B. E. S. T.

Butterfly Enthusiasts of Southeast Texas

Minutes of the Board Meeting

7:00 p.m., February 5, 2008

B.E.S.T. Members Present:
 

The meeting was brought to order by Farrar Stockton. A quorum was present.

• Changing the number of B.E.S.T. meetings held each year from 8 monthly meetings to 6 meetings held bi-monthly was discussed. The following recommendation for a new meeting schedule was made by Farrar Stockton:

• Regular (full-membership) meetings would be held the first Tuesday of the month in February, April, June, August, October, and December. The December meeting would be a Christmas party. (An exception to this schedule would be made for 2008 only: the first regular meeting would be held 4 March, as scheduled by the previous Board, followed by meetings in April, June, August, October, and December.)

• The February meeting would be a planning meeting. The program for this meeting would be a slide presentation or talk by one of the B.E.S.T. members.

• B.E.S.T. Board meetings would be held one hour before a regular meeting, as necessary.

• Meetings would be held at the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) in one of the classrooms on the lower level. In the event that the HMNS could not accommodate one of the meetings (highly likely in June), other arrangements would be made by the Board.

Farrar Stockton moved that the Board accept these changes. The motion was seconded by Wally Ward. Motion carried.

• Vic Hitchings moved that the following B.E.S.T. members be accepted as B.E.S.T. officers:

• President: Farrar Stockton

• Programs: Wally Ward

• Treasurer: Steve Abbey

• Secretary: Kathie Cook

Billie Strickland seconded the motion. Motion carried
 

• The program for the 4 March meeting was discussed. Farrar Stockton will present a slide show on Houston Butterflies and Moths.

Other possibilities for 2008 programs were discussed:

• A presentation by Laurie Pierrel on Ecuadorian butterflies

• A presentation by Nancy Greig in June

• A presentation on New Guinea by Carlton Collier (and Kelly Walker?)

• The B.E.S.T. budget was discussed. Steve Abbey reported that B.E.S.T. has less than $1200.00 in the bank.

Farrar Stockton said that we have 75 members, of which about 25 are core members who regularly participate in meetings, counts, and field trips. Our chapter receives only a few hundred dollars back from dues that our members pay to the North American Butterfly Association (N.A.B.A.), and we have limited opportunities for generating additional funds. After paying our mandatory liability insurance, we have very little money left, none for speakers.

Farrar Stockton said that he will discuss this problem with N.A.B.A. before the end of the year and try to work out some way for our chapter to get more money back from membership dues. Consideration may be given to separating from N.A.B.A. The Austin club is not affiliated with N.A.B.A. – Mike Quinn would be a source for information on how that club operates.
 

Two expenditures were approved by the Board:

• It was moved by Wally Ward that Farrar Stockton be reimbursed $104.50 for a gift for former B.E.S.T. President David Henderson. The motion was seconded by Vic Hitchings. Motion carried.

• Vic Hitchings moved that $20.00 be paid to Network Solutions to protect the B.E.S.T. N.A.B.A. name for the next five years. The motion was seconded by Wally Ward. Motion carried.

• The Board members agreed that chapter communications will be by email and the B.E.S.T. website. This will be confirmed with the club. Farrar has been working to identify email addresses for all members. Kathie Cook volunteered to help with this effort.

• B.E.S.T. is scheduled to participate in the Nature Fest to be held March 1, 2008 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center, 20634 Kenswick Drive, Humble, TX. Any member that can be there to help with our booth should contact Farrar Stockton through the B.E.S.T. website.

• Other events that might be of interest to B.E.S.T. members were discussed:

• Bob Honig has informed us that the Audubon Society will have a program on “The Sounds of Insects” on March 12, 2008. Wil Hershberger will be the speaker. Farrar will find out if our members can go and the time of the meeting. Any one wishing to attend should contact Farrar Stockton through the website.

• The Shangri-La Botanical Garden in Orange, Texas will be open Saturday, April 26, 2008 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. A $3,000,000.00 donation has made possible the rebuilding of the garden after hurricane Katrina.

• N.A.B.A. Eighth Biennial Members’ Meeting will be held in Kernville, CA, June 26-29, 2008. Meeting and registration details can be found on the N.A.B.A. website.

• Billie Strickland will provide refreshments for the March meeting. At that meeting, she will ask members to sign up to provide refreshments at future meetings. She emphasized that snacks only are be provided, not dinner.

