NYSBGA News Updates/Meeting Minutes/Financial   NYSBGA home 2007 annual meeting minutes 2006 financials Notes from NYSBGA Executive Secretary The weather did not cooperate with us for our annual meeting at the Expo in Syracuse. Although two speakers were not able to come on Thursday, the program went on, and attendance was probably more than we had anticipated. In this newsletter are the financial results for 2006, the annual business meeting minutes, and some of the reports presented by the speakers which should be of interest to you. My thanks to Regina Reickenberg, Cathy Heidenreich, Debbie Breth, and Marvin Pritts for the help in getting speakers for the program. We did finish the year with a good surplus. However membership numbers did decline this year. If you have neighbors or know of other berry growers you come in contact with please take a minute to encourage them to join NYSBGA if they are not members. The success of any organization is in the membership. If you have not renewed for 2007, please do so before the season comes. For those of you who returned the cards for the pricing survey this past fall, our thanks to you. The summary prepared by Mary Jo Kelly and presented by Marvin Pritts is in this newsletter. After many years serving on the board, Greg Spoth, Tony Weiss, and Regina Reickenberg elected not to serve additional terms. I would like to thank all three for their support while on the board. You’ll notice from the annual meeting minutes that we have one vacancy on our board – please consider becoming a board member, or let me know of someone you think would be willing to serve. A good activeand regionally balanced board is essential for any organization. Nate Nourse of Nourse Farms has put out a call for a grower from New York or the northeast to serve on the North American Strawberry Association board of directors. It is important to have our local industry represented in NASGA. You can contact Nate at 413 665 2658, or nnourse@noursefarms.com. We’ll be looking at ways to get more information out to you during the season, both by e-mail, fax, and written letters. We’ve used e-mails quite a bit for quick communication, and I’m looking for ways to improve that, since I know there have been some problems with how the messages come across on some people’s computers. I also hope to get more written notices out this season. We do plan to get more information out about local meetings, etc. during the season. We will again be sending out press releases prior to the berry seasons, and encourage the use of our website to help people locate local berry farms. Your membership needs to be current to be on the website. I hope you have a good season. Jim Altemus Executive Secretary © Copyright, Department of Horticulture, Cornell University. Cornell Cooperative Extension Berry Specialist: Cathy Heidenreich, mcm4@cornell.edu Website design: Craig Cramer cdc25@cornell.edu Mention of trade names and commercial products is for educational purposes; no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Cornell Cooperative Extension or Cornell University is implied. Pesticide recommendations are for informational purposes only and manufacturers' recommendations change. Read the manufacturers' instructions carefully before use. Cornell Cooperative Extension and Cornell University assumes no responsibility for the use of any pesticide or chemicals. Some of the links provided are not maintained by Cornell Cooperative Extension and Cornell University. Cornell Cooperative Extension and Cornell University are not responsible for information on these websites. They are included for information purposes only and no endorsement by Cornell Cooperative Extension or Cornell University is implied. Cornell Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.