepe" Donayre, outgoing Chairman, at 1:00 PM. Pepe thanked all the 2008 Officers and Representatives for their work in 2008 and introduced the 2009 Officers as follows:

Chairman: Juan Espinosa-Almodovar

Vice Chairman: Betsy McCrory

Secretary: Tom Wolfe

Treasurer: Sudi Hipsley

Then Jose passed the gavel over to Juan Espinosa-Almodovar. Juan thanked the host for the excellent lunch (assorted Chinese dishes, fruit pies for dessert) and their hospitality.

Roll call was held and a quorum was established with 10 of 11 societies being represented. Guests present were Dr. Ron Cave, Dr. Howard Frank, Nat DeLeon, Alan Herndon and Bill McCrory.

Minutes

Minutes of the last quarterly FCBS meeting held October 11, 2008 were approved as corrected.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer, Sudi Hipsley, submitted a Treasurer’s report which showed an ending balance of $20, 902.68.

Societies Dues - Sudi reminded everyone that dues are due for all societies by February 28, 2009.

Additions and Deletions to Roster – In previous years each member society has forwarded an entire updated roster for inclusion in the FCBS Roster. From now on, only Changes, additions and/or deletions to each Society’s roster should be submitted to Michael Andreas.

FCBS Website

Michael Andreas stated that the cost for the web site posting company was $159.50. Michael also announced that he is beginning to get caught up but still has many pictures to post. Juan recognized Michael as doing a splendid job as webmaster.

Bulk Permit - Karen Andreas reported that overseas members cannot be sent mail under

the bulk not-for-profit permit. Any society that has overseas members will receive that

member’s newsletter and will have to mail it overseas – in an envelope and with a

customs form – themselves. Due to new postal regulations, addresses must be in an

approved Post Office format. As problems arise with addresses, you will be contacted by

Karen or Michael for assistance. Juan thanked Karen for her great work on the FCBS

Newsletter.

Bromeliad Exchange Section: Nat DeLeon had suggested to Karen that we implement a Bromeliad Exchange Section in the FCBS Newsletter where members, other than commercial, could advertise a bromeliad or bromeliad related items for sale. Also, a member could request a plant or an item that they were interested in purchasing. Members could use this service a maximum of twice a year. This will be a new feature in the FCBS Newsletter as of April’s edition.

Weevil Research Committee Report

Dr. Ronald Cave reported that an aggressive program is still in progress at the Fort Pierce Indian River Research Center and at the University of Florida Entomology & Nematology Department in Gainesville, Florida for raising pupae mostly in pineapple tops so that flies can be plentiful enough to be release throughout the State. It’s too early to tell how effective the flies have been in controlling the weevil population in the State of Florida.

A detailed report was submitted to the Council Representatives by Dr. Ron Cave, Dr. Howard Frank, and Teresa Cooper. David Johnson asked how much longer it would be before an effective means to eradicate the weevil would be found. Ron specified that their efforts seek means to control the infestation of bromeliads by the weevil, but that eradication is not an attainable goal. Juan pointed out that the key word in the work of this committee is research, which is not predictable in its length. Juan thanked both Ron and Howard for their efforts in looking for ways to deal with the Weevil problem.

Juan took a moment to celebrate the good work always reported on by the above three committees. Remarking on the quality of service and commitment, Juan stated that he should have recognized Michael Andreas for the Website Committee, Karen Andreas for the Newsletter Committee and Ron Cave and Howard Frank for the Weevil Research Committee before. But, it was moot to consider any change on these positions. Karen also serves as Parliamentarian.

While on the subject of committees, Juan pointed out that our By-Laws include an Education Committee, although it was not active. After some comments and suggestions from around the room, Juan announced the appointment of Linda Sheetz to the Education Committee, with the purpose of defining its scope, as well as suggesting some initial goals, for consideration by the Representatives at the next FCBS meeting.

BSI Webmaster - Jay Thurrott reported that there is an opening for BSI Webmaster to replace Ken Marks who has resigned that position.

BSI World Conference 2010 - The next World Conference will take place at the Crown Plaza Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, from July 26 through August l, 2010.

BSI Judges School – After some discussion on the need to have a higher number of Bromeliad Judges in the State of Florida, it was decided to announce a date for the next Judges School in the FCBS Newsletters. Vicky Chirnside would be in charge of working out the details if FCBS can raise no less that sixteen (16) applicants to register. Announcing a specific date, tentatively set for June, 2009, and publicizing it in our quarterly Newsletter will hopefully attract enough students to justify starting a new school.

2009 FCBS Bromeliad Extravaganza – Betsy McCrory (who in addition to being Chair for this event for the Bromeliad Society of Central Florida, will also serve as liaison for our group as this year’s Vice-Chair for FCBS) reported that the 2009 Bromeliad Extravaganza will be held at the Renaissance Orlando Airport Hotel on November 13-15, 2009. The rate is $109. per night for a large bedroom and bathroom. Parking fee is $8.00 per night. A Dessert Reception will be held on Friday evening, from 8:00 to 9:00 PM and the Sales Area will be open from 9:00 – 10:00 P. M. that night, as a new incentive to early-birds.

New Business

The Mulford Foster Bromeliad Identification Center - Motion was made by Karen Andreas to increase the donation to the Bromeliad Identification Center from $50.00 quarterly to $100.00 quarterly. The motion was seconded by Mike Michalski. Motion carried unanimously.

Clone Preservation Project: Nat DeLeon and Alan Herndon presented a proposal to methodically seek and preserve important and desirable clones of bromeliads. The proposal had already been emailed a month prior by Juan to all the Council Representatives for their information. Much favorable discussion ensued and provided support for this idea. It is expected that each bromeliad society should have someone to promote this project and encourage members to list any plants that they deem endangered.

Motion for Formal Committee: Motion to establish a formal committee to implement this idea was made by Karen Andreas, and seconded by Jay Thurrott. Motion carried. At Juan’s request, Jay Thurrot agreed to chair a Clone Preservation Project Committee, to coordinate efforts on this behalf. Michael Andreas offered to create a page on our FCBS

website that would give collectors and growers the opportunity to list species and special hybrids that may be becoming extinct. Nat and Alan already have started to visit collections in South Florida in an effort to single out likely specimens. More details on how all this will be implemented will follow at a future meeting.

FCBS Next Meeting - The next meeting location will be hosted by the Bromeliad Society of Central Florida at the Renaissance Orlando Airport Hotel on April 11, 2009.

Motion to Adjourn - A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 3:35 PM. Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted

Tom Wolfe, Secretary