• The 2008 butterfly counts were discussed. The following counts are currently scheduled:

March
Saturday, March 15 - San Jacinto County  Count (David F. Henderson)

Saturday, March 22 - Houston Lakes Count (Wally Ward)

Saturday, March 29 - Sabine NF  Count (David F. Henderson)

Sunday, March 30 - Angelina NF  Count (David F. Henderson)

April

Saturday, April 12 - Sandylands Count (Don Dubois)

Saturday, April 19 - Conroe Count (David F. Henderson)

Saturday, April 26 - Pineywoods Parklands Count (David F. Henderson)

May

Saturday, May 3 - Big Thicket  Count (David F. Henderson)

June
Saturday, June 14 - Raven Count (Hugh Wedgeworth) 

July

Friday, July 4 - Houston

Saturday, July 12 - High Island

Saturday, July 12 - Magnolia Count (Don Dubois)
Saturday, July 19 - Brazos Valley Count (David F. Henderson)

August

Saturday, August 30 - Attwater NWR Count (David F. Henderson)

September

Monday, September 1 - Katy Prairie

Saturday, September 13 - Galveston

Saturday, September 20 - Brazos Bend

October

Saturday, October 4 - Baytown

Saturday, October 18 - Trinity River

Maps for the count locations are located on the B.E.S.T. website.
 

Minutes submitted by Kathie Cook, B.E.S.T. Secretary

Minutes of the Meeting

7:30 p.m., March 4, 2008

B.E.S.T. Members Present:
 

Guests present: Jane Reierson, John Schneider

The meeting was brought to order by Farrar Stockton.

• Announcements:

• Farrar announced the Board’s decision to change the number of B.E.S.T. meetings held each year from 8 monthly meetings to 6 meetings held bi-monthly. Bi-monthly meetings will start with the meeting on 1 April. There were no objections from the members.

• The speaker for the 1 April meeting will be Dr. Nancy Greig. Her topic will be tropical butterflies, with emphasis on heliconians. Dr. Greig will also be giving a lecture and conducting a field trip at the Featherfest in April.

• Communications between B.E.S.T. members will now be done mostly through email and the B.E.S.T. website.

• Billie Strickland was thanked for bringing the refreshments. Kathie Cook and Diane Milano will bring refreshments for the April meeting. Billie requested that other members sign up for subsequent meetings.

• The Audubon Society will have a program on “The Sounds of Insects” on March 12, 2008. Wil Hershberger will be the speaker. B.E.S.T. members are invited to attend.

• Both the plant sale at the Museum of Natural Science and Earth Day in the Woodlands are on 12 April.

• The treasurer, Steve Abbey, reported $1085.00 in the B.E.S.T. account.

• The butterfly count schedule for March was discussed. Farrar plans to notify everyone about the counts by email.

• The program for the evening was a very informative talk and beautiful slide presentation by Farrar Stockton on the lifecycles of moths and butterflies, their host and nectar plant requirements, habitats, and habits (such as mimicry). The talk also included a section on Monarch migration. The program was enjoyed by all.

Minutes submitted by Kathie Cook, B.E.S.T. Secretary

Minutes of the Meeting

7:30 p.m., June 3, 2008

B.E.S.T. Members Present:

The meeting was brought to order by Farrar Stockton.

• Announcements:

• Diane Milano, Hugh Wedgeworth, and Kathie Cook were thanked for the refreshments.
• Good Earth Day is coming up in The Woodlands. Diane Milano and Hugh Wedgeworth will have a booth there.

• The Montgomery County Preserve Count was attended by 60 people.

• The June/July count schedule for BEST is as follows:

  • Saturday, June 14 - Raven Count - leader Hugh Wedgeworth

  • Saturday, June 21 - ATBI Big Thicket Beaumont - leader David Henderson

    • Pollinator Festival at Texas AgriLife Extension Service

  • Friday, July 4 - Houston -  leader Wallace Ward

  • Saturday, July 5 - High Island - leader David Sarkozi

  • Saturday July 12 - Magnolia - leader Don Dubois

  • Saturday July 19 - Brazos Valley - leader David Henderson
• Steve Abbey and Wally Ward will attend the NABA National Meeting in Kernville, California on June 26 - June 29.
• New Business
  • BEST will be sponsoring the All Taxa Bio Inventory (ATBI) program this year in the Beaumont and Lower Neches units of the Big Thicket National Preserve (BTNP) as well as in Village Creek State Park. BEST volunteers will be counting butterflies. The dates for upcoming trips are as follows:

    • Saturday, June 21

    • Saturday, August 2

    • Saturday, September 20

    • Saturday, November 1

Watch the website and email for times and meeting places.

