1. Call to order by President Doug Needham at 1:00 pm
  2. Introduction of guests and new members since last meeting. Number present: 19 current members in-person and four members were present via Zoom. Another member joined via Zoom following the presentation. No guests or new members.
  3. Grower Tips: Vice President John Spencer did not present Grower Tips this month.
  4. Approval of meeting minutes : Marinel Kelly motioned, Jane Harvey seconded, to approve September18, 2022’s minutes; unanimous approval given.
  5. Old business:
    a. Doug Needham presented the OOS volunteer book, which is kept in the WRGC Office, to sign in at WRGC for volunteer hours, and requested that each member email a copy of the page to him for OOS’s records.

    b. Saturday October 29th Kim Kyker and Barbara Millwee are volunteering at Will Rogers Senior Center for “Halloween on the Green.” Thank you, Kim and Barb!

    c. November 5th from 9am to 12pm OOS is asking members to volunteer for the installation of Christmas lights at WRGC. There will be indoor and outdoor work. Please make an effort to come, as this helps offset our costs at WRGC for the year.

    d. OOS exhibit team will be putting an exhibit in the Fort Worth Orchid Society show. Doug Needham, Catherine Chance, Bill Parker, and Janice Wiechman are the team. Please email Catherine by November 3rd your plants for exhibit including plant name, height, width and photo. Meet to give your plants to Catherine and Doug on Thursday, November 10th at 11:00am sharp in the parking lot of WRGC. Meet Catherine and Doug at WRGC parking lot on Sunday, November 13 at 11am sharp to reclaim your plant(s).

    e. Kansas Orchid Society show plants need to be given to Jana Butcher on October 27th and picked up on October 30th. Email Jana by Monday, October 24, the names of plants you would like to send for judging.

    f. Nominating committee presented the 2023 slate of officers. Doug Needham, President; John Spencer, Vice President; Carol Ash, Treasurer; and Kim Kyker, Secretary. Mike Friday was nominated for a two-year Elected Trustee and Gerry Holland for a one-year Elected Trustee. Bill Parker motioned to close the nominations after Doug asked for additional names from the floor and no names were offered. Marinel Kelly seconded the motion. Unanimous approval given by the members.
  6. New business: No new business today.
  7. Treasurer’s Report: Carol Ash gave end-of-month September 30, 2022 Treasurer’s Report with total monies reported as $26,027.98. Visuals were presented of the finances. Motion for approval by Bridgett Andoe and second by Keith Warren. Unanimous approval of report.
  8. Committee Reports:
    a. Membership – Carol Ash: No change in membership since September’s report — 74 active members.

    b. Programming – John Spencer: John reported that only OOS members will be going to the Myriad Gardens for an exclusive tour of the Crystal Bridge for November’s meeting. The December meeting will be at Johnita Turner’s home. Members are to bring a dish or dessert for sharing and an orchid plant worth $15.00 or more for gift exchange. Members can log-in to the website to see date and time details for these two members-only events. John, also, presented the top eight topics for 2023 presentations. He noted there is interest in more hands-on Grower Tips.

    c. Show & Sale – Jana Butcher, Bridget Andoe, and Marinel Kelley: Jana announced the postcard winner. She has two vendors for the show and needs another and maybe a non-plant vendor. She needs a lead person for the silent auction and a person for the bench setups. One or two people are needed for each project. Jana announced that Marinel donated “a wall of orchids” print collection with 20 prints from the N.Y. Botanical Gardens. The show committee plans to frame them to sell at the silent auction. The Exhibit Registration Form for the show is online. Note that there is a bench area. too, for orchid plants not entered in an exhibit.

    d. Investment – Jana Butcher: Committee met on 10/5/2022 and discussed options for investments of OOS funds. One recommendation/action item was to have unrestricted funds vs. restricted funds kept separate. They recommend two years of annual budget show and organizational funds be available for maintenance. The committee will meet with an Arvest Financial Planner in the coming months. Many meetings will be held in the future for recommendations to the OOS members’ review and decisions. Bill Parker clarified that the funds from Red River Orchid Society are for a scholarship account only.

    e. Conservation – Mike Friday: Mike reported that Spiranthes are in bloom in his yard and around the state.

    f. Website – Doug Needham: Doug addressed the security of OOS’s website. He said that we have end-to-end encryption through SSL certificate, as evidenced by padlock symbol in the address bar. Additionally, we have SiteLock, which scans for and eliminates malicious attacks. For even further security, member data is only accessible to logged-in members.
  9. Affiliate Reports:
    a. Great Plains Judging Center – Carolyn or Lowell McCabe: Jana Butcher announced that there were 14 plants presented for judging, and 4 were awarded. See GPJC October 15, 2022 AOS Awards webpage. Jana is applying to be a student judge for AOS, and stressed the need for more members to think about becoming judges also.

    b. AOS Representative – Carolyn McCabe: No report, as Carolyn was not present.
    c. SWROGA – Mike Friday or Bill Parker: SWROGA’s meeting is in November at the Fort Worth Orchid Society show.
    d. Orchid Digest Representative – Bill Parker: Bill announced the 18th annual “International Speakers Day”. Notable speakers will be presenting. See Orchid Digest to register; registration is $30.
    e. OKC Council of Garden Clubs – Carolyn McCabe: No report.
  10. Other reports: None.
  11. Adjourn Business Meeting at 1:52pm
  12. Refreshment Break
  13. Program /Presentation – Doug Needham presented “Winterizing Your Orchid Collection“. Highlights of the presentation were: pests, water, temperature, light intensity and fertilizer usage. He discussed chilling injury at <50°F, different types of orchids and their needs for light, cooling and water needs to bloom or prepare for the next year’s growth and flower cycles. Thank you, Doug.
  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. Raffle only today; no auction. Thank you to all who donated plants for today’s raffle.
  16. Adjourn – Doug Needham adjourned meeting at 3:00 pm.