Members:

Here is the newsletter for December. Hard to believe that 2011 is already over and Christmas is just around the corner. The years just keep going by faster and faster and we all keep getting slower and slower in the process.  Oh, well, 2012 will be another banner year for the Club and I personally look forward to a new start and have all this hassle of the holidays behind me.

Pete Addeo,  Webmaster
Missoula Iris Society
http://www.missoulairis.com

DECEMBER MEETING (ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY):
 

DATE & TIME: Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. Usual potluck supper followed by the Christmas Party and turkey dinner.
PLACE: Home of Billie Gray, 1558 S. 6th St West,  Call 543-3480 for directions.
PROGRAM: No meeting, just a fun gift exchange so bring a gift.

"FYI" NEWS

Welcome to new member Elizabeth Houston, 9100 Sharptail Dr, Missoula, MT 59808. Ph # is 406-370-9087. email is qwena9@yahoo.com. She's a pretty lucky new member, too. She won the Presidential Rhizome drawing at her first meeting. Congratulations and welcome, Elizabeth.

A Board meeting to discuss the 2012 budget is to be held Thursday, December 1, 2011 at the home of Treasurer Swede Gustafson. The tentative budget is at the end of this newsletter.

Dues for 2012 can be paid anytime to MIS c/o Treasurer Swede Gustafson in the amount of $10 per person for the year. Any new member who joined MIS in July or later is fully paid for the year 2012 as well.

Meeting Locations for 2012...contact Carol Addeo at 251-5833 if you can host a meeting at your home.

1st ANNUAL IRIS PHOTO CONTEST  - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2012

Bring your favorite photo of Iris and win a prize!!!!!!
Photos can be anything picturing Iris; ex: single iris, clumps of iris, iris gardens, bouquets or arrangement of iris, etc. Iris photo must be taken by members of MIS. Entry is one photo per member. Photos need not be matted or framed.
Judges will be all attendees at the February 5 meeting. Voting will be by paper ballot.

1st place and 2nd place prizes will be awarded.

Come and have fun whether you have a photo or not!

For additional information, contact Betty Ann Gustafson at 251-3526. 

Christmas Party Reminder: Billie Gray will host the Christmas Party again this year on Saturday December 10th at 4:00 p.m. The main course will be the turkey with all the trimmings and complemented by pot luck dishes from members.

CHRISTMAS PARTY GIFT EXCHANGE: Don't forget to start shopping for the perfect garden related Christmas gift. For new members, following is the criteria for the gift exchange. It's a lot of fun

Everyone brings a wrapped gift (up to $12.00 value) and we put all the gifts in the center of the room and then pick numbers to see who goes first. The #1 person gets to pick any gift from the pile. The gift is opened for all to see. Then the #2 person in line can pick the gift that #1 picked or pick from the stack and the same goes for each one thereafter. If you pick one of the opened gifts, then that person now can pick someone else’s gift or from the stack. The limit is 3 times for any one gift to own. There is a lot of heavy duty trading between everyone and the laughs just keep coming. It is a great end to a wonderful year with our friends and members

It's Their Birthday!!....Let's Give 'Em a Cheer!!!

Happy birthday to Ron Dowell, December 11th and Swede Gustafson, December 26th. Have a happy birthday all. Have a happy birthday all. 

TREASURER'S REPORT for December 2011
Following information is based on balances as of September 20, 2011 since I did not have a report for the November newsletter.

SAVINGS ACCOUNT:
September 20 Balance $ 11,578.40
Deposits 101.89
Balance Nov 22,2100 $ 11,680.29
Deposits were from the 3rd quarter interest of $1.89 and 10 memberships of $10.00 each

CHECKING ACCOUNT:
September 20 Balance $ 680.46
Income 100.00
Expenses 110.00
Balance Nov 22, 2011 $ 620.46

Income was from 5 memberships at 10 each and return of Ck to the Eagles Lodge for meeting room rental. Expenses were $50 for the Eagles Lodge meeting room rental and $60 to Paul Ronaldo Sprinklers for winterizing the Fort Garden sprinkler system in October.

If anyone has an expense for which they need reimbursement, please get the information to me by December 6th as I will be closing the 2011 books on December 10 in order to get them ready for the annual audit. Thank You.

Respectfully, Swede Gustafson, Treasurer

PROPOSED BUDGET FOR 2012 (See attached budget report on separate page)

Missoula Iris Society Minutes November 8, 2011.
Meeting was called to order at 7:15 PM 20 people were present. The meeting was held at the Eagles Meeting room.

The minutes of the last meeting were read and corrected. The word expansion mentioned in the minutes was eliminated. A motion was made to accept the corrected minutes, and the club accepted the corrected minutes. The treasurer’s report was made. Swede Gustafson stated that there was $620.36 in checking and $11,580.00 in savings. The report was accepted subject to audit.

Old business: The Christmas party will be held December 10, 2011 at 4:00 P.M. at Billie Grays home. It was agreed that the gift exchange would have a limit of $12.00 for the cost of the gift.
It was announced that the audit of the books will be done when the books have closed for the year.

New Business: New member Elizabeth Houston was introduced. The nomination committee reported that the nomination of officers for 2012 will be Ed Verplancke for President; Betty Ann Gustafson for vice-president; Swede Gustafson for Treasurer and Cindy Davis for Secretary.. Nominations were closed. Billie Gray moved and Carol Addeo seconded that the nominations be accepted and the officers be elected. The motion passed.

Bob Brown reported that Sharon Penbleton has reported that she was raising funds to provide wheel chair access to the fort gardens. Bob Brown stated that The Museum board has accepted her proposal and will supervise the project and take on full liability for the project.

Elizabeth Houston won the Presidential Rhizome drawing for November.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.
Respectfully submitted. Jim Sadler Secretary

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