(1) Quorum (8 voting Directors minimum, out of 14 total):

Directors present (12): Pierce, Edwards, Fox, King, Connor, Banks, Rogers, Boeraeve, Clever, Hollenback, Sanders, King

Directors absent (2): Simmons, Li

Others present:

Carole Meckes (Co-Treasurer, Membership Chair)

Autumn Ramsay (PNWC member and Technical Committee)

 

(2) ABS2024, the ABS 2024 Annual Meeting (Clever) –

– The program is set and promotion can now start.

– Susanne Lucas contacted the Missouri Botanical Garden (MoBot) about a Fargesia planting program and grooming the bamboos on the garden’s island.

– Local volunteers are needed for various jobs.

– Carole Meckes can be contacted to find roommates for Moonrise hotel rooms.

– James Clever has booked a suite for the Board meeting; the hotel can provide extra chairs on request.

– The ABS will not be required to carry liability insurance for the MoBot meeting.

– Lawton Rogers enjoyed the side activities (crafts, art) at the Georgia meeting and asked about adding these to ABS2024; James Clever noted the requirement for a volunteer to follow through. Ian Connor suggested the Friday of the meeting would be the only day possible to add extra activities.

 

(3) World Bamboo Congress 2024 (Taiwan) (Lucas) –

– A flyer/poster for the WBC attendees promoting the ABS 2024 meeting is being shepherded by Ian Connor and will be available at the Taiwan event.

 

(4) ABS2025 ABS Conference – no definite plans yet.

 

(5) Species Source List (Bill) –

– All data have been input and it has been sent for proofreading.

– Advertisements need to be added.

– Carole Meckes will check the membership status of the listed sources.

 

(6) ABS Mission Statement Revision (All) –

– David King clarified the difference between a “mission” statement and a “vision” statement. Organizations usually have both. Mission: A sentence briefly stating the (very general) plan/process to achieve specific goals; Vision: a view of the world after the mission has been accomplished and the goals reached. An example: if the mission is to disseminate information, the vision is that the target audience will appreciate and use that information.

– Sample mission statements, both human- and AI-generated, were presented.

– Ian Connor and Autumn Ramsay will continue to consider options for a mission statement and present them to the Board.

 

(7) Membership (Meckes) –

– Current ABS membership is 374.

 

(8) Reports from ABS Chapters and International Director – 

– Luc Boeraeve traveled in Indonesia, especially Java and Bali. Bamboo is being used to construct more resorts than individual residences. A  bamboo tissue culture facility (or lab/nursery) in Yogyakarta is able to produce a million bamboo plants per year.

– LGCC (Edwards): The Chapter is looking for a new treasurer and has 2 new board members; quarterly get-togethers are planned.

– LGCC’s Avery Island event (Pierce): There were artists present who were working with bamboo for the first time.

– TBSC (Meckes): A Brazilian speaker presented a talk on “Bamboo in Brazil” at Avery Island on the Sunday of the grove grooming event.

 

Next Meetings –

ABS Board: 19 May 2024 via Zoom.

ABS Tech Committee: (not scheduled).

 

Adjournment: 13:00 PDT.