CACTUS AND SUCCULENT SOCIETY OF SAN JOSE
September 10, 2017 Board of Directors Meeting Minutes


ATTENDEES: Roger Lane, Kathi Cambiano, Terri Koike, Sonia Dyer. Linda Delgado’s taking care of her sick mother, so Sonia’s doing the minutes today.


- Volunteer Opportunities -
      Show and Sale: Sonia has prepared signup sheets for club members to sign up on during today’s club meeting. She will publish this list separately to Jaan and Peter, and also in the next newsletter to remind club members of what they signed up for.
      Post-Meeting Cleanup: Monica Moran and Dan Martinez have been assisting Kathi with this during the last several months. Sonia reports that Dan and Monica have now agreed to take on full responsibility for this from Kathi. Sonia will continue to be present thru park-ranger approval of the condition of the room post-meeting.
      Mini-Show: Therese plans to move away around January, so we need a replacement to start learning the ropes from her now. Kathi is working on a written job description. Kathi reports that Bill Lemke has expressed some interest. Sonia will contact him directly to confirm. We also agreed it would be a good idea to have a backup mini-show person to assist. Sonia will advertise availability of this position in the next club newsletter.


- Postcards -
      Kathi has gotten 1100 postcards made to send out to customers about the October Show and Sale. She reports that the only problem she had getting them made is that they were supposed to be ready Wednesday, but the printer didn’t have them ready until Friday. She has also had 300 flyers printed up for distribution to libraries, etc.
      Roger brought stamps and address labels for the postcards.
      Roger reports that he has been continuing to take all club members that he’s aware of off the postcard distribution list, as it’s intended to get non-members to attend the show and sale. Members should get their information through the club newsletter, and should earn ShowBucks by volunteering.
      We need to look into putting Roger’s non-member distribution list on the club’s Dropbox page, in case something unexpected happens to Roger.
      We agreed that Roger will mail out the postcards two weeks before the show and sale. If we send them out sooner, people will lose them or forget.


- October Show and Sale -
      Old Business:
            Third cash register – Roger confirms that the Blosses have been made aware of this requirement.
            ASK ME badges – Linda has reported to Sonia that she has made 6 so far, and will make the rest by the show. Kathi showed us some fun cactus stickers she’s bought to hand out to kids. We agreed this would be a great ice-breaker to get ASK ME badge wearers to talk to customers.
            Encourage newbies to put plants in show, per Jaan’s previous request – Sonia will include this in the next newsletter just before the show and sale.
            Previous board complaint to Peter about certain people said to be setting up after sale opens on Saturdays – We discussed Peter’s response email, that everyone has to set up before the sale opens, either Friday nite or early Saturday. Any confusion may be due to early-bird shoppers mingling with vendors still setting up before the show officially opens at 9am on Saturday morning. Those entering the show have to set up Friday night, not Saturday am, due to the work involved in arranging the plants. There have been NO waivers of these policies for anyone. Sonia will include mention of these policies in the next newsletter.

- October Show and Sale -
      New Business:
      Peter’s request – stop early-birds. How to communicate policy with customers and vendors?
            The previous policy of the board was that non-member early-bird shoppers are allowed under 2 conditions: that they understand they cannot pay for their selections until the cash registers open for business after the show officially opens, and that they not get in the way of vendors who are still finishing setup on Saturday morning. The board is now in agreement with our Sales Director that we need to stop early-birds because it’s creating too much aggravation. SF does this by locking their door until the sale officially opens. Since we also have a single entry point, we can do likewise, or at least have a monitor allowing only vendors and club members access until official opening time.
            The board agrees that there should be a “no earlybirds!” note on the postcards that are sent out to non-member customers. However, the postcards for the Oct show have already been printed. The board acknowledges that some customers have grown accustomed to shopping early, and some of them are big spenders, so we are loathe to antagonize them by abruptly stopping early-bird shopping with no advance warning. So we WILL continue to allow early-birds for the October sale only, and stop it thereafter.
            For the October show, a greeter will explain the pending change to early-bird customers as they arrive, so they know not to come early next time. The web site and social media will say this. Future postcards will say this. Peter is requested to also convey this pending policy change to vendors. Sonia will mention this policy change in the next club newsletter.

      Jaan’s request – stop non-volunteers from shopping on Friday night.
            Roger confirms that there are some people doing this, and that they are, in most cases, known repeat offenders. After the board meeting Bill Munkacsy said the same. The board is in agreement with our Show Director that only club members who are volunteering at the show and sale (which includes setup and tear-down) are entitled to privileged shopping opportunities on Friday night after set-up. Club members or former club members showing up on Friday night just to shop, or just to knosh on free pizza is not acceptable, and is not fair to those who are busy volunteering their time and energy.
            The question becomes how to enforce this policy. The board is agreed that anyone spotting such a suspected offender directly confront them about it with an explanation of club policy, and the opportunity to sign up on the written Volunteer Sign-Up Sheets maintained by the club President. In lieu of confronting them directly, they may also report them to club President Sonia Dyer, who will then confront them directly.
            Sonia will include mention of this policy in the next club newsletter.

      Roger’s request – vendors getting ShowBucks.
      Roger says he has noticed that some vendors also are being given ShowBucks, in addition to their 75% of sales, and requests a policy clarification.
            The board is in agreement that the purpose of ShowBucks is to encourage non-vendor volunteers to contribute their time, and that vendors are required to volunteer their time as part of their contract for the 75%.
            The question becomes how to handle this for the very-small-vendor table. This is a table or two allocated for use by club members who wish to sell <=20 items. We don’t want to encourage club members to stop volunteering their time just because they have 3 plants for sale on the small-vendor table. The board is in agreement that club members selling 20 items or less on the small-vendor table will still get ShowBucks if they are also volunteering their time.
            Jaan and Peter are requested by the board to follow this policy in future. Sonia to mention this policy in the next newsletter.


- Field Trips -
      Any questions about Succulent Extravaganza Sept 29/30? No questions from the board members. This field trip was discussed in the last newsletter, and will also be in the next newsletter. Due to this field trip at end of Sept, plus the Show & Sale in mid-Oct, there will be no early October general meeting or board meeting.
      Start planning potential January 13 visit to Huntington Gardens. We ran out of time before getting to this last agenda item in today’s board meeting, however, the Monterey Bay club is highly interested in joining us and helping with planning which nurseries to stop at, etc. Tentatively expecting attendees to pay $50 towards cost of a bus, plus the cost of their own room and meals and plants. Clubs would pick up the rest of the cost of the bus, driver’s tip, and driver’s motel room. Admission to Huntington would be free for those wearing their club membership badge. More to follow.