Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State
Executive Board Meeting
August 5, 2025
Held on Zoom
ATTENDANCE
Present were: President Tana Hasart, Exec VP Cathi Lamoreux, Treasurer Gilbert Plascencia, Secretary John Strong, Debbie Benbow, Erin Hoover, State Program Leader Jennifer Marquis.
OPENING
President Tana opened the meeting and called on Jennifer to report on the MOA template work recently completed
MOA
Tana thanked the board for all the work done to bring the new MOA template to fruition. It provides a framework to support the program into the future, and builds trust between foundations, program, and WSU Extension. It clearly states the rights, roles and responsibilities of all parties.
There have been good questions from some local foundations. Those have informed the explanatory document. Also there have been good comments showing support and gratitude. The explanatory and process documents will be distributed to all foundations soon.
Tana notes that there are a few outliers, and that is good. Also, she commends the work done by our attorney, who commented that the template is SO clear, and that the collaboration that went into its development is obvious. Thanks also to great help from the WSU legal department staff.
There ensued some discussion about scholarships for Green School. There are some local foundations who would like to offer them to members of the public. Inasmuch as the MOA clearly states that support is only allowed to the Program and no one else, the scholarship idea seems to fly in the face of that. It was commented that our program’s main purpose is education of the public, and that helping some to take advantage of our Green School training fulfills that purpose, at least in part. Because of the fine points of distinction in this argument, and the fact that the clarity of this policy is a big adjustment for some, we felt that we should be consistently clear in not allowing the scholarship, for now. We will leave the topic under consideration for a possible future statement specific to this idea.
AEC
Cathi reported that, as of August 1st, we have 315 registrations for this year’s conference. This compares to 445 at the same time last year. She projects that we may see total attendance of about 500, compared to 650 last year.
Sponsorships now total $25,000, which is very gratifying.
Shared Learning Experience (SLR) signups are almost 200 so far. There have been some misunderstandings about how to sign up for them online. As we get that smoothed out, there may be more.
The 2028 conference is planned to be in person in order to not compete with the 2027 International conference that will be held in person that year. A likely location will be Central Washington University, Ellensburg.
Cathi is concerned that we have no volunteers for conference chairs for next year. She appeals to us all to actively solicit talent from our local chapters, who might step up to take this on. There was some discussion about hiring professionals to lead the planning and conduct of future conferences. While this may be a possibility, the team fears that an outside entity may not have the background and familiarity with our program to do that successfully.
There was some discussion about improving our sponsorship management. This would include timely solicitation of past sponsors, prompt recognition, and clear details of sponsor benefits. Tana sees the need for this and suggests that we establish a position that would take charge of seeing that all such details are handled.
COMMUNICATION TEAM
Debbie said that information went out today to all chapters regarding the September emphases and Green School, for which registration opens next week.
PUYALLUP FAIR
Tana announced that the Pierce County chapter has a regular booth at this fair, and that they see many people over the course of the fair each fall. Perhaps the State Foundation would like to host a booth there, much the same as the one we have at the NW Flower and Garden event. There would be no cost, other than materials and decor. It was pointed out that we have one large such event on the westside, and that perhaps we should consider spending resources and personnel to an eastside event. Or, we develop a ‘kit’ made up of materials and procedures that can be used by any and all chapters for local fairs and expos in their counties. This will remain a topic for consideration.
NOMINATIONS
Cathi reminded that Peggy is leading this effort this year, because, as a candidate herself, our Vice President Cathi cannot take on that responsibility this year. Open positions include: Vice President, Development Director, and AEC Directors. To date there has been no interest in these spots. It’s critical that they be filled!
1% FOR THE PLANET
Tana reported that our application to join this organization has been accepted! A donation of tools was offered to us at the NWFGF. Gilbert will work on the details of accepting them.
PODCAST
Erin noted that the Evergreen Thumb podcast has had over 20,000 downloads. Its second anniversary is next month. She is developing a three-year plan, including how to grow the listenership. Part of that effort is to issue a survey. Erin would like suggestions for survey questions. Gilbert suggests learning how we are meeting our educational goals.
Erin is also looking for ways to monetize the podcast.
PROGRAM UPDATE
Jennifer noted that Green School registration opens August 15th.
Master Gardener training applications are coming in at record numbers, particularly along the I-5 corridor. Central and eastern Washington are seeing smaller numbers so far. At a recent panel discussion including Rutgers and Colorado State, it was pointed out that their experience with a Green School-like public training opportunity showed that master gardener training applications did fall off in numbers. But that those who did join, were stronger volunteers, and that retention has improved.
Bryce will offer a sneak peak at the online training at our next Staying Mission Driven meeting. All are encouraged to see it.
Jennifer noted that master gardener volunteers who have donated to the Endowment will NOT receive solicitations from WSU for non-MG related fund raising efforts.
FINANCIAL
Gilbert presented the current financial reports. He noted that one of our CDs will mature at the end of August. He suggests rolling it into a higher interest-bearing CD, and increasing the amount invested to $10K from the current $6K.
OTHER
Tana said the program for our annual meeting is being developed. She is hoping some local chapter leaders will provide testimonials about the importance of MGFWS, as well as Jennifer speaking from the Program point-of-view
Historian Kitty wants a spot to store information – both electronic and physical. We suggested Craig Lawrence could help with the electronic. Debbie noted that she has a number of physical things in her home, and would like to find another spot for it. Perhaps a closet in some extension office? She will prepare an inventory for us.
Meeting adjourned at 5:50 pm