Minutes 2019

PLANT WNY Meeting Minutes - Wednesday, October 16, 2019

PLANT WNY ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES

Wednesday, October 16, 2019 - 6 pm

Reinstein Woods Environmental Education Center
93 Honorine Dr, Depew, NY 14043 (716) 683-5959

A call to order was made at 6:13 pm by Sue Frank, president. By a show of hands, it was determined we had a quorum. Kristy Schmitt welcomed our new member, Aaron’s Landscaping and Snowplowing.  Jeanetta Hanlon, treasurer, gave the financial report which was included in the agenda packet.

Committee Reports:

Botanical Gardens – A new director of horticulture has been hired and Kristy Schmitt hopes to introduce her at the next meeting.

CNLP/Awareness & Promotion & Ed Day/Trade Show – CNLP Day will take place February 6 and Ed Day/Trade Show will take place February 7. Trade show vendor brochure is available as well as Ed Day flyers.

Golf Outing – Our September 9 event at the Buffalo Tournament Club was a successful event. We had a nice weather day. Look for the golf outing to take place in September 2020.

Harvest Dinner – Will take place Friday, November 15 at the Pearl Street Grill. Congratulations to our Person of the Year – Mike Frank. Congratulations to our Business of the Year - Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens.

Historian – Bonnie Guckin they are continuing their interviews of members and will be interviewing Tim Richley on behalf of his father, Al Richley. Al was president in 1970.

Landscape Awards – The program is open now and accepting entries. Deadline to enter is October 31.

Membership – Membership services guides are available to take. Please review and get updates to the office as another one will be printed in 2020 in time for Plantasia. Membership cards are available for potential members.

Leaf a Legacy – Jeanetta Hanlon is exploring garden walk organizations to see if we can support them as a sponsor or with a donation. It would be ideal to support an organization that already has good community support in place and uses their funds to encourage people to take ownership of public spaces.

Plantasia 2020 – Our 20th show theme is Reflections. Ed Dore stated that Plantasia is for us to promote ourselves to the public and to educate the public. Bonnie Guckin has suggested having a CNLP education garden in place of the CNLP booth (located by seminar room) at Plantasia. There was interest from the membership as this sounded like a good idea. The Foundation may consider covering the garden fee.  

Media/Marketing - Kristy Schmitt has joined the committee. The committee name has changed to reflect what the committee does. Kristy is planning on promoting us with press releases with the intent of media attention.

Policies & Procedures – Will be meeting in December to wrap this up.

State Reps –   We need to support the NYSNLA as much as we do our own region by attending state events. In December there will be an owner only event. Sue Frank attended the Great Lakes Conference (all the States that connect to the Great Lakes) and found it interesting how we compare.

New Business

Election of 2020 Board of Directors

Sue Frank asked for the Nominating Committee to make a motion to nominate the incoming secretary. Teresa Buchanan made the motion to nominate Steve Sypniewski as secretary to the 2020 PLANT WNY Board of Directors. Kim Schichtel seconded the motion. Nominations closed after no further nominations were received. Teresa presented the 2020 Slate of Officers as follows:
          Phil Tripi – President

           Jeanetta Hanlon - Vice President

           Kristy Schmitt – Treasurer

Steve Sypniewski – Secretary
Sue Frank – Director

Kristy Schmitt cast one vote for the nomination. All were in favor.

Sue Frank asked for the Nominating Committee to make a motion to nominate new member to the Audit Committee. Teresa Buchanan made the motion to nominate Kim Schichtel to the Audit Committee with a 3-year term. Elaine Sieczkarek seconded the motion. Nominations closed after no further nominations were receive. Teresa presented the 2020 Audit Committee as follows:


Eric Page (term ending 2020)
Tara Perrin (term ending 2021)

Kim Schichtel (term ending 2022)

Kristy Schmitt cast one vote for the nomination. All were in favor.

2020 PLANT WNY Budget


Phil Tripi presented the proposed 2020 budget. Ed Dore motioned to accept the 2020 budget as presented. Bob Smith seconded the motion. All were in favor.

Native Plant Collaborative

Sally Cunningham informed the membership that this organization is made up of government agencies, not-for-profits, and individuals with the common interest of native plants and educating the public on it. It is a huge movement. The WNY Land Conservancy is planning to contract with two local growers to produce a large number of three native plants, as a start, both plugs and quarts. The three native plants for this first season will be: Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), the one most valuable for monarch butterfly larvae); Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum), it is used by many pollinators, able to form a nice two-food hedge, white flowers; and Native Monarda (Bee-balm), which has a lilac flower.

Initially the WNYLC has asked a few selected nurseries/garden centers/groups how many they would tentatively use in 2020. Sally will watch for an opportunity for more members to opt in early for access to these plants.

Ed Dore motion to accept the minutes of July 17, 2019. Kim Schichtel seconded the motion. All were in favor.

Dave McIntyre motioned to adjourn the meeting. Sandi Grimmer seconded the motion. All were in favor. Meeting adjourned at 6:58 pm.

Foundation Meeting

The Foundation meeting was called to order at 6:58 pm by Bob Smith, president.   Even with the market fluctuation, the Foundation currently have $500,000 in investments. Zachary Braddell, a NCCC student, received the fall 2019 scholarship.

Bob nominated Teresa Buchanan as incoming trustee to the Foundation Board. Ed Dore cast one vote for Teresa. All were in favor.

Foundation meeting adjourned at 7:02 pm.

PLANT WNY ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, July 17, 2019

PLANT WNY ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
7 pm

Draves Arboretum - 1821 Sharrick Road, Darien, NY – (585) 547-9442

A call to order was made at 6:52 pm by Sue Frank, president. Sue thanked Tom and Kimberly Draves for hosting our meeting at Draves Arboretum. By a show of hands, it was determined we had a quorum. Kristy Schmitt welcomed our new members. Jeanetta Hanlon, treasurer, gave the financial report which was included in the agenda packet.


Committee Reports:

Botanical Gardens - There will be a decision soon on the hiring of a horticulture director.

CNLP Awareness & Promotion - A tour of Lasting Dreams Daylilies will take place on July 25. CNLP apparel is available and you can always get in contact with Kim Schichtel to make arrangements for purchase.

Erie County Fair - Set-up help is needed for Monday, August 5 and Tuesday, August 6.

Foundation – The Foundation will be meeting with accountants to go over the tax review. Current investments are at $475,359.

Golf Outing - Monday, September 9 at the Buffalo Tournament Club in Lancaster.

Harvest Dinner - Friday, November 15 at Pearl Street Grill & Brewery in downtown Buffalo.   Sponsors are needed for the event.

Historian - Matt Dore announced that the committee has grown with the joining of Bonnie Guckin and Lou Sardo as well as a few others. They recently did an interview with C.J. Sypniewski, Lifetime CNLP and father of Steve Sypniewski, and asked about photos from the past. A photo board was created of some who have passed as well as current members. Bonnie stated the photo board is a project of where we came from, where we are and where we are going.

Landscape Awards - The website, www.landscapeawards.com will be open soon. In meantime, start taking photos now – you will want before, during and after photos. Also, you can submit a past project.

Membership - Teresa Buchanan was happy to report that our membership is increasing and we have more members than this time last year. For new members, think about submitting for the Landscape Awards - is a great opportunity to increase your portfolio. Membership Guides are available to have available at your garden centers or for your clients and membership info cards for potential members.

Leaf a Legacy - Ed Dore indicated there are potentially two projects to consider. The project/location needs to be in the public interest and for the common good.

Nominating - We are accepting recommendations for incoming board secretary. Voting will take place at October meeting.  We are also open for suggestions for Person of the Year and Business of the Year.

Plantasia - Our 20th show will take place Wednesday, March 18 (Preview Night) through Sunday, March 22. The theme is Reflections. It will be a look back over the years. We will be asking landscapers to pick a theme from past shows. We are always in need of volunteers.

Policies and Procedures - The committee will be meeting in the fall.

Social Media - When posting on Instagram (pertains to PLANT WNY), you can use the #plantwny. Nursery Lines is on-line now and Kristy Schmitt wrote our regional report for it – please read it.

State Representatives - Mike Frank said that several members from our region attended The Important Work We Do with Jim Paluch. Mike indicated that we need to look at ourselves beyond being landscapers and would like to have another opportunity for more of our members attend this event. He also recommended that everyone get out and visit other regional events and talk with fellow NYSNLA members. The State Fair is in August and is need of volunteers. Region 4 coordinates the landscaping of our NYSNLA’s space at the State Fairgrounds.

