1. Call to order by President Doug Needham at 1:00 pm
  2. Introduction of guests and new members since last meeting. Number present: 22 current members and 3 guests/former members who joined today, totaling 25 members. Welcome back to former members, and welcome, new members!
  3. Grower Tips (formerly Green Growers): Vice President John Spencer introduced a panel of three experienced orchid growers — Jana Butcher, Bill Parker, and Lowell McCabe — to be asked questions on care and growing of different types of orchids from the group and from the on-line survey of members.
  4. Approval of meeting minutes: John Spencer motioned, Brian Truong seconded, to approve November’s minutes with edits by Doug Needham with respect to “bench” vs. “tabletop” shows. Unanimous approval of minutes.
  5. Treasurer’s report: Carol Ash gave end-of-month for December and end-of-year for 2021 Treasurer’s Report with total monies reported as $25,012.02. Visuals were presented of the finances. Motion for approval by Jana Butcher and second by John Spencer. Unanimous approval of report.
  6. Old business:
    a. Annual donation to Great Plains Judging Center, which has been done in previous years but was not in 2021, was discussed. Bill Parker motioned, and Burrel Gambel seconded, to give $200.00 this year for 2021 and 2022 and, then, to give $100.00 annually thereafter. Motion was unanimously approved.
    b. Kansas Orchid Society “Simply Irresistible” Show & Sale April 29-May 1, 2022: motion by Jana Butcher for OOS to exhibit on a 6′ table at the Kansas show with second by Linda Lawson; unanimous approval. Jana Butcher, Bill Parker, and Catherine Chance will coordinate OOS’s tabletop exhibit in Wichita. Members are encouraged to bring their blooming plants to be included in the exhibit.
    c. Tulsa Orchid Society “Jewels of the Jungle” Show & Sale May 21-22, 2022: motion by Bill Parker to have an OOS tabletop exhibit in Tulsa with second by Lowell McCabe was unanimously approved. Janice Wiechman, Gerry Holland, Bill Parker, Jana Butcher, and Catherine Chance will coordinate OOS’s tabletop exhibit in Tulsa. Members are encouraged to bring their blooming plants to be included in the exhibit.
    d. Membership dues: Notice for renewal of 2022 dues was sent via email to members at the end of December. Members can renew online with debit card, credit card, or PayPal. Members can renew in-person or via mail by check or cash.
  7. New business:
    a. Discussion on annualizing membership was presented by Doug Needham. This would give members a full 12-month membership regardless of month joined, and it would allow the Society to offer a Show & Sale weekend discount, e.g. 10% off the weekend of the Show & Sale, for new memberships. There was a general approval by the membership to pursue this. It will require an amendment to the OOS Constitution & Bylaws, which will be brought forward at a later date.
    b. Monthly sign up for hospitality was discussed and a form was passed for sign up. Per the OOS Constitution & Bylaws, members may submit receipts for hospitality expenses to be reimbursed.
    c. Money Minder Pro, bookkeeping software for non-profit organizations, was presented by Carol Ash. Cost is $159.00 annually. Motion to purchase a software license by Bridget Andoe, second by John Spencer, with unanimous approval for purchase.
    d. Kansas Orchid Society tour of Doug and Jackie Needham’s greenhouse: Doug proposed that OOS host KOS to a picnic at Jackie’s and his home with tour of their greenhouse. August 21, 2022 was proposed. Motion for approval for date and event by Lowell McCabe, second by Bridget Andoe, with unanimous approval.
  8. Reports:
    a. Great Plains Judging Center – Carolyn, Lowell or Howard: January’s GPJC judging was canceled.
    b. AOS Representative – Carolyn McCabe volunteered to be the AOS Representative. The AOS Centennial Celebration is April 6–9, 2022, in Coral Gables, FL. Award certificates are now downloadable and printable with photo of awarded plant included on the certificate. OOS members who are not AOS members were encouraged to join and have access to AOS webinars for members and other orchid information.
    c. SWROGA – Mike or Bill: The SWROGA regional show is in Kansas this year. The web site is SWROGA.org.
    d. Orchid Digest Representative – No report. Burrel Gambel requested we get a new representative, and Bill Parker graciously accepted the responsibility.
    e. OKC Council of Garden Clubs – Carolyn McCabe reported that 32nd Annual Garden Festival in the Park will be held May 21, 2022.
  9. Committee Chair Reports:
    a. Membership – Carol Ash welcomed Gerry Holland to the Committee, and Doug Needham reported that 9 new members had joined OOS since the Society’s October Show & Sale, and 3 new/former members joined today.
    b. Programming – John Spencer discussed the OOS survey results and said they are in contact with several speakers. Once scheduled, the speakers and their presentation titles will be added to the Society’s calendar of events. Doug Needham announced that other society’s events are being added to OOS’s calendar of events, including a free, virtual tour of the Smithsonian Gardens’ Orchid collection. Fun things are being planned.
    c. Show & Sale – Jana Butcher, Bridget Andoe, and Marinel Kelley are Co-Chairs of OOS’s May 7th, 2022 bench Show & Sale. Jana discussed setup needs. Jana is ordering Kiwi bark in bulk, and asked members to sign up for purchases. We need a delivery site for the bark. A help list will be generated for areas needed for the show. Bridget presented a proposal for OOS-branded table cloths and runners. She presented six color combinations, and, after discussion, members voted in favor of black table cloths with OOS logo and black “Welcome & Information” runners, all of water-resistant fabric. OOS’s logo will need to be vectorized in order to be scalable to the size needed for the table cloths. Motion for purchase of 3 OOS-branded black table cloths at approximately $417 (with fourth free) and two black “Welcome & Information” runners at approximately $190 (with third free) by Bill Parker, seconded by John Spencer; motion approved with 16 yes and 3 no.
    d. Conservation – Mike Friday discussed the possibility of orchid seed sowing in the community and is reviewing the concept. He welcomed Zach DuFran to the Committee.
    e. Website – Doug Needham said that some OOS members had reported seeing a warning that OOS’s website was not secure. He assured members that the Society’s website is secure; however, the warning indicates that the computer, tablet, or phone’s operating system needs a security update. Both Microsoft (Windows) and Apple (macOS, iOS, and iPadOS) pushed security updates in mid-December to replace their expired root certificates. Doug, also, announced that the OOS website now has members-only content in the OOS Library, Members-only Videos, and Treasurer’s Reports.
  10. Other reports: Bill Parker stated that the Red River Orchid Society is likely to disband and that he was asked to discuss with the OOS membership the possibility of transferring from RROS to OOS $5000 in scholarship funds to maintain and distribute as an annual scholarship for students interested in horticulture. The RROS scholarship fund was established from funds donated in memory of Jackie Parker, Andy Harding, and Catherine Porter. Jana Butcher made a recommendation to form an ad hoc committee to evaluate the scholarship funds; John Spencer, Mike Friday, Jana Butcher, and Bill Parker volunteered to serve on this ad hoc Scholarship Discovery Committee.
  11. Adjourn Business Meeting at 2:50pm
  12. Refreshment Break
  13. Program /Presentation – Vice President John Spencer announced that today’s presentation would be postponed to a later date since the Business Meeting had run longer than anticipated.
  14. Show and Tell Table – Many beautiful blooming orchids were brought to today’s meeting. Thank you to those who showed their plants and described the plants’ culture.
  15. Auction and Raffle – Carolyn McCabe auctioned 3 plants donated by members, and Terry Ash followed with the raffle of additional plants brought by OOS members. Thank you to all who donated plants for today’s auction and raffle.
  16. Adjourn – Doug Needham adjourned meeting at 4:00 pm.