April 2013
Whitesbog Preservation Trust
General Membership Meeting
Whitesbog General Store
1. Roll Call:
Present - Rick Prickett, President Stephanie Schrader 1st Vice President, John Joyce 2nd Vice President, Paul Detrick, Ted Gordon, Mark Ehlenfeldt Treasurer, Joe Darlington, Jeff Macechak, Executive Director Susan Phillips
Absent - Bart Amato, Diane Kelly, Christine Lipsack, Leigh Germann
2. Minutes: WPT General Membership Meeting 2012
Janet Robbins moved to approve the 2012 General Membership Meeting Minutes, EstherKubinsky seconded her motion and the members approved the minutes unanimously.
Sign -In sheet was circulated
3. 2013 Operational Budget Review by M. Ehlenfeldt Treasurer
Beth moved to approve the 2013 Operational Budget, Steven Young seconded her motion and the membership approved the WPT 2013 Operational Budget Unanimously
4. President's Address by Rick Prickett
In my final report as president of the Trust I am proud to say the work of so many people, the spirit and relevance of Whitesbog both past and present has touched and continues to touch the lives of many people both nearby and far away. Those visiting the village, the blueberry fields, forest and cranberry bogs express appreciation in seeing the work of the many who have strived and are striving to keep Whitesbog a vibrant and beautiful place for all to experience. I would like to recognize a person from far away who has been touched by their experiences at Whitesbog over the years and continues to contribute to our mission. Nora Hayes a Trustee for many years who from "across the pond" has contributed a quarter of a million dollars to the Building and Restoration Fund. This endowment will go far in helping the Trust restore worthy historical projects such as the workers cottages, the propagation complex and the Triangle Field packing shed. Over the last four years several buildings have been brought back to their historical significance. The Triangle Field where the first domesticated high bush blueberries were grown and identified is now recognizable. These plants were commercially propagated across the street and helped improve the quality of life of poor people living in the Pine Barrens and other impoverished places, especially along the Atlantic Coast. The Cranberry Substation is now filled with the science of small berry culture and the memories of Charles Beckwith who helped so many cope with the challenges of growing blueberries and cranberries. Miss White's house and gardens are frequently occupied by workers and re-enactors that bring meaningful activity to that wonderful place. The barrel warehouse is now filled with artifacts similar to the ones found in the cranberry packinghouse across the road. We are very fortunate to have these important tools in our collection as well as several cranberry barrels that were so common at Whitesbog. The General Store still serves as a meeting place where dedicated clerks greet visitors, people talk about their experiences and purchase items similar to what seasonal workers might have seventy years ago. People that once lived at Whitesbog are also sharing there stories with Trust members so that their experiences can be preserved for the future. Our website and the many associated blogs dedicated to those that worked together to assure that small berry culture played a role in improving peoples lives, engage students and others that live far away and will hopefully get them to come and visit us. In May the Trust will celebrate 30 years of its efforts restoring, protecting and interpreting and inviting people to Whitesbog. Come June we will hold our 30th Blueberry Festival which draws people from all over. We still have more to do and I believe that the essence of what the village was like in the twenties can serve as a back drop for our lives in the twenty first century. On behalf of the Trust and the Board of Trustees I would like to Thank all of you for volunteering your time and expertise in keeping Whitesbog alive and in the hearts of so many. Thank You!
5. Restoration and Building Committee Report presented by John Joyce
Barrel Storage Warehouse gutters replaced and repaired doors, Bld 12 repaired the chimney, Superintendent's House painted the side porch and the office area, repaired down spouts, painted sofets fixed porch ceiling, repaired railing, Bld 36 painted, Filter house painted and door frame replaced, the pump house repaired, Boarding House major interior painting and upgraded apartment. Removed 6 problem trees.
ADA ramps are going to be installed at barrel factory and ag museum.
