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Post by philagardener on Feb 27, 2015 20:22:43 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that. I had high hopes for this organization.
It seems like there were some changes to the final slate . . .
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Post by 12540dumont on Feb 28, 2015 13:30:04 GMT -5
Here are some of the agenda items. To comment, please go to Grassrootsseednetwork.org
Here I have listed the items that have been suggested so far for the Agenda. It is by no means complete, but is rather a beginning. I urge all general members to give thought to this and put forward any items which you wish to see discussed at that meeting. Although the by-laws allow for last-minute additions, if items are posted well in advance, there will be more time to discuss them so that when we finally meet we’ll be able to transact business more efficiently and have fewer items that need to be tabled because we feel they need more time for consideration. Likewise if you have thoughts or questions about the existing list, please put them forward. Unlike the annual meeting, this is the part where everyone gets to weigh in so that the Board can be aware of your wishes and concerns.
The first group of items deals with basic housekeeping issues that need to be addressed before we can move forwards. The second group deals with various ideas for improvement, outreach, and membership-building, while third group deals with possible projects we might wish to initiate. That group in particular is very open-ended, and I have placed them in that sequence so that if we’re unable to address every issue adequately in our first meeting, we will nevertheless have all the basics in place to continue functioning.
Choose a moderator for the current meeting
Elect officers
Examine the by-laws, considering any proposed changes, and approve them, after which seek the approval of the general membership. Suggested changes include:
To establish provision for referendum
To change the wording of categories of participation from: “sustainer” to “subscriber” and “dues” to “fees”; possibly a third designation of “sustainer” to include true donations beyond what we require
To have one set fee for both categories; likewise for print edition
GSN will own no real estate or major assets
GSN will have no geographic centre
Dedicated funds policy: donations by any individual (beyond some amount?) which are specifically earmarked by that donor must be placed in a separate dedicated account and may not be used for any other purpose without the express permission of that donor.
Seek incorporation under 501c3; find someone who can initiate that process, hopefully a volunteer.
Approve the POLICY (not a by-law, I believe) of a 6-year 6-region rotation of the annual meeting, and establish a fund for travel expenses.
Provide for a midyear “virtual” meeting.
Discuss the next (2016) annual meeting: where and who will host it?
Approve or improve the website: graphics, logo, change plant categories, make listing and editing easier.
Modify “Pure Seed Only” policy to allow for unstable breeder-lines, properly identified.
Clarify and add No Division (Lister-Grown-Seed Only) policy
Discuss ideas for membership-building, including:
including foreign members
including/enabling off-line members (address Forum access issue)
determine our estimated lowest per member (plus some margin/cushion) and adjust our fee to approximate. Not owning real estate, having no permanent salaried staff, and other frugal measures might help to reduce that.
Although we encourage members to self-list (to save money), they should have the option of sending theirs in to Ashley as hard-copy, attached doc, etc., for HER to enter for them. That option should be clearly advertised. Our current system is keeping many potential members away.
Assign someone to oversee the hard-copy edition, including shopping for cheapest printing and working with Ashley to compare it with the SSE/WY.
Discuss possible educational and promotional activities which might include:
a speakers’ bureau of members who would be willing to offer presentations at events in their region.
b. regional demonstration sites (public visits, open-house days, etc.) at
individual members’ gardens/farms.
2. Consider forming a “Curators’ Guild”, a small network of individuals who collectively provide a secure backup for those endangered varieties which SSE has concluded are not their priorities.
My apologies for the terrible formatting! It's just a list; organisation is not critical at this point.
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Post by philagardener on Feb 28, 2015 17:02:31 GMT -5
It is good to hear things move forward but who was "seated" on the board of GRSN? (The GRSN web page does not say.)
