Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies

Minutes

October 12, 2002

Societies present: Ed and Nancy Hall (Seminole); Ray Lemieux (Sarasota); Jay and Calandra Thurrott (FEC); Ken and Tammy Marks (Boca Raton); Al Muzzell (Gainesville); Vicky Chirnside and Larry Giroux (Caloosahatchee); Michael and Karen Andreas (BSCF); Karl Green (BSSF); Polly Pascal and Maureen Frazel (BSBC); Harold and Beverly Sisco (BGTB); Bob Dalzell and Roland Schnabel (FWCBS).

Others present: Susan Gutman (BSBC); Ted and Peggy Nuse (treasurer and acting chairman, respectively). Karen Andreas was acting secretary.

Societies not represented: None.

Call to order: The meeting was called to order by acting chairman Peggy Nuse at 1:00 PM, at the home of Larry Giroux and Stephen Hoppin; Caloosahatchee Bromeliad Society was the host.

Introduction: each representative introduced him or herself. Al Muzzell reported that the Jacksonville – Gainesville Bromeliad Society has changed its name to the Gainesville Bromeliad Society.

Secretary’s Report: The minutes of the July 13, 2002, meeting were approved as presented.

Treasurer’s Report: Ted Nuse distributed the Treasurer’s Report. He stated that the combined accounts total $18,641.36, with $2962.06 in the Florida Council account. He reported that $1925.00 was raised at the Extravaganza’s Rare Plant Auction. The Council made a $100.00 donation toward the Selby building fund, home of the Bromeliad Identification Center as well as the repository of BSI records. Ted also reported that Treasure Coast Bromeliad Society is no longer a member since the society’s dues have not been paid. The treasurer’s report was filed for audit.

Webmaster’s Report: Michael Andreas distributed a written report. As of October 11, 120,000 visitors have come to the site. The Council’s site at fcbs.org turned four years old on August 7. To mark that anniversary date, Michael gave the website a face-lift with a new menu and reduced content on the opening page, which makes the page load faster. He reported on the addition of numerous articles, links, and a list of contributors of photographs during the last three months. The Bylaws were updated online after the last meeting.

Weevil Report: Al Muzzell gave an update on the weevil project and the grants. Dr. Frank currently is in the field and Dr. Larson was unable to attend. Al reported that there is enough money to keep the weevil eradication program going for three years. Al was asked when the most seed collecting volunteers would be needed; he replied that the spring is the most productive season. Maureen Frazel mentioned that a member of Caloosahatchee has an abundance of T. utriculata in his yard and wants to get rid of them. Al will contact this person and make arrangements to take the Tillandsias, which can be used for research.

Maureen Frazel made a motion of support for the members of the original grant committee and the work they have done. Polly Pascal seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

There followed discussion about the make-up of the expanded grant committee. Karl Green made a motion to table discussion until the January 2003 meeting; Ed Hall seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Publications/Newsletter: There was no report. Larry Giroux expressed concern that the FCBS roster currently in circulation is not an accurate version. There are mistakes in the roster that have not been corrected but the roster is still being distributed. Ken Marks noted that the part of the problem is that each society has its own timetable for dues and updating its roster and almost none of these timetables coincide with the Council’s request for dues to be paid and rosters to be sent in January. Larry Giroux volunteered to work with Inez Dolotowski to resolve the roster problem.

Other Committees/Ad Hoc business: An unknown Council member asked, via chairman Terrie Bert, for answers to the following questions:

1. Does the Council have an Educational Committee? No.

2. Does the Council have an Extravaganza Coordinator? No. The host society provides a liaison (usually one of its representatives) to coordinate with the Council.

3. Is there a Parliamentarian? No. Peggy Nuse appointed Karen Andreas to be the Parliamentarian. Parliamentarian’s duties are outlined in the Bylaws.

2002 Extravaganza: Ed Hall made a motion that the $1925 raised at the Rare Plant Auction go into the Council’s General Fund. Al Muzzell seconded. Ed said that the general fund needs the money; any excess can always be transferred to the Weevil Fund if needed. Ed reminded everyone that the weevil funding is secure for the next three years and the Council’s expenses are not keeping up with its income due to printing and mailing costs. Motion passed unanimously.

Jay Thurrott reported that Florida East Coast cleared $740.00 from the Extravaganza.

