Board Blurb: September 2025

9/10/25

Prepared by Laurel Watt (2025 RCMG Secretary)

Summary for the September RCMG Board of Directors Meeting

The RCMG Board of Directors Meeting was held on September 9, 2025 on Zoom. The next Board Meeting will be on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Zoom. All volunteers are welcome to attend.

Committee Updates

Communications Committee Update – Stacy Sola & Nanette Boudreau

The team is working to put the newest classes on the Web calendar and social media and gave the Board a look at the new bookmarks for Climate Responsiveness and new Garden Gates signage. The committee is also reviewing the Plant Sale marketing plan and working on a budget.

Education Committee Update – Gene Ranieri & Sue Mason

Gene reported that monthly presentations are set for the next three meetings. Lee E. Frelich, the Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology from the U of MN will be speaking on September 16th on trees for our changing climate.

Finance Committee Update – Laura Savin

The committee requested that the Board approve the current total amount available for the New/Continuing Project Grant Fund at $7,846.10. The committee also asked the Board to approve a request for $1500.00 from the Ramsey County Correctional Facility for orchard improvements and maintenance, a collaboration with RCMG’s. Both requests were approved.

Membership Committee Update – Tiffa Foster & Susie DeShon

Tiffa and Susie reported that 20 of this year’s interns currently meet three risk factors for not completing their internship requirements, and mentors have been asked to assist. A celebration for this year’s interns and mentors is planned for Sunday, September 28th at the Roseville branch of the Ramsey County Public Library from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Looking ahead, interviews for 2026 interns will commence on October 9th.

Leadership Updates

Secretary Update – Laurel Watt

The July Board Minutes were approved.

Treasurer Update– Kathy Passe (Interim Treasurer)

The following monthly treasurer reports were approved.

• July Treasurer Report

• August Treasurer Report

The Board also approved purchase of a QuickBooks subscription for the Treasurer.

Program Coordinator Update – Darren Lochner

• The State MG Program will be transitioning to a new database (Better Impact) for 2026. Volunteers should continue using the existing database through 2025.

• Project Leaders will soon be asked to submit annual reports, success stories, photos, etc.

• A workgroup began meeting on September 9th to discuss the RCMG Name Change. The workgroup has representatives from RCMG volunteers, U of MN Extension, the State Master Gardener Program, and Ramsey County. Please look for more information in the upcoming newsletter to be released on Saturday, September 13^th. Also see Kay Wimer’s report below.

• A Task Force to discuss the new RCMG Leadership Team is being formed and will begin meeting in the next couple of weeks. Please see the August Board Blurb for more information about the need for this team.

Chair and Vice-Chair Report

Vice-Chair Report – Beth Fritcher

No report.

Chair Report – Kay Wimer

312 volunteers responded to the survey sent out about the proposed name change for RCMG. All volunteers will soon receive an update on the results via email as well as at the September 16th monthly meeting.

The survey questions, final results, and the raw name change results were shared on September 4th with the RCMG Board, Ling Becker, Ramsey County Manager, and the RCMG Name Change workgroup that was created by Extension. At the RCMG Name Change workgroup meeting on September 9^th, Kay Wimer asked the group to discuss the survey results. The takeaways from this discussion include:

• There can be no compromise, and there cannot be a vote by our membership. Extension signed an agreement in November that specified the name would not be Master Gardeners. This was formalized on May 16th of this year.

• When asked why the request to change the name in November was not shared with volunteers, Chuck Tumbarge in the Dean’s office said he would get back to us. Ramsey County was represented by Ling Becker, RC Manager, who confirmed the county was not aware volunteers had not been informed.

• The name change will happen. One of the four names outlined in the survey will be the new name. Please note that the survey results are non-binding, and the survey itself was done at the behest of our own volunteers who represent us on this workgroup. These volunteers are Kay Wimer, Beth Fritcher, Brianna Gohde, Karen Randall, and Elisa Iha.

• Ramsey County will “pay for the rebranding,” but we have no information on how much they are willing to spend.

• Costs will be ascertained and an implementation plan will be devised.

New Business

No New Business.

Old Business

No Old Business.

2025 Board Leadership: Kay Wimer (Chair), Beth Fritcher (Vice-Chair), Laurel Watt (Secretary), Kathy Passe (Treasurer), Gene Ranieri (Education Chair), Susan Mason (Education Co-Chair), Tiffa Foster (Membership Chair), Susie DeShon (Membership Co-Chair), Nanette Boudreau (Communication Chair), Stacy Sola (Communication Co-Chair), Laura Savin (Finance Chair), Darren Lochner (Program Coordinator).