Waterless toilet will be installed behind the barrel factory by the State Park
6. Finance Committee Report presented by Mark Ehlenfeldt
Discussed the Donation from Nora Hayes, how it would be used for building restoration and to use it to leverage for bigger grants and invest in such a way that it produces a revenue.
He said the financial records were in good shape for his successor Paul Detrick
He talked about employer matching donations by employees and that we need more sponsors.
7. Membership Committee Report presented by Stephanie Schrader
Set a goal of having 300 members.
Invited people to Founders Day and described the event.
8. Development Committee Report presented by Susan Phillips
General operating grant received.
Mini Grant for Albertine to do research.
Completed website grant.
Ag museum grant was filed but we did not receive it. Will put in again in August.
Fully funded by Freeholders for Blueberry Festival Grant
Just put in a trail grant.
Grant to Historic Trust to put the ADA ramps on which they turned down.
Discussed donations received
9. General Store Report by Steven Young
Working on building up our volunteer store crew, volunteers needed.
Store is fully staffed and open.
Talked about the possibility of website sales, including holiday sales.
Sales are up.
10. Education Interpretation and Archives Committee Report by Ted Gordon
Discussed getting Ag museum in shape to receive donations from Daryl Goodrich
and the Rutgers Ag Museum.
He talked about assembling new displays and placing in Ag Museum.
Quarterly Lecture Series continues: Lure of the Pine Barrens, T. Gordon,
Cranberry History, Brenda Connor, Florence, Rick Prickett and People of
Whitesbog, Sharon Goodman. Albertine did Reflections on Elizabeth White.
We sold some Eatmore Cranberry Labels, could sell more.
We hosted several botanical trips.
11. Landscape Committee Report presented by Mark Szutarski
He thanked the volunteers that were on the committee.
Described the work being done on the trails around Suningive and mentioned a recent
application for an $18,000 trail grant. He stressed the need for little bridges to be
built for the whole trail to be accessible including the Triangle blueberry field.
12. Public Relations and Marketing Committee presented by Mark Ehlenfeldt
Expressed interest in the WPT website having a newsletter achieves.
Whitesbog Blogs can be accessed through the second page of WPT website.
Explained that the newsletter is bulk mailed and slow to arrive at your house. We do
post the newsletter as soon as it is done on the website and send out notice to you if
your email is registered with WPT
13. Events and New Initiatives presented by Susan Phillips
76 scheduled Whitesbog programs, 206 project work days, 117 planning meetings, and 96 staff General Store days. Total countable people that came including PINEs was 37,731 visitors. 8,250 were children. 219 volunteers dedicated 10,684 hours, up a 1,000 hours from last year.
14. Nomination Committee Report and Election of Officers, Stephanie Schrader
Nominations to the Board Perdita Connelly, Janet Felt and Coles Roberts
Officer Nominations 2nd Vice President Joe Darlington, First Vice President Mark Ehlenfeldt, Secretary Rick Prickett, Treasurer Paul Detrick, President Stephanie Schrader
Fred moved to approve the nominations presented, Sharon Goodman seconded his motion and the general membership unanimously voted to approve the nominees.
15. Board of Trustees Meeting Schedule
Our meetings are open to the public and they are usually held in the General Store, they start at 6:30 and might end at 10:00, please attend.
16. Membership Comment
Jeanne Steiter asked about Board Members that never show up, can they stay on the Board? R. Prickett said that he thought they could be voted off by Board members but we needed to develop a policy to do that. Also some of the Board members we often do not see have an expertise that we can utilize when we need it.
Paula Newcomber asked about the new trails being accessible to strollers? M. Szutarski
said the new trails would be made with wood chips which may help. Paula said that would be better then the road.
17. Adjournment
Janet Robbins made a motion to Adjourn and Fred Eilmore seconded her motion. All members voted in favor to adjourn the 2013 General Membership Meeting.
Minutes respectfully submitted to the General Membership by Rick Prickett, Secretary
Approved on April 27, 2014
Approved on April 27, 2014
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