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Post by flowerweaver on Mar 2, 2015 11:35:59 GMT -5
philagardener and everyone, here is the current list of those elected to the board of GSN: Roberta Bailey : 1 year Will Bonsall : 3 years Melissa Hilsgen : 3 years Irena Hollowell : 2 years Daniel MacPhee : 3 years Nancy Wygant : 2 years Sage Austin (me): 2 years Dayna McDaniels and Jim Tjepkma, both assigned one year terms, resigned after being elected, leaving two board seats to be filled. There has been confusion on whether or not the board is technically seated because the election was rushed and someone was inadvertently left off the ballot. There seemed to be general consensus in order to be democratic and transparent the election should be done over to include that person, but she said she was OK with the oversight and felt the group should just move forward. Our first conference call will be later this week, to discuss issues, prioritize and assign tasks. I will post here as time allows to keep everyone informed of the decisions and progress. I will do my best to represent you. Please feel free to PM me through this site if you have any comments or concerns, in addition to adding your voice to the GSN forum.
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Post by philagardener on Mar 2, 2015 19:55:08 GMT -5
Thanks, flowerweaver , for the update. We look forward to seeing how things develop. Congratulations and best wishes! |
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Post by nastarana on May 3, 2015 12:10:14 GMT -5
I take it this organization is still a going concern and I can send dues (as a non-seed saver, just someone who would like to help) to the same address as last year? I also hope Will Bonsall still has some seeds for 'Vernandon' filet beans, some of the best tasting tiny string beans I have ever grown.
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Post by flowerweaver on May 16, 2015 11:50:46 GMT -5
Here is the most current update on the Grassroots Seed Network I sent out to the listing members. Unfortunately I don't have access yet to the list of all members. I'm hoping board members that have access to the GSN website will post it there for all to see.
Basically, I've convinced them that the annual face-to-face meeting requirement set forth in the (yet un-ratified) bylaws creates a financial burden to people outside of the New England area (such as myself) for travel. Perhaps when the organization reaches a level of financial security travel expenses can be offset, but until then the world of technology allows us to hold teleconferences without issue. They have agreed to this and our first board teleconference went very well.
I am sincerely hoping that some of you outside of the New England area would be willing to fill the two remaining board seats so that business can proceed. You do, however, need to be a listing member. There is at least one person in the New England area interested, but the majority of us would like to see representation from other parts of the country. If the travel requirement was holding you back, it is no longer an issue.
Here's the update that was emailed:
Greetings Grassroots Seed Network Members!
It's been a while since the Board has communicated with the general membership of Grassroots Seed Network. We held our first teleconference a couple months ago, and have since been actively discussing exciting new ideas for making Grassroots Seed Network the premiere seed saving organization we have all envisioned.
Voting members were emailed that we are seeking candidates for consideration to fill the two Board vacancies before proceeding with a new election. So far we have not received any response. In an effort to make this organization truly national, we are hoping to attract members representative to areas outside of New England where most of the current Board resides.
If you are interested in filling one of the two vacant board seats please contact me or any one of the board members in the next two weeks. We would like to hear from you by May 23rd.
We have also come to the conclusion that the proposed Bylaws should be amended to drop the required face-to-face annual Board meeting. In today's world of technology virtual meetings are more convenient and affordable, would allow general members to attend, and encourage candidates from all areas who may have been held back by financial concerns.
Currently, our biggest and most urgent business has been correcting problems with the website--particularly in listing and accessing the Source List, which was not functioning as intended. Several tech people are working on the site now. We have been discussing the idea of creating a more friendly, comprehensive database that would allow for consistency, ease of input, and superior searching capability.
We’ve also been working on a number of ideas to increase membership. General member input and ideas are always welcome to help guide our decisions.
