Minutes of the June 8, 2014 Annual Membership Meeting of the Highlands Biological Foundation

Meeting was called to order at 2:00 pm

Presidents remarks: President, Julia Grumbles called the meeting to order at 2:00 pm, welcomed all in attendance and thanked Dr. Jim Costa for his leadership and his accomplishments in securing funding for the recent renovations at the Highlands Biological Station. The Highlands Biological Foundation has been more active and generous to HBS this year than ever before in the 87-year history of the Station. This includes programs, funding for researchers, memberships, funding for the Botanical garden and volunteers helping in the garden. Due to recent state cutbacks into HBS operating budget, the Foundation has stepped up to help and provide critical funding for HBS. As members, you may rest assured that HBF is serving the role of helping to fund HBS and its mission: To foster research and education

A motion was made to approve the minutes of the June 30 2013 Annual Membership Meeting. The motion carried.

Treasurers Report: (Dick Allison) HBF is in sound financial standing. We will need to increase our contributions and membership in order to complete all of the projects we hope to fund for HBS. The current budgeting process involves input from all of the standing committees and as a result the current budget is a very good representation of what will be and what needs to be spent. Our investments have done well. Our assets have increased by 12.1% since last year. Our operating deficit this year was about $27,000 over operating revenue. Due to the increase in our investments, we still have more money this year than we did last year. The budget for this fiscal year shows that we expect to collect $99,000 in contributions. We hope to collect $40,000 in membership dues. Our expenses have been well thought out. There is nothing unusual in the expenses for this year. The Finance Committee has been pleased with our investment advisor at Edward Jones. In recent years our investments had been invested in 11 different families of money managers and within each of those families there were 7 or 8 funds for a total of 41 funds, we have now taken this down to 15 funds with the help of our investment advisor. There were no questions.

Report of the Executive Director of the Highlands Biological Station- Jim Costa Jim thanked the staff of HBS for all of the great work they did in helping to keep the Station running smoothly while Jim was away on sabbatical. In the 87th year HBS continues to serve the community and the academic community by teaching, learning and sharing the information about the biological significance of the southern Appalachians. We accomplish this by hosting classes from many different institutions; we also host our own classes using the immersion educational experience. We are currently in our 12th year of serving as a field site for the Institute for the Environment. The focus for this semester long course is research and immersion learning in field biology. For over 50 years the Foundation has supported grants in aid of research for students and researchers to come to HBS and conduct their studies. We support a very broad base of research and teaching in both basic and applied research in the field of Biological Sciences. The result is numerous scientific papers and dissertations developed from the work conducted here at HBS. In addition to multiple research papers, two of our instructors have written a book that grew directly out of our class here at HBS. We take this information generated from our researchers and share it with our community through the Nature Center and the Botanical Garden. Over the past several years we have made many improvements to the campus of HBS. We have completed a new sewer system due to funding from the state of North Carolina, we have completed renovations to the Bruce Biodiversity building to include more classroom space and made much needed improvements to the Nature Center thanks to funding from the National Science Foundation. In addition we have completed a complete renovation of the Coker Laboratory thanks to over $700,000 in funding from the state of NC and $300,000 from the National Science Foundation. We have been making tremendous strides over the past several years. Thanks to the Master Site Plan of 2013 we have many new and exciting projects ahead of us. Many of these projects outlined in the Master Plan will need to be a partnership between the community and the state.

Report of the HBS Associate Director-- Karen Kandl In the fall the academic focus of the HBS is largely on the UNC Institute for the Environment semester in residence program. The 12 students of the program study course work and applied research of the southern Appalachian environment. In 2013 we had 12 students rom UNC and NC State. Each student in the program works with a mentor from our community and other institutions to complete an individual research project. The students work collectively to complete a capstone project. In 2013 the project focused on the ecology and stream health of Caney Fork, a tributary of the Tuckaseegee River. The IE program is financially beneficial to HBS in the form of assistance for staff salaries and housing revenue from the students. The IE program is a springboard for our students to move into interesting fields and promote scientific study.

