2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post and Discuss bamboo events.

Moderator: needmore

User avatar
needmore
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:14 pm
Location info: 0
Bamboo Society Membership: ABS - America
Location: Kea'au, HI

Re: RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by needmore »

Roy wrote:
needmore wrote:
rfgpitt wrote:Congrats needmore!
Thanks Rick, Roy and everyone else who voted for me, I am going to roll up my sleeves and do all I can to try and help get things going. Maybe we should get our heads together and see if we can come up with some agreeable 'low hanging fruit' ideas to pursue. I'm not so naive to think that we'll do anything earth shattering in a short time but I am hopeful that we can start small, build some board cohesion and momentum. I'm the new kid on the team and will need to catch up on inner workings of the board, I do look forward to seeing the 2008 budget to see what we have to work with.
Brad,

What's your official title now and how should we address you? :D

Well, although it is my understanding that I have been elected as President of the board, I prefer to be addressed as 'Mixmaster B' but thus far my wife refuses to go along with that one, she prefers to refer to me as something that sounds similar to 'Basspole'.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
User avatar
rfgpitt
Posts: 1021
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:28 am
Location info: 24
Location: Zone 6a - SW of Pittsburgh - 15317

Re: RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by rfgpitt »

needmore wrote:Well, although it is my understanding that I have been elected as President of the board, I prefer to be addressed as 'Mixmaster B' but thus far my wife refuses to go along with that one, she prefers to refer to me as something that sounds similar to 'Basspole'.
Ha! I finally got one right, Mixmaster B was 6th on my list.....
Rick
fredgpops
Posts: 885
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:26 pm
Location info: 0
Location: plus 700ft in the Santa Cruz Mtns, 8 miles from the Pacific
35 miles S. of San Jose

RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by fredgpops »

ABS goals shd be measurable. Examples:
1) Min 3 new species introduced in U.S. (from any worldwide location)
2) Fund 1 expedition to locate new bamboo species
3) Min 1 student grad (from any worldwide location) for advanced studies of bamboo cultivation/propagation
4) Min 1 loan for 3rd world cultivation of bamboo
Rgds - Fred
Mike McG
Posts: 354
Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 1:41 pm
Location info: 71
Location: Near Brenham TXUSDA Z8b

RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by Mike McG »

Fred,

I do not disagree with your goals and would add to it that a number of bamboo a year in public gardens be genetically (DNA) identified and their characteristics keyed. But I do not think the ABS has the net income to do all this, unless perhaps you meant one of the above.

If there is extra cash, perhaps the ABS could estimate the budget required for each of these type of activities and submit it to the membership for a vote to guide their choice.

Mike near Brenham TX
fredgpops
Posts: 885
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:26 pm
Location info: 0
Location: plus 700ft in the Santa Cruz Mtns, 8 miles from the Pacific
35 miles S. of San Jose

RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by fredgpops »

Mike - It would be nice to see a kind of P&L for ABS - monies earned by activity and monies spent by activity. Re measurable goals - once agreed to, post so that those who see worth, can donate to achieve it and/or activities that generate monies can be created to fund each goal. People will donate more time and cash if they relate to, or agree to the goals. Rgds - Fred
fredgpops
Posts: 885
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:26 pm
Location info: 0
Location: plus 700ft in the Santa Cruz Mtns, 8 miles from the Pacific
35 miles S. of San Jose

RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by fredgpops »

Mike - Re the goal suggestion: What's unknown, from my perspective, is how much the ABS does from a local chapter perspective. It's kind of like whether the central government or states control things. Maybe ABS prefers more local control and activity. If I look at the auction for example, I don't see a lot of donation activity from bamboo nurseries or large private collectors. What I don't know, however, is how much these folks donate to their local chapter auctions. The Southern California Chapter, for example, has a very large and successful auction at Quail Gardens every year. They draw a huge crowd and get donations from growers and private collectors. Again, it's a case of whether the monies that the S. Cal people generate goes more towards local goals or whether
they send the majority of monies to ABS headquarters for their objectives. Re chapter auctions, maybe they should be encouraged to establish web and live auctions. Also, I wonder if the action shd not be called a rare bamboo auction to encourage more plant donations, especially from large private collectors. Rgds - Fred
User avatar
needmore
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:14 pm
Location info: 0
Bamboo Society Membership: ABS - America
Location: Kea'au, HI

RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by needmore »

Fred, it's something that I am going to get clarity on, but as I currently understand it the local chapters are separate entities from the national ABS - they do not mix monies. It strikes me as an odd arrangement and I may be mistaken but that is how I interpret the situation. Therefore a chapter can have a healthy bank account while the national ABS may have tight strings. In my industry (food cooperatives) the equivalent of a chapter must also pay national dues but apparently this is not the case with the ABS.

Every year as per the bylaws the financial activity for the national ABS is published in the magazine and sent to each member. It shows funding, expenditures and actual vs. budgeted. It was based on this data a couple of years back that I posted how I did not think the ABS currently has the funds to do anything significant with importation and as I recall you seemed to have a different impression - possibly the West Coast chapters have healthy bank accounts that belong to the chapter but I know nothing about that as chapters are discreet entities.

I think that your goals are spot on with the ABS pursuing its mission and I would add a couple more, as Mike suggested I think there is a need for DNA research to try to improve species identification which could perhaps be initiated by student research grants. It concerns me to see more & more how bamboo products are being marketed as 'green' products when this is not always the case. Some bamboo fibre products are anything but green products, plus bamboo harvests in India and elsewhere are not always renewable/sustainable ventures and are more like clear cutting of native forest without regard to the future- more emphasis should be placed on plantation grown, sustainable agriculture.

