Members:

Here is the December Newsletter.  This is our last meeting of the year already. It’s time for our annual Christmas Party again and it is always held at Ken and RoseMary Baier’s home. It is a great time for all and we always have sooo much fun. We have our gift exchange as well, and that is what makes the evening so fun. Everyone brings a 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 #2 person in line then can pick the gift that #1 picked or pick from the stack and the same goes for each one thereafter. The next person can pick from any of the opened gifts of everyone before them or pick from the stack. If you pick one of the opened gifts, then that person can also 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. Please don’t miss this one. This is worth the entire year of activities. Be sure to have your gift wrapped. There are always some very ingenious gifts to exchange and fight over to see who gets to keep it at the end of the night. It is a potluck evening as well so bring all those wonderful entrees and desserts that you all are known for.

Pete Addeo,

Webmaster & President
Missoula Iris Society
http://www.missoulairis.com

DATE & TIME: Christmas Party - Saturday, December 3, 2005 at 4:00pm with potluck dinner and smoked turkey
PLACE: Home of Ken & RoseMary Baier. Call 542-2503 for directions. 

AGENDA:  None planned. Just fun, fun, fun. Pot luck and smoked turkey dinner. BYOB

"FYI" NEWS:

From the President & Newsletter Editor – Please send me your birth date (year not necessary) by email or call me at 251-5833. We would like to keep our newsletter and membership lists updated each month. Please help keep us informed of your email address as well so we can send you important messages as they are needed.

Calendars – The 2006 Iris calendars are here now and for sale at $6.00 each. Makes wonderful gifts and you should call Elinor Utech at 549-1054 to order one or you can get them at the meeting.

Meeting Locations for 2006 - Sign up with secretary, Carol Addeo.  We still need locations for the months of January, February, April, June, September and October. If you would like to host a meeting but don’t have the room, then we can arrange to have it at another members home and you do all the hosting duties. Call Carol at 251-5833 and let her know what month you can host a meeting.

Annual Dues – are now due for 2006. If you want to continue to get the newsletter, please get the annual dues in to Swede. We will remind everyone at the January meeting as well.

25th Anniversary Buffet Supper - Saturday, June 17, 2006 at 4:30 pm at Fort Gardens...Catered. Show awards, history presentation. Benefit donation: $25 per person for MIS members and their guests.  Get your reservations to secretary Carol Addeo

Committee Chairpersons needed for - Fort Gardens, Iris Sale, Iris Tour, Historian, Publicity and Sunshine. We will be needing members for these at our January meeting. If you would like to volunteer, please call Pete Addeo.

New Membership Contest – we are at the end of the year and the new membership contest will be coming to a close. At the last meeting, we had a tie for the winning position between Billie Gray and Gary Clark. We now have gotten 4 additional members from Gary Clark, so that puts him in the lead, hands down.  Congrats to Gary for winning the contest and we will be awarding his prize at the next meeting. The 4 new members are:  Steve Hesla, Brenda Meador, Sherry Toft and Bev Gutman. Welcome to our new members and hope to see you at the meetings and especially at our Christmas Party.

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

Happy day to Nancy Ryan – December 19th, Swede Gustafson, December 26th, John Hoar, December 27th, and Ron Dowell, December 11^th.  Have a happy birthday and all the good wishes and cheers that go along with it.

Missoula Iris Society Board Meeting - Monday, November 28, 2005

The Missoula Iris Society Board Meeting was called to order by President Pete Addeo at the home of Pete and Carol Addeo at 6:47 p.m.  In attendance were board members Pete Addeo, Jim Sadler, Carol Addeo and Swede Gustafson.  Also in attendance were Billie Gray and Gary Clark.

The purpose of this meeting was to set the budget for the year 2006.  Funds we were working with included:

    Savings account balance          $1,257.56
    Savings account interest                  9.70
    Checking account balance            166.69
    2005 rhizome sale income         3,795.00
    Projected membership dues          460.00
        TOTAL                                $5,689.00

After discussion of various items, the budget was tentatively approved as follows:

    Iris Show                            $400
    Special Guest                       725
    Tour/25th Celebration          1,000
    Rhizome Sale                       500
    Fort Garden                       1,950
    Newsletter                            400
    Programs                               50
    Judges Training                        0
    Sunshine                              200
    Filing Fee                               15
    Friends of Fort                      100
    Presidential Rhizomes           225
    RVP Assistance                     50
    Membership                           50
    Miscellaneous                        23
        TOTAL                    $5,689.00

The budget will be presented to the general membership for approval at the January meeting.

Dues Increase:  After some discussion, a motion was made by Carol Addeo, seconded by Jim Sadler and passed unanimously to increase the dues by $1.00 to $9.00 per year, effective January 1, 2006.  Anyone who has already paid their dues or who pays them prior to January 1, 2006 will be able to pay the current amount of $8.00.  The increase was necessary to cover the cost of printing and mailing the newsletter and maintaining the web site each month. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Carol Addeo, Secretary

Minutes of the Missoula Iris Society Meeting, Saturday, November 12, 2005

The meeting was called to order by President Pete Addeo at  7:45  p.m. at the home of  Billie Gray.