Karl Green (BSSF) and Maureen Frazel (BSBC) agreed to go back to their respective societies and see if there is any interest in a joint sponsorship of the Extravaganza in 2003. They will report at the January meeting.

Changes to Bylaws: The Bylaws were updated on the Florida Council web site.

Status of Treasure Coast Bromeliad Society: Ted Nuse addressed that under the Treasurer’s report.

Awards for distinguished service to FCBS and Florida Bromeliad Societies: Deferred until January at Terrie Bert’s request.

Problems with Bromeliads, Mosquitoes and Neighbors: Al Muzzell reported a situation where a bromeliad collector is being harassed by the Health Department to rid his yard of his collection because of a perceived mosquito/West Nile Virus threat. The homeowner was able to provide scientific proof that bromeliads do not harbor mosquitoes that pose a threat to humans. Al will get a copy of this report for posting on the website. He also suggested that the Council consider an education program to counter this misperception.

Florida BSI Judges’ Workshop: It will be held on November 9 from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM in conjunction with the Caloosahatchee Bromeliad Society sale. Contact Polly Pascal at 4413 SW 38th Terr., Ft. Lauderdale 33312, 954-962-0018. (The contact information will be removed before posting the minutes on the Council site.)

Future FCBS Meetings: Tampa will host the January meeting; Broward will host the April meeting. Maureen Frazel mentioned that she understood John Boardman of BSCF was interested in hosting a meeting this year. Host societies are needed for the July and October meetings. The rotation schedule was thrown off kilter with the elimination of Treasure Coast; a new rotation for both meetings and officers will need to be prepared.

FCBS 2003 Officers: Roland Schnabel of Florida West Coast has agreed to serve as Chairman; Carolyn Schoenau of Gainesville will be co-chairman; Ed Hall of Seminole will be the secretary. Ted and Peggy Nuse agreed to continue as co-treasurers.

Roland Schnabel and Bob Dalzell expressed some concern that they had not been getting meeting notices until a day or two before the meetings, if at all, and have been unable to attend on such short notice. Several others asked to be placed on the email distribution list. Those addresses follow this report.

Survey: Karen Andreas expressed concern that there may be some discontent within the societies about the Florida Council and that perhaps the Council is not meeting the needs of its members. She has spoken with Nat DeLeon about this matter and they discussed the idea of creating a survey form for representatives to take back to their societies, distribute, then collect and return to the Council. There was consensus that Karen should prepare a draft and report back in January.

Larry Giroux mentioned that someone had asked him if the FCBS newsletter is really necessary, given the cost and the fact that the representatives report back to their societies with information that is published in the newsletter at a later date. Is the newsletter timely enough; offer enough pertinent and helpful information; is it money well spent; and how many times a year does it need to come out? Larry suggested that some of these questions be incorporated in the survey. Karen agreed.

Other business: Ted thanked Ron Schoenau for counting the tags and money at the Extravaganza; Betty Ann Prevatt and her family for handling the money; and Nick and Pat Ciccarello for handling the check out table. Everyone applauded the efforts of all those who worked on the event.

Meeting was adjourned at approximately 3:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Karen Andreas

Acting Secretary

 

 

Items tabled or deferred until the January 2003 meeting:

1. Discussion of the composition of the grants committee;

2. Host society for 2003 Extravaganza (Karl Green and Maureen Frazel);

3. Awards for distinguished service to FCBS and Florida Bromeliad Societies (Terrie Bert);

4. Host societies for the July and October 2003 meetings;

5. Membership survey (Karen Andreas);

6. Discussion of roster (Larry Giroux).

 

Please make sure that these names are on your FCBS email distribution list:

Ed and Nancy Hall hallnan2039@cfl.rr.com

Seminole/BSCF

Ray Lemieux Dlemieuxphoto@cs.com

Sarasota

Jay Thurrot Cajat2@aol.com

Florida East Coast

Vicky Chirnside vickychir@aol.com

Caloosahatchee

Ted and Peggy Nuse Peggy@nuse.org

Florida East Coast

Harold Sisco Hsiscochemist@aol.com

Tampa Bay

Bob Dazell blueberryvolvo@aol.com

Florida West Coast

Roland Schnabel rschnabe@gte.net

Florida West Coast

Karl Green KKg@mindspring.com

BSSF