Report of the HBF Director -Sonya Carpenter Last year over 16,000 people were served through the programming of the Nature Center. HBF funds the maintenance of the Botanical Garden. The Botanical Garden Committee is very active in helping to determine not only the necessary maintenance within the garden but also helping to envision the future of the Botanical Garden. Committee members lend not only man and women hours but also professional experience and knowledge in targeted project design and implementation. Due to state cutbacks the horticulturalist position in the Botanical garden was cut to a half time position two years ago. HBF has stepped up and provided the financial support necessary to bring on an additional half time staff member so that the Botanical Garden will not suffer neglect due to lack of staff. HBF supports the academic work of the Highlands Biological Station through grants in aid of research and through financial aid for students enrolled in the courses of HBS. HBF has also raised funds for equipment for all students of HBS to utilize. The instructors who teach at HBS are given grant funds from HBF to purchase necessary supplies and materials utilized for their students. The Highlands Biological Foundation provides critical support for all aspects of the Highlands Biological Station.

Report of the Education Specialist of the Highlands Nature Center---Patrick Brannon The Nature Center is funded primarily by the Grassroots grant which is supplied by the NC Department of Commerce to science museums throughout the state. In the past year the funding for the Grassroots science collaborative has been cut by 17%. These funding cuts were not distributed evenly throughout the 34 museums represented. Fortunately, the Highlands Nature Center was not impacted by this most recent cut. It is important that we continue to advocate for grassroots funding at the state level. Our museum promotes STEM education and economic growth. We have received this funding for 10 years. This has allowed HBS to hire a full time employee, expand our programming and stay open longer hours. This maintains continuity and allows us to extend our programming to the schools. Since 2003 our walk in visitation has increased by 300% but more importantly, school outreach programming, which was non-existent before, has increased by 1400%. This is the figure that state legislatures care about the most. 242 programs were conducted last year (mostly by Patrick). Most of the programs are given in the schools (nearly 3 to 1). The state legislature regards in class programs as instruction and this is important for Grassroots funding. Patrick offers up to 45 outreach programs for school groups. Most of the revenue generated by the Nature Center is from Summer Camps. We have redesigned our honeybee hive at the Nature Center. It is now an excellent educational tool and is much easier to work with. For the last 10 years we have been working to increase our exhibits. Now that we have increased our exhibits we can now work to enhance our existing exhibits and not have to change any. We have formed a team so Patrick will not have to do the work all himself. The Nature Center now awards a Biodiversity award to a student at the WNC Science Fair. This year’s interns are Elyse Wingo from Clemson and Lauren Casey who has recently graduated from WCU. There were no questions.

Committee Reports Development Julia Grumbles In the last two years we have had 100% board participation. This is very important. Over the past two years we have generated funds to support the Master Plan and the Consultation fees for Alexander Haas. The generosity of our board represents over 50% of our total contributions. Several foundations have continued their financial support. Old Edwards Inn has continued their financial support in the form a $1 contribution from each of their guests. Julia thanked OEI for their financial support. Our total revenue for the year amounted to $ 195,000. There were no questions. Education—Jennie Stowers Community outreach and Education for this year promises to be very exciting. There is a new committee to help Patrick who is extremely overworked, determine new exhibits for the Nature Center but still keep its charm. The Botanical Garden committee and the horticulturalists have done a fantastic job. The Horticulturalists have been giving weekly garden tours and workshops for our community. The Backyard Naturalists afterschool program taught by Sonya is a great way for us to reach out to our local school children. The traditional Zahner lectures will being in a week and continue through the first week of September. This year we will be incorporating the educational mission of the Native Plant Symposium (which we will not be hosting this year) into the Zahner lectures by hosting four lectures with a focus on native plants and ecology. In addition, we will be selling books and holding a few small auctions to help raise money for the Botanical Garden. This year we will also host “Friday Forays” designed to deepen the understanding from the Zahner lecture the night before. Wildflower Whimsy was our kick-off event this year. We were very lucky with the weather and the event was a huge success. We have lots of ideas for the future and hope to continue this event as education and a fundraiser for the Botanical Garden. Our goal this summer is to open up the awareness of our community for our mission and all of the programs that we offer. As advocates for this organization Jennie asked that the members of the Foundation assist with getting the word out about HBS.

