7/15/23
Summary for the July RCMG Board of Directors Meeting
In lieu of a regular monthly meeting the Board of Directors was joined by three past chairpersons (Frank Dolejsi (2018), Susan Mitchell (2021), and Nate Galloway (2022)) and a member-at-large (Alex Meyer) for a four-hour retreat on July 11, 2023 to discuss the RCMG 501(c)(3) Corporation bylaws. The meeting was held at the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District headquarters in Little Canada.
The next Board Meeting will be held online via Zoom at 6:30 PM on August 8th . All members are welcome to attend Board meetings.
RCMG 501(c)(3) Non-Profit
The purpose of the extended retreat was to review a draft revision of the RCMG 501(c)(3) Corporation bylaws.
Some RCMG volunteers might not realize that the RCMG Board of Directors is actually the governing body of the Ramsey County Master Gardeners nonprofit corporation, which is separate from the University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program of Ramsey County. In fact, we are the ONLY county program in Minnesota which also has a separate nonprofit corporation. The RCMG corporation was formed in 1995 as a means to control and manage funds donated to our organization and the monies we earn via fundraising.
For over six months a subcommittee has been updating and revising the Corporation’s Bylaws in order to clarify the relationship between our non-profit Corporation and the County Program. At the retreat, the subcommittee shared a “roles and responsibilities” chart and updated language for the bylaws addressing questions such as who is a voting member of the Corporation, what is the make-up of the Board, what are the expectations for the annual meeting of the Corporation, and how are committees formed.
A draft of the bylaws will be presented at the September monthly meeting, with a member comment and review period to follow. The membership will vote on the revised bylaws in October and results of the vote will be announced in November.
2023 Board Leadership: Sandy McDonald (Chair), Julie Bechtold (Vice-Chair), Gretchen Hesli (Secretary), Kathy Passe, (Treasurer), Jane Carlstrom (Education Chair), Simba Blood (Education Co-Chair), Judi Ginter (Membership Chair), Karen Randall (Membership Co-Chair), Stacy Sola (Communication Chair), Nanette Boudreau (Communication Co-Chair), Darren Lochner (Program Coordinator).