--Sage Austin
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Post by MikeH on May 17, 2015 10:25:28 GMT -5
We’ve also been working on a number of ideas to increase membership. General member input and ideas are always welcome to help guide our decisions.--Sage Austin I've given up on trying to join. I was told that Paypal wasn't an option since it was too expensive. This isn't rocket science. If you don't want to bear the cost of Paypal, simply add the cost of Paypal to the membership cost of those who want/need to use Paypal. Biodiversity isn't just in seeds; it's also in seedsavers. You should be making it easy for folks outside the US to join. Am I a bit grumpy on the subject? Yep. |
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Post by flowerweaver on May 17, 2015 14:23:26 GMT -5
MikeH there are many of us forward thinkers on the board working to convince the less technically inclined to move to more modern ways of doing things. I have been pushing for a relational database instead of a costly annual printed publication (looks like it might be in addition to) and I would like to see the PayPal option. Part of the problem of being a start up organization is we are short of funds to afford infrastructure building on the website that needs doing, and are relying on volunteers who don't know how to do everything that needs doing. Personally I feel some board members are overly concerned about losing the non technically inclined and are instead losing out on even more members by not embracing it. Just know that I understand your pain and continue to push for a more modern organization. I also feel strongly we need to fill these two seats with folks outside of New England for that very kind of diversity. They must be listing members to be eligible. I hope some of the folks here will consider responding.
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coppice
gardener
gardening curmudgeon
Posts: 149
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Post by coppice on May 18, 2015 11:45:34 GMT -5
I have registered. More as I get more info.
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coppice
gardener
gardening curmudgeon
Posts: 149
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Post by coppice on Jun 27, 2015 10:29:58 GMT -5
More than a month has passed, and other than a recruiting note (to join the board, which is not an option for me) I have heard nothing.
I see no route to contribute. Is this group even remotely functional at all?
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Post by zeedman on Nov 21, 2015 16:58:43 GMT -5
Well, its been awhile, so I went to the website to see what progress had been made, and to (hopefully) join & begin listing my collection. The website appears to be inactive; no recent posts on the forum, and the seed list - which according to the site, should be visible even to non-members - shows nothing. I sent an email to Ashley inquiring as to the current status of the organization, and have received no reply. Has any progress been made? Is the organization viable, or did it fall apart during startup?
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Post by MikeH on Nov 21, 2015 17:57:23 GMT -5
Well, its been awhile, so I went to the website to see what progress had been made, and to (hopefully) join & begin listing my collection. The website appears to be inactive; no recent posts on the forum, and the seed list - which according to the site, should be visible even to non-members - shows nothing. I sent an email to Ashley inquiring as to the current status of the organization, and have received no reply. Has any progress been made? Is the organization viable, or did it fall apart during startup? Sadly, I can only conclude one thing - it's dead. I get the sense that there was infighting or at least disagreement and egos at work. If that's the case, folks should have their butts kicked. |
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Post by flowerweaver on Nov 21, 2015 18:46:51 GMT -5
I am still officially on the board--strongly questioning for how long--and I can give you a candid personal review: this seems to be a well-intentioned, disorganized group of mostly east coast folks shepherded by an old school mentality. We've had only one teleconference, the one I mentioned quite a while ago. I will get a rush of emails for a few days, then nothing for months.
Although I had hopes they would fill the two vacant seats with representatives from other parts of the country no one came forward, and more east coast folks have been hand picked. That means I'm the only board member located in a very different region (the southwest).
Those board members like myself that were forward thinking have grown tired of trying to convince the others that this is a prime opportunity to grow GSN in a modern direction--PayPal, relational online database, to move away from a printed catalog, etc. From what I can tell they are very much set on making this an identical organization to Seed Savers.
The website isn't being updated because there is no money to hire help, and no one is seeking grant money (as far as I know) to kickstart this. Having built websites and databases myself, I'm not convinced the help has been effective in what they are doing.
I think they are planning to move forward with the election re-do, but I haven't heard anything more on that recently. I will likely remove my name from the ballot since my suggestions go nowhere.
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Post by reed on Nov 21, 2015 20:01:16 GMT -5
My rich sister the doctor has lived in Maine for many years, you can almost spit in the ocean from her porch and catch lobsters from her lawn, even though the latter is technically illegal. She is convinced that the Atlantic oscillation has become increasing erratic in recent decades. Wonder how purebred heirlooms will adapt to that.
Anybody in the market for luxury digs on the North Atlantic? My sister is moving to Colorado, can't say I blame her but I'll miss the lobsters.
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