New members - Pete welcomed new members who were attending their first meetings:  Carol Barbee, Charles Hiigel and guest Jeff White.

Minutes - The minutes from the October meeting were approved as they appeared in the November newsletter .

Treasurers Report - Reported by Treasurer's Swede Gustafson and printed in the November newsletter.

    Checking balance as of  September 20:                   $33.89
    Deposits                                                               342.50
                Sub-total                                                   376.59

    Expenses paid                                                      147.00
                   October 31 Balance                              $229.39

    Expenses Paid:
    Fort Garden Sprinkler system winterize                   $48.00
    2006 Iris calendar purchase                                     99.00
            Total                                                           $147.00
                               

   Deposit/Income
    Transfer from savings                                          $300.00
    Excess sod sale                                                     6.00
    Plant marker sales                                                  6.50
    Siberian Iris sales                                                  30.00
            Total                                                          $342.50

OLD BUSINESS

Fort Gardens Report - Billie Gray reported that the winterization of the gardens is complete.  The only things left to do this season is filling in some top soil in the lawn, some work on the siberian bed and placement of the two new benches.  The two benches have been ordered and should be ready any time.  The Friends of the Fort organization purchased the cement and wood benches as a donation for us.  Billie will try to make contact with the Trapper Job Corp people who are making the benches.

Zona explained some of the sprinkler changes - the sprinklers were adjusted and realigned because some of the beds had to be moved.  Bigger sprinklers heads were used and more pop-ups between the siberian bed and the big bed.  Also the rows between the finger beds and Dykes beds are getting more efficient water coverage now.

MIS MINUTES - November 12, 2005

25th Anniversary Plans - Jim Sadler reported that plans to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Fort Missoula Public Iris Gardens include a catered dinner to be held at the gardens on June 17, 2006, following the annual tour.  National dignitaries from American Iris Society will be invited.  A sign up sheet for the dinner was passed around:  20 members signed up for the dinner so far. Approximate cost for the dinner is estimated to be $25 per person, depending on the actual costs for the food, tables, chairs and tent pavillions.   This anniversary is for the Fort Gardens only, not to be confused with the club anniversary.  MIS was actually started in the 1940's .

NEW  BUSINESS

2006 Officer Elections - A motion was made by Billie Gray, seconded  by Alverta Symes to accept the nominations of the following incumbent officers:
    Pete Addeo, President
    Jim Sadler, Vice President
    Carol Addeo, Secretary
    Swede Gustafson, Treasurer with Zona Lindemann as Treasurer Trainee

The motion passed and the officers were duly elected for the term of 2006.  The only dissenters were the four incumbents.

Neighborhood Grant - Carol reported that the City of Missoula has a Neighborhood Project Funds Grant for 2006 which is available to organizations or individuals for projects in the city that benefit city residents.  The grants are intended to support small capital improvement projects that enhance quality of the city and can be completed in one year. This is an opportunity for MIS to complete the last phase of our Fort Gardens renovation project: the purchase of four arbors and climbing plants.

Carol is working to complete the application by the deadline of November 30th, with the help of Billie Gray and Jim Sadler. One of the requirements of the application is to show a public commitment to the project.  Therefore, a "Letter of Commitment for Fort Missoula Iris Gardens Project" was passed out to all members in attendance and they were asked to voluntarily complete the form with their name, address, phone numbers and hours they were willing to help with the project.  All 20 members in attendance returned the commitment form with promises of 111 hours of volunteer work to complete the Fort Gardens renovation project.

Names of those members who showed support for the project were Zona Lindemann, Swede Gustafson, Carol Barbian, Bob Symes, Tom Thompson, Ron Dunn, Charles Hiigel, Jeff White, Gary Clark, Hubert Meyer, Alverta Symes, Jim Sadler, Ron Dowell, Billie Gray, Sonia Dellapiazza, Donna Dowell, Fred Frey, Elinor Utech, Carolyn Addeo and Peter Addeo.

Budget Meeting - A Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 28, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. at the home of Pete and Carol Addeo.  Main agenda will be to set the budget for the year 2006.  All committee chairpersons should attend with an agenda of financial needs.

 

2006 AIS Calendars - Elinor Utech has new AIS 2006 calendars available for sale for $6 each.

Siberians for Sale - Swede still has some siberian iris for sale for $2.00 each.  They were dug from the Fort Gardens and are now in pots.

December Christmas Party - There is no meeting in December.  It is time again for our annual Christmas Party to be held Saturday, December 3 (not Sunday, because there is no Griz game on Saturday this year) beginning at 4:00 pm at the home of Ken and Rose Mary Baier.  The annual gift exchange was explained for the benefit of new members.  The gift should be iris or garden related and cost no more than $12.00.