I think that a certification standard & process should be established, one that could use the 'fair trade' or 'organic' certification process as models so that consumers can be provided with truly green alternative products. I think that the ABS in conjunction with INBAR could be the leader on this issue, could get positive national PR, would gain credibility and possibly a boost in member interest. Clearly I am excited about the publicity that bamboo products are enjoying but the whole story is not being told and down the road this will be an issue causing negative publicity.

But back to finances, I believe that currently all money available to the national ABS comes from member dues & the auction. Therefore the only way to implement new projects would be to try and reallocate expenditures of existing revenues (I don't think there is much opportunity here) and to create new ways for generating revenues (I think there IS opportunity here). Creating a plan for importation etc. may well be ways to raise additional funds earmarked for specific projects, the projects may spark new member interest on and on.

I qualify this post with the fact that my statements are based on my current impressions that may or may not be correct - Bill any thing you can add?
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
User avatar
bambooweb
Site Admin
Posts: 1583
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am
Location info: 1
Bamboo Society Membership: ABS - America
Location: Zone 5 in WA State
Contact:

RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by bambooweb »

The ABS funds come from three sources: Member Dues, The plant Auction, and Donations. The chapters keep their money from plant sales, auctions, and other fund raisers plus their share of dues ($15 per member).
The big ticket grants are normally funded by the ABS and a number of chapters. For example a mealybug study in California asked for $10,000 and the ABS OKed $5000 if they found matching funds. The new signs at the Bamboo Farm in Savanna GA are being funded by the ABS, SEC, Florida and others.
Jimmy Triplett is doing some interesting DNA research that might call for some renaming of plants in the future. For example all of the Pseudosasa bamboos look like they are all the same species. :shock:

Brad,
I will email you with more information to get you up to speed. Top priority looks like dealing with the quarantine regulations. I want to say more but we do not have all of he information and I do not to jump the gun with bad information.

Bill
fredgpops
Posts: 885
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:26 pm
Location info: 0
Location: plus 700ft in the Santa Cruz Mtns, 8 miles from the Pacific
35 miles S. of San Jose

RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by fredgpops »

Bill - I must be dense. How does an expenditure of 5k to study mealybugs in CA tie into the goals of ABS? Makes no sense to me. Brad - goes back to what I see as ABS establishing measurable goals that specifically benefit the world of bamboo. FYI - California currently requires inspection of all plants for the Brown Australian Apple Moth and Coast Oak Disease. Inspectors I have interfaced with have not indicated mealybugs are a big deal in California, which seems to make the expenditure even less meaningful. No wonder there are no funds to bring new species into the U.S. Rgds - Fred
User avatar
rfgpitt
Posts: 1021
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:28 am
Location info: 24
Location: Zone 6a - SW of Pittsburgh - 15317

RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by rfgpitt »

Interesting info Fred - and considering you're in CA......

Would be nice if the entire membership got to vote on where expenditures like this go.

Fred,
You got two new ones in the auction anyway - and thanks for donating all those plants.

Rick

edit: With the plants Fred won & donated, he factored in on about 15% of the auction proceeds!
Rick
User avatar
bambooweb
Site Admin
Posts: 1583
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am
Location info: 1
Bamboo Society Membership: ABS - America
Location: Zone 5 in WA State
Contact:

RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by bambooweb »

Fred,
I should have been more specific. The study is for the eradication of the Bamboo Mealybug Palicultor lumpurensis. It is now in Southern California and Florida and might be in Texas. The study is to see if it can be eradicated by the use of synthetic nicotine before it spreads to the rest of the country.

Bill
User avatar
Roy
Posts: 3285
Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 3:15 pm
Location info: 6
Location: Tampa, Florida, USA,............Florida's SunCoast <Zone 9B-10A>

Re: RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by Roy »

bambooweb wrote:Fred,
I should have been more specific. The study is for the eradication of the Bamboo Mealybug Palicultor lumpurensis. It is now in Southern California and Florida and might be in Texas. The study is to see if it can be eradicated by the use of synthetic nicotine before it spreads to the rest of the country.

Bill
It's just a matter of time before I get it at my place. Every bamboo I bring to my place, I put the bamboo on plastic mats and keep them spayed and give them daily drenching of chemicals for about 2 months before I start intergrating them into my stock plants. I think this problem is worse than the Mosaic Potex Virus.

I know the Bamboo Mealybug Palicultor lumpurensis is at one place about 4 miles south of me and one northeast of me about 6 miles. I gave a start of B. oldhamii to one of the local gardens about 10 years ago. The plant looked great for the first 6 years, but the last 4 it hasn't looked to great. I went and took some pictures and found Bamboo Mealybug Palicultor lumpurensis:

Image
--------------------------
Roy Rogers
Southern Tampania de la Floridana Universidad (STFU)
STFU Motto: All Bamboos are not Created Equal; @ STFU, the Search Continues
**********
:wave: ROY'S BAMBOO LIST
fredgpops
Posts: 885
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:26 pm
Location info: 0
Location: plus 700ft in the Santa Cruz Mtns, 8 miles from the Pacific
35 miles S. of San Jose

RE: 2007 ABS Convention Schedule

Post by fredgpops »

Bill - thanks for the clarification. The issue is bang for the buck. 5k, I think, is more than what was generated by the latest ABS auction. My guess is that the S.Cal auction pulled in at least 5 times the money, so the question becomes, shd local chapters be responsible for local issues. Let the ABS (central) deal with big issues effecting the U.S and or the world. It's not your deal so don't feel like I am picking on you. You are doing a a heck of a job. Rgds - Fred
Post Reply