• Program

  • We were privileged to have Dr. Nancy Greig as our guest speaker. She gave a very interesting slide presentation on tropical butterflies, with emphasis on heliconians.

  • The August program will be given by Dr. Vic Hitchings on the Spring 2008 El Cielo Butterfly Festival.

Minutes submitted by Kathie Cook, B.E.S.T. Secretary

Minutes of the Board Meeting

7:00 p.m., August 12, 2008

Present:
 

The meeting was brought to order by Farrar Stockton. A quorum was present.
 

• Steve Abbey reported $1,300.00 in B.E.S.T.’s bank account. The signature card for the bank account has been updated with Farrar Stockton’s name.

A donation of $100.00 to the Museum of Natural Science was approved.

• Farrar Stockton reported that the Austin butterfly group, of which Mike Quinn is president, is planning a trip to El Cielo. This group was started by Mike Quinn at the same time that NABA was started, but is not part of NABA. Their fees are small; the group is subsidized by local nurseries. This group puts out two newsletters per year. Vic suggested that B.E.S.T. try to get together with this group for a trip.

• There is an ATBI (Beaumont) count on Saturday, September 20; David Henderson is the lead. B.E.S.T.’s Brazos Bend count is on also Saturday, September 20; Richard and Sandy Jespersen are the leads for that count. There will also be a bioblitz at Katy Prairie on the same day.

• There will be a seminar on spiders the morning of August 13 at Jesse Jones Park; there will also be a “mothing,” with sheets and lights, in the evening that same day.

• The next meeting will be 7 October. The nomination and election of officers will be discussed and a vote taken. The slate of officers includes: president, programs, secretary, treasurer, and the chairs for the refreshment and website committees.

The current officers for president, programs, secretary, and treasurer have agreed to serve for another year. Two people are needed to take over the B.E.S.T. website, since Vic Hitchings will be leaving next year. Also, Billie Strickland would like for someone to take over the refreshments committee next year
 

• Vic Hitchings gave an excellent slide presentation on his 5-day trip to the El Cielo Butterfly Festival in northeast Mexico in the spring of this year.

Minutes submitted by Kathie Cook, B.E.S.T. Secretary

Minutes of the Board Meeting

7:30 p.m., October 7, 2008

Present:

The meeting was brought to order by Farrar Stockton. A quorum was present.
 

• The following guests were welcomed: Serenity, Allie, and Zoe (they are moth enthusiasts; they raise caterpillars, butterflies and moths); Jamie Pincknard and Hilary Getz (they are students of David Henderson).

• Ednelza Henderson and Debbie Copland were thanked for the refreshments.

• The B.E.S.T. Board for next year was proposed: President - Farrar Stockton; Vice-President - Wally Ward; Treasurer - Steve Abbey; Secretary - Kathie Cook; Refreshments and Website Chair - Hugh Wedgeworth. Marie Asscherick moved that the proposed slate be elected; Billie Strickland seconded the motion. Motion carried.

• Treasurer’s Report: balance is $1,030.00. A check for $100.00 was presented to the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS).

• Upcoming butterfly counts:

  • Trinity River Butterfly Count - October 11

  • Brazos Bend Count - October 12

  • Fantasy Ranch Count, Refugio County - October 24

  • ATBI (Big Thicket) - November 1

• Cancelled butterfly counts:

  • Galveston

  • Baytown

  • Anahuac

• Other events for October:

  • Bulb Mart - October 11

  • Master Gardener’s Plant Sale - October 11

  • Wildflower Festival, The Woodlands - October 25

  • Mission Butterfly Festival - October 16 - 19

• The next meeting of B.E.S.T. will be the Christmas party, 7:00 p.m., December 2 at the HMNS. The party will be pot luck. Wine will be allowed. Billie Strickland will organize the refreshments. Steve Abbey and Wally Ward will talk to us about the annual B.E.S.T. meeting which they attended in California.

• Farrar and other members reported on destruction to butterflying sites by hurricane Ike.

  • The Anahuac site was completely destroyed. The butterfly garden will be covered with paper and mulch to keep down weeds until it can be restored.

  • The monarch way-station in water improvement district 123 was damaged; the habitat and garden will be restored.

  • During the storm, the butterfly rainforest and the green house at HMNS were emptied of butterflies and caterpillars, which were stored in a tent in the basement of the museum. All caterpillars died. This was a financial loss to the butterfly center, as the many of the pupae raised in the greenhouse are sold to other butterfly centers.

• David and Ednelza Henderson gave a very interesting program on their trip to Brazil.

Minutes submitted by Kathie Cook, B.E.S.T. Secretary