Meeting was called to order by President Matt Watts in Bozeman, MT. New Board members Joe Sansone, Pat Appleby, and John Spray were welcomed. Finances were reviewed, with motion to remove outgoing Board members from the bank accounts, and add Peter Hiel. Goals for the year were discussed, and programs to benefit members. Kristi will continue her work to promote scholarship opportunities, and review programs for CPP continuing education credits. Gina’s contract was reviewed, with a unanimous vote to extend the contract for another year. John Spray reported on the Billings Chapter’s scheduled events for the year, reporting the Chapter is doing well and continuing to contribute to the general MNLA fund and scholarship program each year. James discussed the upcoming Leaflet Newsletter, noting that printing costs have risen dramatically, with discussion on moving the Leaflet from paper to an all-digital publication. Decision was made to print the paper version this year alongside a digital format. James has a good start on Fall Tour planning and is proposing to have a shorter tour day with equipment demos, and more details to come. The 2024 Expo will be held in Billings, MT January 3-5, moving to a Wednesday through Friday format this year, and new location.

All Board members were present in Missoula, MT, where president Matt Watts called the meeting to order. Gina reported on projected financial outcome of Expo, noting that hotel expenses were much higher than previous years. Construction at the hotel was unexpected, and discussion on moving booths to accommodate construction was reviewed. Frank Etzler with MT Dept of Ag reported that Kima Trayham is the new Bureau Chief, and Lori Leaf is in charge of pesticide licensing. Upcoming legislation was reviewed, noting that the bill to remove sod farmers from the nursery licensing program was being re-introduced. MNLA will revive our previous position paper against this bill and will line up speakers to testify at the legislature if needed. Membership numbers were reviewed, with several new members joining in December. Gina led discussion on Expo details and staff schedules. Emily Talago joined the meeting to present a draft of the Specialty Crop Block Grant consumer guide catalog, with discussion on edits before taking the project to print. In new business, Darin  announced he is moving to South Dakota and will not be able to serve out his term on the Board. Discussion followed on how to fill the President position that Darin would have moved into at the Annual Meeting. Matt volunteered to serve a 2^nd year as President in Darin’s place, with Gina noting that our bylaws allow a Board member to hold more than one position at a time. Matt will serve as Past-President and acting President. All other Board members will continue with their scheduled terms.

The Board met by video call, with all members present. Financial report was discussed, noting that our year-to-year comparison is up, due mainly to Expo income. Kristi reported on registrations for the CPP exam at Expo. Gina reviewed membership numbers, reporting that several new companies have joined. Fall Tour location was discussed, as well as final details on Expo and silent auction donations. Board of Directors nominations were reviewed, with Pat Appleby volunteering to step into the Secretary position as Laura was leaving the position before the end of her term. In new business, conference attendance for Board members was brought up, with discussion on attending regional conferences.

The video meeting was called to order, balance sheet was reviewed with most categories improving this year. A scholarship application was reviewed, with a motion to award the applicant. The MT Dept of Agriculture reported that nursery registration numbers are up, and they have a new person handling the pesticide licensing. An update on the Specialty Crop Block Grant project was given, with plans to have our intern join us at Expo to present the work-to-date. A “Plant This, Not That” poster was reviewed, with recommended edits noted. A new partnership program was reviewed, with roll-out to members scheduled for November 15^th. MT Green Expo schedule was reviewed, with plans to have a First Aid/CPR class and ICPI paver course as add-on workshops. Upcoming Board elections and possible candidates were discussed.

The video conference wall called to order by President Matt Watts. Department changes were reviewed by Frank Etzler of the MT Dept of Ag, with contacts for licensing and education announced. A draft of the consumer plant catalog that we are producing with the Specialty Crop Block Grant was reviewed, and decided that a committee will meet to review in detail before the next meeting. Scheduled distribution is at the 2024 MT Green Expo. James lead conversation on the Fall Tour next year, and will begin forming a planning committee. Darin reported that Expo plans are progressing well. Deadline for the Best of Montana Landscaping and Container Planting Contests is November 15^th. Matt gave an overview of his meeting on an upcoming event, and discussed ways to integrate. Candidate applications for the Board of Directors were reviewed by Steve. Application deadline for the open positions is December 1^st. No new business. Meeting adjourned.

