NARGS Nominating Committee - 2010-2011 Members and Tasks

[Hugh MacMillan]

Dear NARGS Administrative Committee, Directors, Chapter Chairs, Newsletter Editors, Committee Members, and Web Masters,

I'm Alice Nicolson (Potomac Valley) and I'm Chair of the NARGS nominating committee. This year we have elections for the four Officer positions as well as one-third of the nine elected Board Directors. Our committee is tasked with finding candidates for President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer. These officers, plus one of the elected Directors whom the officers choose, constitute the Administrative Committee, which runs the day-to-day business of the Society.

We're looking for three new Directors of the Board to help support the NARGS Administrative Committee and keep our society running smoothly, adapting to members' changing needs and goals. Dianne Huling, Tony Reznicek, and I will finish up our three-year terms next year, and we need people to fill our positions on the Board. The job is conducted mostly by email, since most of us can't attend that many national meetings. We are basically asked to contribute our thoughts on the various issues that come up, and to vote on a few matters. Most of you are already contributing your time and ideas to your local chapters, but you may know members who might be interested in doing the same for our umbrella group, NARGS, or you may be interested in such a role for yourself.

Please suggest a couple of people whom you know who might be able to contribute to the continued development of NARGS. Send us their names and email addresses or phone numbers as soon as possible, at least before January 10. Don't worry - they won't be nominated unless they consent! We'll contact possible candidates to ask if they are willing serve, and if so, that they prepare a short gardening bio that can be published in the spring Quarterly.

Send your suggestions to any of the committee members listed below:

WA - Claire Cockcroft  claire.primula at yahoo.com
NY - Lola Horwitz         llhorwitz at gmail.com
ONT - Anna Leggatt      anna.leggatt at simpatico.ca
VA - Alice Nicolson      taxonomy at verizon.net
MN - Cheryl Philstrom  cphilstrom at frontiernet.net
CO - Nicola Ripley        nicola at bettyfordalpinegardens.org
PA - Joan Schmitt          schmitt at temple.edu
(replace ‘at’ with the ‘@’ symbol and remove spaces)


With your help, I think we'll come up with seven more good people to help keep NARGS running.

Alice Nicolson, Chair, NARGS Nominating Committee 2010-2011.

[IMYoung]

Well, the AGM and what I imagine was a great conference meeting surrounding it, has come and gone and we welcome a new President of NARGS, Peter George.
Greetings to Harvey Wrigthman, now Vice President, well known to SRGC Folks and others  as a contributor to the International Rock Gardener.

May I pass on the best wishes of those of us in Scotland to Peter in his new post?  I am sure he will work enthusiastically for NARGS in this post as he does in other capacities.
Congratulations too to all those new committee members and receipients of awards from a grateful society. Folks like Anne Spiegel, who  received the Linc and Timmy Foster Millstream Garden Award, which reads "In recognition of her outstanding rock and alpine garden."

Anne is posting photos both to the Forum here and to the SRGC Forum at this very time, sharing the  delights of the plants she is seeing on her holiday in the mountains of  Europe.
Well done, Anne!


I have posted the news of Peter's election and Anne's award to the SRGC forum, where these folks are well known.

http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=7522.new#new

[Booker]

May I just say that I'm a little taken aback that it has been left to a Scottish member to report on the AGM of the North American Rock Garden Society!  I'm extremely pleased that Maggi has duly welcomed Peter and Harvey and the other Committee members to their new posts and congratulated dear Anne on her well-deserved award, but surely someone from that side of the pond could have responded earlier?

[Peter George]

I'm embarrassed to admit that although I did write a letter which was distributed by email to NARGS Chapter Chairs, newsletter editors and other 'officers' of one kind or another, the letter was not linked on the website, nor did anyone from NARGS think to post an announcement here. To be honest, I was a bit uncomfortable making the announcement myself, as it seemed to me that it constituted a bit of self congratulations, but in retrospect, I should have. I apologize.

In any case, NARGS now has a new set of officers, and 3 new Board members, and I'm looking forward to working on strengthening the organization, improving the level of 'offerings' we make to our members and our Chapters, and increasing the level of cooperation and communication with the various rock gardening/alpine gardening organizations that populate the rest of the world.

And, of course, I'd like to thank Maggi for her thoughtful post, and her kindness in making sure that the NARGS election got proper publicity. I suspect that this situation will not repeat itself.

I'm going to use this Forum as a venue for sharing information about our efforts and initiatives, so pay attention and PLEASE respond if you support or oppose any ideas we bring forward. We welcome advise, supportive or critical, and we need it to make the progress we must make over the next 2 years.

[Booker]

To be honest, I was a bit uncomfortable making the announcement myself ...

My comments were not, in any way, directed towards you Peter ... it just seemed strange that there wasn't comment or report of any kind on the conference and/or the AGM on this 'global' forum.  It is not unique to NARGS ... the AGM of the Alpine Garden Society drew neither comment nor report on the Society website.

[Peter George]

Cliff, I didn't perceive them to be personal in any way, but the reality is that as President, even for a few days, the responsibility resided with me to make an announcement that was directed at a wider audience than the Chapter Chairs, etc. within NARGS. Rest assured that there will be a remedy for the situation in the future, and my sense is that the website and this Forum will be the primary venues through which we'll communicate to the rock-gardening world at large.