Membership—Martha Stibbs We set a goal of a 20% increase in our membership for this year. We actually had a 30% increase in our membership. We had a 21% increase in the revenue generated through membership. We currently have the highest membership in the history of this organization. This year we have renewed our goal of 20% in our memberships. As advocates for the organization, we ask that you help by encouraging your friends to become members and to give memberships as gifts to your loved ones. Martha gave credit to Sonya Carpenter and Michelle Rugroik for their work to gain new members.

Public Relations and Communications—Melissa Delany This is the summer to get the word out about the mission and programs of HBS. Much progress has been made in recent years to create very nice and consistent materials from the Station. This summer we have an outreach intern, Rachael Woods, who will be going to various hotels, merchants and the chamber of Commerce here in Highlands to help explain what we do at HBF. This is an excellent way to get our message to our community. Melissa urged all members to help disperse our informational materials to our community.

Botanical Garden –Helen Regnery and Liz Sargent Helen introduced Liz Sargent, the Committee member who will be sharing the committee report. Liz is a landscape architect who specializes in historic preservation and is a third generation advocate for the Highlands Biological Station. The Committee is working together, each bringing their unique gifts and expertise. The Committee’s mission is to support the Highlands Biological Station in its efforts to maintain the Botanical Garden as an ecological preserve for native flora of the Highlands Plateau and the southern Appalachians. The two goals set by the committee are: to build upon the uniqueness of the Highlands Plateau and ensure the opportunity to share its natural beauty with the public, researchers and educators. The second goal is to enhance and raise awareness of native plant collections, native plant habitats and the advantages of using native plants in the landscape. This committee was voted as a standing committee last year at the Trustees meeting. The Committee meets monthly and has worked with the Executive Committee and with Jim Costa. The committee hopes to leave a long- range management plan to serve as a blue print and living document. The committee hopes to identify the challenges of the garden and create and prioritize goals. The committee plans to convene a roundtable of regional botanical garden managers and educators to talk about how well our garden is working. What are the attractive aspects and what are our challenges. The Committee is working to rejuvenate the garden through maintenance, working with the staff and recording the information so that it may be passed along. Liz invited everyone to walk the garden and share insights with the members of the Garden Committee. Liz then showed images from the garden and projects that have been accomplished over the past year.

Election of Trustees of the Highlands Biological Foundation—Martha Stibbs Martha introduced the slate of Trustees to serve a four-year term:

Linda Barlow Vevie Dimmitt Melissa Delany Greg Gregory Tom Claiborne

A motion was made to approve the slate of Trustees. The motion carried.

Old Business Julia thanked the three Trustees who have rotated off the board after serving at least 2 terms of 4 years: Marianne Jenkins, Tom Olson and Mercedes Heller, for their years of dedicated service to HBF.

The Master Plan and capital campaign is very important for the future of this organization. We now have clearly defined, prioritized way to look toward the future that incorporates the three facets of the Highlands Biological Station: the Academic Laboratory, the Nature Center and the Botanical Garden. Now we need to think about how we will fund all of the great ideas that have been presented. We have interviewed several consultation firms to discuss the potential for a capital campaign and have hired who we believe to be the very best firm for this task, Alexander Haas. Julia then introduced Jerry Henry, representative of Alexander Haas. Mr. Henry has worked with a wide variety of small and large organizations dedicated to the environment, conservation and education. Mr. Henry will be working with HBF and HBS to help counsel us and help set up a fundraising campaign. The first step will be a feasibility study to determine if we are ready to embark on a capital campaign, and if we are not, what we need to do to get ready. The three priorities currently are: 1. Housing, current housing is old and outdated and insufficient to meet the needs of the students. 2. Better entrance at Horse Cove Road to include better parking and be more welcoming to our public. 3. The garden in the glade will be the intersection of the academic village, the Botanical Garden and the Nature Center and will be the heart of the campus. There were no questions.

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 3:45 pm