President Matt Watts called the meeting to order in Helena, MT. All Board members were present. Financial statements were reviewed, noting that production cost for the Leaflet have gone up, while advertising income is down. Frank Etzler with the MT Dept of Ag reported that the brown marmorated stink bug has been found in the Billings area. The emerald ash borer is present in Oregon, with Montana maintaining a quarantine on all ash tree importation. Gina reported on membership renewals. The location for next year’s Fall Tour was discussed, with Great Falls as the final decision. A partnership presentation was reviewed, with unanimous decision to proceed. Kristi reported on registrations for the Certified Plant Professional exam at Fall Tour, and reported that the Specialty Crop Block Grant intern had been progressing on the consumer plant catalog design. Tim gave an update on the Billings Chapter; the annual golf tournament was a great success, and 140 people attended the Family Fun Baseball Night. Darin covered Montana Green Expo progress. Patrick Chadwick will be the keynote speaker. There are still sponsorship spaces available, and open booth spaces. Steve gave an overview of upcoming Board elections; positions will be open for the Member-at-Large, 3^rd Vice President, and Secretary. Serving on the Board is a rewarding experience that helps you understand our association much better. Bozeman is considering starting a Chapter; contact Darin if you are interested. Meeting adjourned.

The video conference was called to order by President Matt Watts. Applications for the Community Beautification Fund were reviewed, with a motion made to allocate funds to the Yellowstone Arboretum’s Conifer Garden Enhancement project. Kristi reported on the Specialty Crop Block Grant internship interviews, giving an overview of the job scope; this position will assist with the design and marketing of the printed plant catalogs. The committee recommended that the internship be offered to Marissa Berryman, with unanimous Board approval following. Peter gave an update on the Fall Tour, listing Mark’s Lumber, Chadwick Nursery, High Country Growers, and several landscape projects. The Tour will also include a taco food truck and corn hole tournament at Gardenwerks. Darin covered the MT Green Expo progress, with speaker lineup nearly full, including a keynote from Patrick Chadwick, a training seminar from MT 811, bidding and estimating presentation by LMN, retail marketing from Proven Winners, H2 Program overview, and many more. Steve discussed upcoming Board member elections; the Member-at-Large, 3^rd Vice President, and Secretary will all be open in January. Gina reported on Association Partnership Programs for the Board to consider. Steve motioned to adjourn. Darin seconded. Motion carried.

President Matt Watts called the meeting to order with all Board members present. Kristi reported that the committee continues to make edits to the new plantsomethingmontana web site platform. We will have a review from the Dept. of Ag for the Specialty Crop Block Grant. We have extended the deadline for applications for a second-year intern for the grant work to May 31. Peter is gathering article submissions for the next Leaflet that will go out on June 15. We are working to improve the contents of the Leaflet to make it more appealing to our readers, so we welcome your ideas. We continue to put together plans for the next Fall Tour in Helena and Expo in Missoula. Tim reported that the golf tournament is progressing. Tim expects this to be well attended this year. Baseball Family Fun Night is planned in July. We will also have the Fall Field Day at Steve’s. Gina reported on the conference she had attended, discussing trends and ways to support our organization. We have extended the application time for the Community Beautification Fund Scholarship to May 31. Please consider applying if you have any work in a local community that you would like to see improvement in and make use of these funds. Matt moved to adjourn. Kristi seconded. Motion carried.

President Matt Watts called the meeting to order. The balance sheet for this month and last year were reviewed. Publication costs are up as we are now printing part of the Leaflet in color. There has been positive feedback for the new color Leaflet. Peter talked briefly about Fall Tour and the proposed stops in Helena. We will have a corn hole tournament this year and forgo the usual golf tournament at Fall Tour. Darin is working on lining out speakers for Green Expo in Missoula next year. We still have several vendor spaces available. Tim gave an update for the Billings Chapter; 2M presented at the last meeting about human resources. Kristi reported that there were three applicants for the college scholarship. All three are high school seniors. After discussion Steve moved to award each of three applicants. Kristi 2^nd. Motion carried. Kristi updated us on the Specialty Crop Block Grant. Emily has been working hard to put new photos and descriptions on the web site of plant species for Montana. This will be a resource for anyone to access so please check out the new layout of the web site. We have a new internship position available for the grant. Community Beautification Fund applications are due April 30. Darin moved to adjourn. Kristi seconded. Motion carried.

President Matt Watts called the meeting to order with all Board members present. Frank Etzler gave the report of Nursery licenses for the past 5 years compared side-by-side. The Billings Chapter asked if Frank could come and present on the Japanese Beetle at their May meeting. Reviewed balance sheet from 2021 to now. The Board suggested ways to reduce the credit card processing fees. We also changed some budget numbers going forward. The MNLA will plan to do more advertising this year to encourage consumers to seek out MNLA members. Matt moved to make the changes to the budget as proposed. Steve 2^nd. Motion carried. Peter showed us new changes to the Leaflet Newsletter. Expect more color pages in the next issue! Darin is actively looking for speakers for the next Montana Green Expo in Missoula. Tim reported that the Billings Chapter plans again to host a golf tournament this summer. Kristi updated everyone on the scholarship deadline: March 31.  Kristi motioned to adjourn. Peter seconded. Motion carried.