MCMGA Board Minutes for April 28th, 2026

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6:00pm via zoom

Attendees:
Carole Hardy, Cynthia Chase, Rich Becker, Linda Goldser, Kim Butchereit, Jen Hazen, Sarah Bennett, Jack Lazareck, Winnie Mauch, Lisa Martins, John Jordan, Heidi Nichols, Hannah Hudson

Discussions:

  1. Acceptance of Board minutes from March 24th, 2026

    • Motion to Approve: Cynthia Chase

    • Seconded: Carole Hardy

  2. Summary of Educational Events to date for 2026: Carole shared that thus far, four student classes have been held with eight to ten new volunteers teaching them. Six more classes remain, which will eventually reach 250 students. In the Garden classes are being held every Sunday until October. Carole noted that we ought to be reaching the broader community so that they know we’re holding these. She mentioned that we can post to the PDX Parents and Events calendars as well as Bluesky to reach more people.

    Linda shared that the interns learned about the upcoming IE sale, the In the Garden classes and the welcome event being held on June 7th. Jen also noted that she’s seeing higher community involvement and many questions.

  3. Program Update: Kim shared that the recertification stickers are going to be sent out and all the requirements for the interns will be verified soon. Name tags are being given out at the events and then mailed as necessary; interns are strongly encouraged to wear name tags at all events.

    Kim shared that the OSU Seed to Supper program co-sponsored with Unite Oregon to offer translation services so that all members can receive the relevant information. Kim noted that Unite Oregon is a necessary program for supporting the immigrant community and that teaching in action is what Multnomah county is looking for and wants to encourage. Kim will be making hard copies of select portions of the Master Gardener manual to share at the monthly classes. She’d also like to develop a curriculum for this program to make it easier for new volunteers to teach. Kim noted that she’s looking for help with this program.

  4. IE Sale Update: Rich offered an update for plants and logistics noting that the banners and signs are going up on Monday and all tasks have been allocated to the appropriate people. Jen shared the 2025 - 2026 market maps and any revisions are being sent back by Friday. Linda mentioned that we have five volunteer slots remaining with three of those being customer service. Cynthia asked the group to share the IE sale poster on social media to reach a broader audience.

  5. Updates for the Member Survey: Lisa shared the results of the membership engagement survey: 179 members were included and 37 responded, noting that though it’s a lower turnout, there was a lot of important information shared. Quarterly get-togethers and farm tours ranked highest for activities the members are looking for; additional trainings were also mentioned. Lisa noted that the most common barriers to participation include personal schedule and inconvenient location and that afternoons and evenings are best for most people for event attendance. Next steps include asking for intern feedback when they’re in the classes to have a holistic picture of what the community would like to see.

  6. Membership Update: Heidi shared that the membership numbers are within the normal range, though slightly lower than last year. She sent out the interest survey to the respective groups and she’s otherwise finished with sending out renewal reminder emails. The membership directory is going to be put together by Lisa and Heidi in the near future.

  7. Demo Garden Update: Linda shared that we’ve had a few weeks of cool crop harvests, about 100lbs of mostly lettuce. We’re heading into the warmer crops and the native crops are in bloom. She noted that the interns are energetic and engaged when they’re there but are younger than in previous years so many work day jobs and have less availability. Every Thursday evening and a monthly Saturday is open to the volunteers.

  8. Communications and Social Media Update: Carole shared that the social media team is meeting on 4/29 to understand the social media strategy and tools.

  9. Fiscal Review: Carole shared that the next steps for the review would be documenting the processes in more granular detail. Heidi mentioned that we had this documented many years ago but might be too old to be useful. Carole suggested that we review what we have on file and suggested a time to meet, potentially in July when it’s quieter for those involved.

Next meeting May 26th at 6pm

Meeting led by: Carole Hardy
Adjourned at: Carole Hardy
Notes taken by: Sarah Bennett
Minutes approved on: 5/26/26