Members:

Here is the newsletter for March.  I can feel spring in the air (sometimes) and I am very, very ready for some sunshine and warmth. It’s been a looong winter, started early, but hope it’s getting ready to spring upon us shortly.

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

DATE & TIME: Saturday, March 1st, 6:30 pm.  Potluck dinner begins at 6:30 pm.

PLACE:   Home of Honk Meyer, 2532 Highwood Drive; call 251-5800 for directions

PROGRAM:  No mention of any program at this time.

"FYI" NEWS

MEMBERSHIP DUES:

The $9.00 annual membership dues are now past due for the 2008 year.  We need to get everyone to please pay their dues as it is important for our affiliation fees for AIS. There are still lots of you who haven’t paid yet for one reason or another. Please pay your dues before the end of the month or at the next meeting to keep us up to date and to keep receiving this newsletter.

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

Happy day to Bob Brown, March 4^th.  Have a happy birthday!

A Note from Fred Frey: 2008 MIS IRIS TOUR

Just a note from Fred asking for volunteers to sit at a garden site from 10am – 4pm, Saturday June 7.  We will be needing 2 people at each garden site to help with the fees and checking in for the public. We have 8 sites planned for the tour, so we will be needing at least 18 volunteers to help at each site and at the Fort Gardens as well. Please think about this and let Billie Gray know ASAP. It’s only for a few hours and it will help us out to make a great tour.  Thanks from Fred.

Treasurer's Report from Pete Addeo:

The numbers are for the month of February 2008,

Minutes of the Missoula Iris Society Meeting, Saturday, February 2, 2008

The meeting was called to order by President Cindy Davis.  Alverta Symes moved that the treasurer’s report be accepted as printed in the Falls and Standards.  Billie Gray seconded the motion.  The motion passed.  Fred Frey moved that the secretary’s report be accepted with the following corrections:  Fred Frey did not volunteer to arrange for programs for the coming year (the position remains open), and it was suggested that Ronn Dunn and Gary Clark present a program on the MIS By-Laws.  Ed Verplancke seconded the motion as revised.  The motion to accept the January, 2008, minutes as amended passed.

Old Business

Shed:  Billie Gray picked up the completed plans from the architect.  Pete Addeo now has the plans.  He has taken the plans to the city engineer only to find out they had to be approved by the county building department.  Building permits still need to be obtained.  The current plan is to pour the cement slab in March.  Pete has found out who Carson Vehrs’ concrete people are.  He will be contacting them to help us do the slab.

Committees

  Program:  This committee needs a chair person.

  Meeting Sites:  Hosts and sites are needed for September, November, and December.

  Membership:  Responsibilities are to assemble new member packets, distribute packets to new members and to keep a current membership list.  Packet information can be found on the website for those who are interested, members and non-members.  The website address is www.missoulairis.com.  Anita and Ed Verplancke and Carol Addeo agreed to be the committee members.

  Sunshine:  Betty Ann Gustafson agreed to be the chair person.

  By-Laws:  The most recent revision was done in 2002.  It was suggested that they be brought up to date with our current practices.  It was pointed out that the Guidelines are just that – guide lines, written to help the various committees and chair persons fulfill their responsibilities.

  Tour:  The committee is currently obtaining gardens for the tour.  The plans are to have at least six gardens on the tour in addition to the Fort Gardens.  Some of the gardens will be from outside MIS.  The organization no longer has enough gardens to keep the tour totally within the society.  The tour will be self-guided, tickets to be obtained at any garden, with the tour running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  Fort:  The main focus of work this year centers on the Siberian Bed.  A list of the plants in the Siberian bed needs to be made which includes location within the bed, awards won, color, and hybridizer.  The east side of the bed has lots of unknowns that need to be removed.  Decisions need to be made about which named varieties to keep and which to put in the sale.  New replacements will need to be bought putting emphasis on obtaining varieties that have won the Wood Award.  Those going into the sale will be dug in April and potted up.  What information to put on the labels must be decided: for example, should the registration date be on the label or the year the variety was first sold?

2008 is the year the Siberian bed is to be renovated.  Rather than do a total redo as has been done with the other beds, new soil only will be put into the planting holes.  The path around the upper bed needs to be completed around the south end.  Some of the steps must be redone.  Ideally, this renovation work should be done prior to the tour.

New Business

   Judges Training:  There is a training session February 23, in Boise, Idaho.  Carol Coleman will do a class in garden judging in Missoula the Sunday following our June Iris Show.

A motion to adjourn was made by Bob Symes and seconded by Ed Verplancke.  The meeting was adjourned.

Presidential rhizome was won by Ernie Lucero.

Respectfully submitted

Webmaster