Minutes

Minutes of Saint John’s Arboretum Advisory Council Meeting

February 7, 2005

Natural History Museum, Saint John’s University

 

 

 

Council Members:

            Present: Scott May, Terri Barreiro, Larry Schwietz, Tom Kroll, Chuck Wocken, Tom Wicks, Bruce Wollmering, OSB, Steve Saupe, Kari Dombrovski, Alison Binsfeld, Sarah Gainey, Stephanie O’Keefe, Marie Ozanne, Grace Brogan, Eli Becker

            Absent: Bob Ellenbecker, Tom Haeg, John Kulas, OSB, Ryan Kutter, David Harwell, Janette Monear, Ron Wienhold

 

            The meeting was called to order at 2:30 p.m.

 

Larry Schwietz introduced Stephanie O’Keefe. Stephanie was sitting in on the meeting to determine if she would like to join the Arboretum Advisory Council.

 

Sarah Gainey introduced Marie Ozanne and Grace Brogan. Both are Arboretum student workers that work in the office. Marie Ozanne was taking minutes for the meeting.

 

Strategic Plan

Sarah Gainey began by handing out a tentative strategic plan and going through each section to check for approval and/or needed revisions. About a dozen changes were agreed upon and will most likely be incorporated into the strategic plan by next council meeting.

           

            Budget

Tom went through Arboretum’s current budget and the areas where money still needed to be raised. The big change to the budget was the loss of summer positions in exchange for the two full time fellowship positions.

Tom also announced that renewals would be issued every month so that we could keep track of all current members this should result in a more accurate member list and should increase membership income.

            Land Stewardship

Tom reported on the opportunity for wind power for Saint John’s Campus. There will be an article in the Record next week that will further discuss the issue. The wind towers would produce 1/3 of the power for the campus and would either be placed in southern Minnesota at Buffalo Ridge, Southern Sterns County, or on campus. This opportunity will be discussed more and in greater detail before any decisions are made. (for further information see attached sheet)

 

            Continued Education

Alison announced Continued Education Teacher Night. Alison has solicited 110 schools and in hopes to get 30-40 teachers out to Saint Johns for a teacher’s night. The teachers will pay a small fee for dinner and spend the night learning about how to apply natural science actives into the classroom.  Teachers that sign up are eligible for a discounted rate to the Arboretum and can earn continued education credits.

 

            Sarah presented the Saint John’s Arboretum promotional video. The video will soon be available on VHS, DVD and on the Arboretum website. Any one who wishes to have a copy should send their request to Sarah Gainey.

 

            Tom announced that the success of the silent auction at the open house paid for the food and other expenses of the evening. Sarah introduced new more standard way of reporting events that would be used from now on so that we knew how much money was spent and where it was spent.

 

Advisory Council Positions

The council is still looking for two new council members to replace Linda Mock and Al Barth. Two student members are in the process of being added. Any suggestion of potential new council members should be sent to Tom Kroll as soon as possible.

 

The meeting was adjourned.

 

Submitted by Marie Ozanne