New Business

Sally Cunningham spoke on behalf of the Native Plants Collaborative. Their mission is to grow truly native plants for restoration projects and homeowners. Sally introduced Philomena, an intern, who would like to know from our membership – who is growing natives and would they be interested in growing some more. We are the only ones who can grow our native species – not Lowes or Home Depot.

We have received an invitation from Experienced Brick and Stone to attend their open house on July 23. There will be a reception, tours, presentation and demo.

Bonnie Guckin wanted to stress to the membership that Draves Arboretum is an accredited arboretum, level III and it is right in our own backyard. She encouraged everyone to have a membership in the Arboretum and also to volunteer for weeding when it’s announced.

Kim Schichtel motioned to accept the minutes of March 6, 2019. Sally Cunningham seconded the motion. All were in favor.

Mike Frank motioned to adjourn the meeting. Bob Smith seconded the motion. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 7:44 pm

 

PLANT WNY Meeting Minutes - Wednesday, March 6, 2019

PLANT WNY MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Danny’s South – 4300 Abbott Road, Orchard Park, NY 6:00 pm

 

A call to order was made at 6:07 pm by Sue Frank, president. By a show of hands, it was determined we had a quorum. Due to the January 31 membership meeting being, the minutes from October 10, 2018 were included in the agenda packet. Jeanetta Hanlon, treasurer, gave the financial report which was also included in the agenda packet.

Committee Reports:

Botanical Gardens – Lumagination just took place and was well attended. The Botanical Gardens is looking for a gift shop and marketing coordinator.

CNLP Awareness – The CNLP exam will take place March 7 at NCCC. Since we did not have our CNLP Day, we will be looking into additional events for the CNLP to obtain credits.

Trade Show & Education Day Conference - CNLP Day was cancelled due to the weather. Roger Restorff thanked the sponsors: Batavia Turf, Draves Tree & Landscape, Lawley Insurance, Admar, SiteOne Landscape Supply, Unilock, Finger Lakes Mulch and Soil, Scranton’s Thruway Builders Supplies and the Foundation. Our sponsors keep the day affordable for our membership.

Erie County Fair – Our Erie County Fair contact and PLANT WNY member, Ken Wilk passed away. Ken was the one who brought in all the plant material for our display so things are uncertain at this time. Lisa Kiec-Maliszewski will be meeting with the Fairgrounds to discuss what the plans are for 2019.

Foundation - Ed Dore gave a history of the Foundation. He discussed the difference between the endowment (educational purposes) and non-endowment fund (funds can be used immediately and come from activities/events.) We have Plantasia to educate the public and Education Day to educate ourselves.

Historian - A suggestion was made to have a historical tidbit mentioned or brought to each meeting or put on the website.

Landscape Awards - Think about what you need to enter now and take photos early so that you have them to document your projects. Receiving a landscape awards is a great way to promote your business. Reminder for 2018 recipients to bring their awards to Plantasia and display it.

Membership - We have new information cards available to promote our membership to potential members. They give a brief description of the benefits of our organization. Phil Tripi designed the information cards

Leaf a Legacy - There is nothing firm right now. We did have a request from St. Luke’s Mission for a request for seeds and supplies.

Plantasia 2019 – Chris Zeisz would like to welcome three new landscapers for 2019 - S&K Complete Property Services, Simone Landscape, and McMillan’s Landscaping. Setup, preview night, plant distribution and teardown were discussed.

Social Media - PLANT WNY and Plantasia have Facebook and Instagram accounts. Plantasia has made a big push to increase their social media presence.

State Reps - Kim Schichtel read the policies that are up for consideration by the legislature. She indicated the policies NYSNLA will support and oppose. Lobby Day just took place. Region 8 is having a Career of Choice Symposium in Ithaca.
Mike Frank added that advocacy is one of the biggest things that NYSNLA does for us – there is power in an Association. The CNLP program needs to be marketed so the general public becomes aware of the value of it and CNLP accreditation means something to them.

Advertising Co-Op - Members can get a discount advertising with Buffalo Spree, Buffalo-niagaragardening.com and Upstate Gardener’s Journal. Details can be found on our website.

New Business
Siteone University will take place March 18 and 19 at Turning Stone. CNLP and DEC credits are available.

 

Roger Restorff motioned to accept the minutes of October 10, 2019. Ed Dore seconded the motion. All were in favor.

Ed Dore motioned to adjourn the meeting. Kim Schichtel seconded the motion. All were in favor. Meeting adjourned at 7:20 pm