Call to order: 11:00 PDT [via Zoom]

 

(1) Quorum (= 7 voting Directors minimum, out of 13 total):

Directors present (9): Pierce, Edwards, Connor, Banks, Rogers, Meckes, Boeraeve, Sanders, King

Directors absent (4): Barrett, Sansome, Kohler, Ramsay

Others present: Juan Martinez (Guatemala, At-Large Director candidate)

 

(2) Approval of previous meeting’s minutes: Approved (Motion: King, Second: Meckes)

 

(3) ABS Conference October 2026 (Meckes):

– Need a few volunteers at the event.

– Registrations so far: 61 total, incl. 14 complimentary, 1 Fri only and 5 Sat only. Tour bus 18 of 50 available seats. Engraved name tag deadline is 21 Sep, 63 ordered so far. Event has one sponsor.

 

(4) ABS Conference 2027 (King, Connor):

– Approximate dates are from 12 or 13 Oct 2027 through 17 Oct 2027, somewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area.

– Evaluating venues, transportation and bamboo nurseries and/or groves. Looking at SF downtown and in the North Bay.

 

(5) Publications:

– Continue with current printer (Camelot) vs. new company? Mark Sanders will follow up with Michael Bartholomew regarding ABS needs, including mailing.

 

(6) Species Source List (All):

– Last print issue was in 2018.

– Last vendor update was at the end of 2025.

– King suggested updating the online version which has been on bambooweb.info but now is nonfunctional.

– Most Directors urged publication of a printed version soon without introducing another delay, since this is a very useful ABS publication for members and the public. Projected publication date is April 2027.

 

(7) Bamboo flowering records (Connor):

– John Tkach (SEC) is compiling a database from several sources including Betty Shor’s flowering records (which are currently available in database format on bamboo.org). This is a large project and is ongoing, and will eventually be incorporated into bamboo.org as well.

 

(8) Call for Chapter and Committee Reports (Connor, King):

– Request submission by a week before the Annual Meeting next month.

– Any items requiring discussion at the annual Board meeting should be flagged and will be removed from the consent agenda and placed under New Business. Those which are only reports will remain in the consent agenda but will be printed in full in the post-meeting minutes.

 

(9) ABS At-Large Director ballots (Meckes):

– 19 received so far.

– A further reminder with links to the ballots will be sent to all members.

 

(10) International (Boeraeve):

– Website for the June 2027 Rotterdam World Bamboo Congress was live as of 19 Sep.

 

Next Meeting –

ABS Board: 15 October 2026 (in person) in Hockley, Texas.

 

Adjournment: 12:00 PDT.