Wild Ones Madison Events

Wild Ones - Madison Chapter 

Monthly Board Meeting minutes

December 19, 2024 5:30pm-6:30pm

Location: Zoom 3

Attendees: Frank Hassler, Jeff Steele, Athena Salzer,  Amy Yocum, Erin Lemley, Megan Saucke, and Laurie YahrAgenda

Call to Order (order called) 

Approval of November Minutes (minutes approved and seconded)

Financial Report 

Current balance: $5,273.04

Outstanding Receipts & Checks - no outstanding receipts or checks

Approval for funds: no funds requested

Membership Report

Active Members:  209 active members  (up from 206 last month)

Since the last meeting:  3 new members plus one add-on,   8 renewals, and   2 expired memberships.

Wild Ones tended spaces need names for the certification DCHS - Ruth’s prairie? DMNA prairie -  Sue Reindollar’s Prairie (sp?)Lakeview library - Old BusinessNative planting shorelines for Friends of Lake Kegonsa (FOLK)Frank to reach out to FOLK and keep officers updatedComplementary memberships offered to Alder Field and Megan Saucke.Megan has accepted complementary membershipChapter donations to help new chapter hubs  - Update: meeting on 12.18 with Theresa Possley (Oregon Nature Alliance) and Debbie from National to discuss Community Hub assistance from our chapterAmy and Athena met with Nat’l.Discussion on potentially changing the name of our chapter from Wild Ones-Madison to something more encompassing to include neighboring communities. New BusinessPlanning Committee updates:

Jeff’s presentation January 30, 5:30pm at Harmony Bar confirmed

Jeff to provide a description for the event asap. Athena to bring projector and screen (Jeff also has a screen if needed). Frank to provide guidance and feedback for Jeff.

Garden Expo February 7-9

Amy to begin to recruit for volunteers soon

Plan Your Pollinator Garden February 22, double meeting room at Pinney Branch library reserved

Need to recruit volunteers soon. Leaning on Theresa and Susan

Urban Canid Project tentative March 11 at 5:30, Lakeview library

“Leave the Leaves” committee next stepsMegan reached out to the City with mixed resultsWants to create a “toolkit”Phil presented options for what to do with leavesLaurie mentioned Florida’s “Smart Yards” conceptMegan to send out email to coordinate a follow-up meeting for January and announce it to the Facebook groupAdvertising at Expo this year - do we want to have an ad? (consensus was against an advertisement at this time)

End of year reporting: SOCR questions for the boardWhat did your chapter accomplish this year that you are most proud of? (please describe)Advocating to eliminate the existing Natural Lawn Ordinance and succeeding.(Athena)What do you find most fulfilling as a chapter leader?Being able to educate and empower people to utilize native plants in their home landscapes. (Athena)What do you find most challenging as a chapter leader?Time management w/ personal obligations and leadership duties. Not being able to follow through on many of my big ideas due to time. (Athena)Late last year, Wild Ones introduced new branded assets and updated core messaging. The rebranding included a refined mission statement that reflects our evolving organizational culture and goals: Wild Ones promotes native landscapes through education, advocacy and collaborative action. We invite chapter leaders to share their thoughts about how Wild Ones national board and staff can support chapter efforts in fulfilling our three mission pillars.It would be great to have more Wild Ones branded educational handouts that could come from national.(Athena)What educational tools or resources provided by the national organization would help your chapter promote native landscapes more effectively?Printable literature. 1-page handouts, etc. Native plant alternatives How can Wild Ones national organization better support your chapter's advocacy efforts to influence local policies and promote native landscapes?In what ways can Wild Ones national facilitate stronger partnerships between chapters and other organizations to enhance collaborative efforts for native landscaping initiatives?* If Wild Ones national office could provide one resource (e.g., a tool, template, guidance, policy, etc.) to make managing your chapter's administrative work easier, what would it be? (please describe)Action Items: Next Meeting  - Date: January 16, 2025 via Zoom