2016 Master Gardener Classes Continue

The 2016 class for new Master Gardeners is going along very smoothly.  Debbie Martin, Jane Wilson and Connie Berk have made the class run smoothly with a group of engaging speakers.  Debbie, Jane and Connie are pleased to report that 17 new Master Gardeners are in the class and are moving through the content well.  In addition, many of our current CCMGA members have been coming to assist, earning volunteer service credits or to engage in the lesson, earning education hours.  It is wonderful to see our experienced Master Gardeners forming bonds with the new group.  I know that everyone is excited to see this many new Master Gardeners for our group.  Any current CCMGA members are invited to come meet the new members and join in any of the upcoming classes.  The class schedule is available on the Education tab of our website.
At the January 26 session on Basic Botany our group's photographer, Victor Simpson, took some shots of the class learning about the structures of plants.  Many thanks to Victor!

2016 Master Gardener Class

The first meeting of the 2016 Master Gardener class met last night at Enslow Park Presbyterian Church.  Debbie, Jane & Connie have done great work in assembling an interesting and informative slate of classes to move the MGITs toward completing the requirements for certification.  The 14 members of the class are eager to get started in the process and have a varied set of gardening interests.

If you are available on one or more of the class nights, please consider coming to the church and joining the group.  The class on Tuesday, January 12 promises to be an excellent class with Myra Simmons sharing her wealth of knowledge on perennials.  Myra is always a very engaging presenter.

You can use the Master Gardener classes to earn either education or volunteer service credits.  Having current CCMGA members available can be an important show of support for them in as they are in the process of certification.  Please make certain to invite them to come to our first meeting of 2016 at 11 am on February 20 (weather permitting) at Enslow Park Presbyterian Church where Lori Bowling will share more information on deer and drought resistant gardening.

2016 Plans & Updates

As we prepare for 2016, I wanted to express my best holiday wishes and to give you updates on a few CCMGA matters.

Revised By-Laws

During the December business meeting, the proposed revisions to the CCMGA by-laws were approved by unanimous vote of the members present.  These revisions are a result of WVMG’s increased service and education requirements for new and recertifying members.  The revised by-laws are posted to our website in the “About CCMGA” section.

MGIT Class

Debbie Martin and Jane Wilson have done a great job of putting a Master Gardener class together.  The classes will meet in the Fellowship Hall of Enslow Park Presbyterian Church on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 – 9:30 pm beginning on January 5.  Jane and Debbie want to welcome any member who is available for one or more classes to come to assist or to earn education hours.  This is a great opportunity to earn service or education hours,.  A copy of the class schedule is posted to our website.  Please email me (beckelhimer@gmail.com) if you would like to sign up to volunteer for one or more classes.

2016 Meeting Schedule

The meeting schedule for 2016 has been finalized with a great lineup of educational speakers. A copy of our meeting schedule is posted in the “About CCMGA” section of our website.

2016 Dues

Please remember that your 2016 dues can now be paid to our treasurer, Debbie Martin.  If you have not already done so, please send your $16 membership dues to CCMGA, PO Box 7661, Huntington, WV 25578-7661.

Website Updates

The “Recipes” section of our website has been replaced with a “Gardening Education” page for the MGITs as well as current members.  Presenters at the Master Gardener class as well as monthly Master Gardener meetings can have materials such as handouts or links posted to the site.  Please take a look at the new section of our site and let me know what you think.

The 2015 minutes, treasurer’s reports and meeting schedules will soon be moved to an “Archives” page where the documents will still be available to members but will make way for 2016’s information.

I will look forward to seeing everyone at our February 20^th meeting or better yet, at one of the upcoming MGIT classes.

Taking better photos of our gardens – November 10 meeting

We had an outstanding education session at our November 10 meeting in which local photography buffs, Tim Hardesty and Joe Browning gave us great advice on shooting our gardens.  Regardless of our photographic ability, gardening interest or the type of camera we have, we all came away inspired to take more pictures of our gardens.  Joe & Tim have given us their handouts that are available by clicking the links below:

Tips for Photographing our Gardens

Steps to Better Flower Images

In the business portion of our meeting we discussed the WVMG service and education requirements and the accompanying changes in bylaws that we will be making.  We approved the 2016 budget and learned more about the upcoming MGIT classes.  We had an update on the 2016 CCMGA meeting schedule and announced that a caravan to the Boyd County Extension Office will leave Enslow Park Presbyterian Church at 10:15 for our December 5 meeting/wreath making/Christmas party.  Meat will be provided for the Christmas party but members are asked to bring a side dish or dessert to share.  Our evening closed with an optional educational session on using the CCMGA website.

Connie will have our meeting minutes posted to the website soon.

Items for consideration at November 10 CCMGA meeting

Hello CCMGA members and friends,

As you may be aware, in compliance with the International Master Gardener Association changes, the West Virginia Master Gardener Association has increased the number of education and service hours required for renewal to 10 and 20 respectively.  Therefore, we must adjust our bylaws to reflect those changes as well.  This is a simple change of a few numbers in Articles IV and V of the bylaws to keep us in compliance.  An opportunity will be available for discussion of these changes as well as a potential motion to accept the proposed revisions to the bylaws.  A copy of the updated bylaws with changes in red is available at the link below and will be printed for the November 10 meeting of CCMGA.

We will also hold a discussion of how CCMGA can provide more and better education and service opportunities.  Pauline Tiller at the Cabell County Extension Office has asked that we send our education and service hours to her from the period September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015.  She does not need a detailed listing of dates, times and activities only the two numbers for how many education and service hours that you have accrued for the year.  Her contact information is Pauline.Tiller@mail.wvu.edu or 304-743-7131.  To assist you in recalling education and service activities, the Executive Committee has prepared a partial listing of some of the activities for the year.  This list was compiled from the calendar on our website (http://www.cabellcountymastergardeners.com) and may assist you in recalling your education and service.  The list is available on the link below and will be printed for the November 10 meeting.  Please notify Pauline of your 2014-15 hours by November 30, 2015.

A number of service opportunities will be presented for your consideration on November 10 including assisting with the MGIT class and advising gardens at Marcum Terrace, Meadows Elementary and Explorer Elementary. 

Debbie Martin will begin collecting 2016 dues ($16 per member) at the November meeting and will make plans for the December 5 Christmas Party and wreath making at Boyd County’s Extension Office.

• Draft agenda for November 10 CCMGA meeting
• Proposed updated CCMGA bylaws
• Partial list of 2014-15 CCMGA education and service opportunities

I will send a reminder out as the date for our November 10 meeting draws near but I wanted to send the above information for your consideration well in advance of the meeting.

Steve

Ritter Park Rose Clipping Give-Away

Ritter Park Rose Garden in Huntington will be doing their annual rose clipping give away from 8 am to noon on Monday November 2, 2015 .  You may call 304-696-5954 for more information.

Volunteer Service and Education Hours Changing

A recent note from Mira Blutatovic-Danalovich, State Extension Master Gardener Program Coordinator reports:

The International MG has been working on standardizing the Program and part of that effort is establishing new guidelines for the Initial certification and re-certification…

FYI ... the International MG (IMG) also establishes guidelines for Volunteer & Educational Hours for MG to remain active. As of December 2014, the IMG raised the National Standard for state extension MG to strive to meet to:

• "requires volunteer service hour; 40-hour volunteer service minimum in the initial training year and 20-hour volunteer service minimum in subsequent years
•  requires annual continuing education and professional development hours; 10 hours minimum annually in years following initial training"

For more information on the change click the image below to read the full report: