Mike Bernard Acadiana Chapter
Minutes of Chapter Meeting February 7, 2012
The new year was kicked off by the 14 attendees of the first meeting of 2012. Ann opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and assuring everyone that we would we have fun this year while encouraging more participation.
Attention was directed to the Photo Board and a call was made for any photos that had not been posted. The members were encouraged to participate in the photo contest and were told that if they did not have a way to print their blooms to email them to Buddy or Ann and they would print them and bring them to the meeting for posting.
The refreshments for the meeting were provided by Tiffany and Ann. Ann made mention of the Refreshment Sheet and members were asked to sign up for the month they would like to provide the refreshments.
A call was made for anyone who had not submitted their birthday to Jennie. The drawings were then made for January and February. The winner for January was Theresa Gore and Inez Barras was the February winner. They had the choice of a plant or a hibiscus tote bag. Both opted for the plants.
Point Schedules were distributed and a discussion ensued on the ways to earn points by attending and participating in various events during the year. The point tallies will be available at each meeting and a prize will be presented to the winner at the last meeting of 2012.
A list of upcoming events was distributed and members were encouraged to participate in as many of the events as possible.
Buddy presented the Treasurer’s Report and discussed ways that funds will be accrued through the year.
Buddy announced the Dupont Nursery Visit slated for Saturday, February 25th. Handouts were distributed concerning the event. Members were reminded of the importance of abiding by the rules and procedures stipulated by the nursery. A discussion ensued concerning proper attire due to the sharp edges of the tables and the wet floors in the nursery. Mention was made of the Sign Up sheet for those planning to attend. There will be group gathering in the JC Penney parking lot on Louisiana Avenue for those wishing to “buddy up” for the ride to Plaquemine. The caravan will depart at 8:30am sharp.
Festival des Fleurs will be held again this year in Blackham Coliseum on April 14th. The chapter has four booths and members were encouraged to volunteer to assist with the setup on Friday, April 13th and to work the booth during the Festival. A signup sheet was provided for those wishing to work specific time slots. Doug agreed to loan his carts to the chapter on setup day to haul the plants that will be provided by Dupont Nursery.
Ann presented a pitiful plant she found sheltered in her greenhouse and asked the members to diagnose the problem. It was agreed that the main problem was neglect. A prime example of what not to do.
The second plant topic was aphids. A discussion was held on the signs of aphid infestation and various ways to combat this pest from water blasting to soapy water to various insecticides. Theresa described her water blasting techniques and natural ways to prevent attacks by this insect.
Ann presented three Show Flyers she designed and asked the members to select one to be the official flyer for our annual show on May 20th. One was selected with a few suggestions to draw more attention to the sale aspect of our show and sale.
It was reported that Rick has ordered more promotional business cards that will bear the date and time of the show this year.
Volunteers were called for to fill coordinator positions for the show and the following were selected/suggested:
Sales Coordinator – Carolyn Cormier-Stoute
Plant Coordinator – Mark Gore
Judge Coordinator – Jennie Marcantel (may have work conflict)
Membership Coordinator – Mignon Arton
Show Floor Coordinator – Tiffany Chiarulli
Hospitality Coordinator – Debbie Gaspard
The final segment of the meeting was the introduction of the 2013 Chapter Calendar suggested by Tiffany. Each meeting a photo will be selected from those displayed to represent that month on the calendar captioned by the bloom name and the name of the grower. All members in attendance gathered and discussed the photos and chose the winning photos for January and February. The winners were Victoria’s Touch –Buddy Short and Charming Eye-Theresa and Mark Gore.
Mike Bernard Acadiana Hibiscus chapter
Minutes of meeting 5/03/2011
The meeting was called to order at 6pm and Sandra immediately congratulated Ann Peltier and Cecile Ellender as amateur winners in the recently completed Baton Rouge show and sale. She then followed with a brief discussion of the amateur procedures at each show and once again encouraged all chapter amateurs to prepare whatever blooms they have for our show. Our chapter has won the annual National plaque 4 straight years for most amateur participants and we want that to continue.
Sandra then introduced our newest member Betty Biagas. Welcome Betty to our club.
Members desiring a chapter shirt should contact Carolyn Stoute for instructions.
We quickly walked through Show promotional ideas and asked each member in attendance to discuss their promotional successes. Notice was given that Buddy and Tiffany would be on Channel 10, Passe Partout Thursday 6 AM and ALL members are expected to watch (threw that in)
Gold stars were awarded to Tiffany, Inita, and Jennie for the progress of their seedlings. Hopefully several will bloom this year.
Refreshments for the evening were provided by Ann Peltier. Thank you, Ann.
We then discussed the latest on our chapter projects.
1..we are waiting for the go ahead word from Cathedral Carmel School to plant hibiscus in their butterfly garden.
2..we have received 5 responses to our Fallen Hero project and one framed picture is actually being presented today (May 10th) by Sandra and myself. We will take a few pictures for you.
Bera Smith was awarded a citation from the national gardening organization for her outstanding contributions to their club. Congratulations Bera.
Rick then took over and started a final discussion on the many show details as we head into our show setup on Saturday May 14th. We need many volunteers so anyone wishing to volunteer for one or both days is encouraged to do so. Simply show up at the gym that morning. Doors should be open both days around 8AM.
If you are providing a dish for the kitchen area it should be ready by 11AM and brought to the kitchen. If you have any questions, contact Debbie Gaspard (newly married but I don’t know her married name). **As a side note: Please go out of your way to thank any and all military personnel who attend our event.
Once the show is complete we ask everyone to assist with the tear down. Normally takes us no more than an hour tops……
See you on Saturday May 14th…good blooming everyone……Buddy
Mike Bernard Acadiana Chapter
Minutes of meeting
4/5/2011
The meeting started right at 6 PM and was well attended with 23 individuals in the audience. The evening’s refreshments were provided by Jennie Marcantel, Mignon Arton, Carole Broussard, and Jo Ann Pugh. Thank you ladies, everything was outstanding.
We immediately asked for a progress report on all seedlings under evaluation. Several members had lost their seedlings and replacements were offered in their place.
There was a quick update on the Cathedral Carmel School planting project. It appears that all plants will be planted within the next two weeks. All interested members are welcome to be a part of the unveiling of this project. We will notify everyone once an official day has been established.
Members interested in purchasing chapter shirts are encouraged to contact Carolyn Cormier for shirt options.
We are currently going through our membership renewals and all members intending on remaining members through 2012 are asked to get their $35 for full and $10 for associates to Buddy Short, 312 Vennard Ave., Lafayette, 70501. Dues can also be brought to the next chapter meeting, which will be held on Tuesday May 3rd.
There was a brief discussion about the upcoming Baton Rouge show and sale which is this coming Sunday April 17th. If you are showing blooms then you should plan on arriving with enough time to properly display your flowers. If you are simply attending but not working then the doors are open to the public at 1PM- till 4PM.
Direction from Lafayette are simple.
Take I-10 to Baton Rouge. Take the 1st immediate right exit over the bridge. Stay left onto Highland and proceed through the LSU campus until you see the big dome coliseum on your left. You will turn left on the street after the coliseum. There will be signs posted. The red barn 4H building will be about 200 yards on your right. Come in and have coffee.
The President’s agenda concluded with an explanation about our latest exciting project, The Fallen Heroes. It is the chapter’s intention to contact the families of each Acadiana soldier killed in the line of duty and ask for their permission to name a seedling in honor of this fallen soldier. If permission is granted then it would be our intent to photograph a selected seedling
It’s All About Promotion
Sandra then turned over the floor to Buddy Short for a discussion on the many different methods of promoting our show. (please review your past newsletter for details and how you can help. We need you.
A quick review….
1..new banners have been secured for this year and will be placed around town. Remember if you have a location in mind, we only have so many so they must be visible by many.
2..chapter cards for wallets or purses have be secured. Be sure you give one to every person you come in contact with. The cards include the show date however do not mention the time of 1-4PM. Make note of that.
3..framed color chapter flyers were displayed and everyone was encouraged to take one or more and place them accordingly. This is a great counter display along with our chapter cards and card holders. Be sure you have plenty.
A few suggestions……
1) Florist
2) Hair Salon……absolutely a must
3) A busy restaurant
4) Schools that send out flyers to parents. THEY ALL DO.
5) Your bank
6) A club or organization you belong to. Get their roster and email the flyer
7) Your church
8) A neighborhood association
The possibilities are endless so use your imagination……..
Finally send a personal email to one of your friends and attach our flyer. Ask them to be your guest for the afternoon and to send your attachment to their ENTIRE email list. If one person does that you’ll have great results.
Contact me personally should your supplies run out. I have plenty of cards and flyers in frames. Also black and white flyers. Help me to get rid of every piece in my house.
We then turned the floor over to Rick Landers our Show Chairman who walked us through the show setup and some possible changes he sees upcoming. We will discuss more about this at our May meeting when we are really buttoning down all the details………..
Minutes submitted by Buddy Short
Mike Bernard Acadiana
Hibiscus Chapter minutes
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
Welcome to the 1st meeting of the Mike Bernard Acadiana Hibiscus Chapter for the year 2011. For some of you these pages will simply be a quick overview of what we covered last Tuesday while for those unable to attend, it will serve as a recap of what you missed. It was a fun get together. I hope you share my view.
We had several special guests in attendance: Damon Veach, President of the Red Stick hibiscus chapter in Baton Rouge and his friend Sam Favara drove over to participate in our meeting. We also welcomed “officially” our newest member Inez Bares. Inez has attended several meetings in the past and I’m sure she was so impressed with all of you that she decided to become a full member. Welcome to each of you.
A TRIP TO DUPONT NURSERY…..What a way to start off our 2011 hibiscus season!!!!!!!!!!! I spent the initial minutes of our gathering asking each member, “How many did you buy?” I can’t recall who had the most but not surprising to me, Lorraine, had 18!! Amazing what these beauties do to you. If you were able to go then we hope you had a great time and walked away with your plants of choice. If you were unable to go then we suggest that you commit yourself to a future visit. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!! By the way, in case you’re wondering, I estimate about 75-80 people attended from the 3 Louisiana chapters and we had around 28 sign up for the trip. Nice number. Even a few husbands had fun.
Sandra discussed some of the upcoming special functions of the Baton Rouge and New Orleans chapters and suggested if someone wanted to attend any of those that they consider becoming an associate member of each club. Associate members pay $10 for membership.
2010 kicked off our seedling competition and all participants were encouraged to bring their seedlings to the first meeting. Jennie, Mark/Theresa, Doug, and Lorraine presented their plants and all looked very healthy with several looking like they will bloom this year. Trust me when I say, “THAT, IS AN EXCITING EVENT!!!!” New seedlings were made available to members and I estimate that about 15+ were taken home for personal care. If you weren’t there but would like to try one simply let us know.
We announced a very exciting chapter project that was well received by our membership. Cathedral Carmel School, our show host, will prepare flowerbeds at the school with our assistance and direction and the chapter will donate all hibiscus plants for the children’s maintenance. This really looks like a fun project to me. Who knows, some of these kids might be future members?
Chapter finances were discussed with a current beginning year balance in excess of $5800. With the cancellation of Festival Des Fleurs members were asked to assist the chapter with an all out effort to promote this year’s show and sale. I estimate that we can we can make up for most of the loss in revenues if everyone does their individual part to promote attendance. If we can get people there, the plants and blooms will sell themselves. The new date of Sunday May 15th show help our plant sales. DO YOUR PART!!
To help in promotion the chapter has purchased some promotional “business” cards which not only promote the chapter but also list the show date on the back of the card. Obviously they MUST be handed out.
Members were reminded that chapter shirts are available for purchase. Our ladies get a choice of 5 colors and the shirt is button up style with our logo on the back. Gentlemen shirts are also available in a white polo style (golf shirt) The logo is also on the back. You can also order a white tee shirt if you desire. The cost to members are $15…button up and polo and $10 for tee shirt. The chapter picks up any difference in cost. Anyone desiring a shirt should contact me for a order form or provide me with their individual information by email. (size, color, man or woman, button up, tee shirt, number) Obviously your name would help too.
Everyone was again encouraged to visit our chapter website.
We followed the bulk of the 1st meeting with a discussion on, “What to do to get off to a quick start with your plants” and then closed the meeting with a presentation by me on the different methods and suggestions on “Propagating”.
(See next page with Quick Start suggestions followed by my notes and suggestions on Propagation in the near future)
It was a great meeting. Don’t forget we meet each 1st Tuesday of each month March through November………see you at the meeting on Tuesday April 5th……..
Getting Off To A Quick Start
There are 2 essential elements to getting your plants started early: Warmth and Sunlight.
Early doses of potassium attack the dormancy in your plants. Get out your fertilizer and wake them up.
We need to also replace many of the other nutrients lost over time to pot culture. I have been spreading Epsom Salt in the base of each pot (magnesium) I have also purchased a small bottle of Super Thrive and have been watering that in on selective plants. This product seems to replace many of the minor elements lost such as Boron. I’ll let you know how I do.
Another excellent suggestion would be to examine the root structure of your “potted” plants to make certain it’s pot size is adequate for this growing season. If it seems severely root bound then move it up one pot size and add some fresh potting mix.
As you move your plants back outside examine the leaves for any insects and also pay close attention to your leaf coloration. I haven’t noticed many insects but on the few plants that show signs I have simply blasted them with the jet spray from my hose. I have also used a can of WD-40 to combat a few plants with snow scale. You might also see some light green leaves which typically means a lack of iron. Water in some granular iron or water soluble.
CLOSING COMMENT- our early warm temperatures have my plants excited and demanding a good feeding. I will feed them weekly during these early springlike temperatures. I suggest you do likewise.
ENJOY YOUR PLANTS!!
Mike Bernard Acadiana Hibiscus Chapter
Minutes for November 9th, 2010
This was our last official chapter meeting for the year 2010
There was much discussion about refreshments at our upcoming meetings. Jennie Marcantel suggested that a refreshment committee be established to lessen the burden and expense on any one individual. After some discussion we decided to discuss it further next year. Sandra and Debbie will provide refreshments for the March meeting.
Seedlings were evaluated and all participants are looking forward to seeing their first bloom next year.
Rick Landers, our chapter webmaster, discussed our chapter website and encouraged all members to visit our site and offer any suggestions for improvements. Website address is www.acadianahibiscus.com. Give us your opinion. My personal comment….Rick has done a phenomenal job and each of us owes him a debt of gratitude for his efforts.
Sandra then did a quick walk through of the hybridizing process and suggested that those interested should give it a try if they have pollen available. *** for helpful hybridizing hints and pictorials visit our chapter website. You are also welcome to call or email me for a personal one on one discussion. Fun stuff.
We then discussed “Winterizing our plants” and offered many suggestions and examples of how to best protect your plants during the winter months. (see attachment for some “Quick Hits” from our discussion)
Following this discussion we offered a free plant to everyone in attendance. It was a fun evening.
See you in March 2011. Same place, same time.
Mr. Ken Arceneaux of Oak Heart in Rayne, LA.
10. Our guest speaker was Mr. Ken Arceneaux from Oak Heart from Rayne, LA. talking about their soil mixtures. 
Offered suggestions for garden soils but believes that the addition of his "Pooyie Organic Humic Compost" added to whatever soil mixture we already use would add beneficial, rich nutrients, bacteria, and trace elements to our plants.