Board Blurb: February 2026

2/11/26

Prepared by Laurel Watt (2026 RCMG Secretary)

Summary for the February RCMG Board of Directors Meeting

The RCMG Board of Directors Meeting was held on February 10, 2026 on Zoom. The next Board Meeting will be on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Zoom. All volunteers are welcome to attend.

Special Reports

2025 Audit Review-Chris Singer

Chris reported that there were no significant variances or concerns with the nonprofit’s recordkeeping even in spite of a transition between treasurers in 2025. The audit team made several recommendations including refresher training for program leaders, succession planning and backup support for the treasurer, and an inventory of access levels for Board documents. Expect to see opportunities for training in the near future for those volunteers who need to make purchases for their programs.

Committee Updates

Communications Committee Update –Amanda Swanson

·      The committee has been working with Brianna to draft language explaining our name change when this comes up while volunteering in the community. Darren will present this to Extension for their approval.

·      Current Plant Sale tasks include creating and updating social media with a first draft of the poster coming soon. The publicity push begins in mid-March.

Education Committee Update – Susan Mason and Jo Sullivan

• The February online meeting will be with Krista DeCooke from Homegrown National Park. Her talk will be inspiring and actionable, showing how simple changes at the individual level can scale into powerful, nationwide transformation. She will lead us through practical steps anyone can take.

• The March combined in-person and online meeting will highlight our own Amy Jay and Olivia Blanchflower who will lead us through the steps in designing, developing, and registering a Monarch Way Station.

Finance Committee Update – Julie Bechtold

The committee has requested payment information for Speakers Bureau funds that are temporarily being held by the nonprofit and will be putting together purchasing policy training for project leads as well as continued work on succession planning, committee recruitment, investment review, and policies and procedures for account balances and transfer schedules.

Membership Committee Report - Susie DeShon

The activity fair will be held on Thursday, March 26th from 6:30-8 pm with setup at 6 pm. Emails are being sent to a number of RCMG program leaders requesting their attendance.

Leadership Updates

Secretary Update – Laurel Watt

The January Board Minutes were approved.

Treasurer Update– Kathy Passe, Interim Treasurer

The January 2026 - Statement of Activity and  January 2026 - Statement of Financial Position were approved.

Program Coordinator Update – Darren Lochner

Darren had these updates:

• Extension is waiting for Ramsey County to sign the contract outlining their financial contributions associated with the name change of the RCMG Program.

• Darren is currently working with Extension Communications to develop and modify promotional materials, signs, etc. with the Garden Education Volunteers’ name.

• RC volunteers will have the opportunity to select a branded tee and polo shirt as part of the name change process. He is working with Minnesota T’s (vendor for MG clothing and apparel) to develop an order form for RC volunteers to select tees and polos and indicate their preferred size.

• The State Master Gardener Volunteer Program has requested $2,428.00 in financial assistance for the 2026 Ramsey County Interns.

·       An invoice has been submitted to the University of Minnesota Extension on behalf of the RCMG nonprofit for reimbursement of subscription fees for the WIX website program. The subscription was previously paid for by the nonprofit.

Vice Chair Report – Maggie Maggio

Maggie reported that the audit of the nonprofit’s finances was successfully completed on January 24. The Board approved the audit report following Chris Singer’s presentation of the audit group’s findings.

Chair Report– Beth Fritcher

Beth reported that there was no update from the 501(c)(3) working group (Beth Fritcher, Maggie Maggio, Laurel Watt, Kay Wimer, Gene Ranieri, and Karen Randall). The meeting was postponed until Thurs, Feb 12th due to Tim Kenny needing to be out of the office in late January. This group has been formed to guide the transition to independent program and nonprofit functions for the Ramsey County Garden Education Volunteer Program and to move more things we currently do over to Extension.

New Business

New Project Grant Funds: The full 2026 grant amount available totals $2,612.79. The Board will provide information to volunteers regarding how to request these funds. In the meantime, please see Appendix A in the RCMG Purchasing Policy for an example of a request for Project Grant funds.

Member Access to Nonprofit Documents: The 2025 Audit committee recommended better member access to corporate documents and financial reports. Thus, Julie Bechtold asked the Board for assistance with a Board policy and procedure document that will articulate member access expectations, what items to include, when to include them, how to publicize the existence of the location, and who will manage it.

Old Business

GiveMN Contact Information: The Board approved changing the contact information for GiveMN from Darren’s email address to the treasurer’s email address (treasurer@ramseymastergardeners.org) to allow the nonprofit to retain control of the account and secure sensitive banking information. This account needs to be renewed annually to avoid costly fees.

Program Request for Financial Aid for Interns: Extension has requested $2,428.00 for 2026 Ramsey County interns. This is well under the 2025 RCMG nonprofit budget allocation for 2026 intern support of $3000 plus net profits from glove sales. Kathy will send the approved budgeted amount of $4,554.59.

2026 Board Leadership: Beth Fritcher (Chair), Maggie Maggio (Vice-Chair), Laurel Watt (Secretary), Kathy Passe (Interim Treasurer), Julie Bechtold (Finance Chair), Susan Mason (Education Chair), Jo Sullivan (Education Co-Chair), Susie DeShon (Membership Chair), Travis Sandland (Membership Co-Chair), Nanette Boudreau (Communication Chair), Amanda Swanson (Communication Co-Chair), Darren Lochner (Program Coordinator).