Due to the CoVid-19 pandemic there is no in-person Region 23 convention.  The usual convention has programs, business meetings, guest speakers, banquets, award presentations and judges training.  This year, the meeting was held through Zoom and was open to all Region 23  members who could access Zoom through smart phones or computers.  The meeting only consisted of the business meeting.  The following is a modified version of the minutes

1. Meeting was called to order by RVP Eva Barry at 7:04 pm.
2. Eva welcomed everyone to the convention. This meeting is a Zoom meeting due to CoVid-19 pandemic.  Everyone either called in or used their computer to access the convention.
3. Roll Call for Regional affiliates:
   AAIS – 3
   EVIS – 3
   MVIS – 4
   PVIS – 1
   SFIS – 8

Plus 2 others

4. Meeting Minutes. The minutes from last meeting were read and some corrections were made.  The minutes are in the convention booklet from last year and will be in the 2019 Region 23 newsletter.  The minutes were approved as corrected.
5. Treasurer’s Report – Debra Bilberry presented the treasurers report. All except SFIS have caught up with their dues. Debra wanted to know what to do with checks provided by the other clubs to help MVIS with the national convention in 2021.  She needs to reimburse the webmaster for the cost of the hosting platform in 2019.
6. Newsletters – Eva sent out two newsletters in the spring. SFIS has no newsletter.  MVIS provides newsletters only during months with meetings.

8. Chairman Reports

      – Judge’s Training Chairman – Patricia Randall sent to all judges their status.  Howie Dash and Steve Kelly provided garden training to apprentices Scarlett Ayres and Jacquie Pountney so they can obtain their G/E status.  Now, there are 2 new judges and 4 apprentice judges.  Patricia will send to all judges in NM, the full list of Region 23 judges so they can be contacted for their shows. It is also posted on the AIS website.

      – Region Awards – The region provides two awards to members.  One award is for service and the other award is for judging.  Pat requested that people send their service award nominations to her at patannran@hotmail.com by October.  The awards will be presented in 2021 when we can finally meet in person.  Howie Dash and Steve Kelly will receive the 2020 judges award for their training of Scarlett Ayres and Jacquie Pountney during the pandemic.  Masks were worn and social distancing maintained.

– Website – Scarlett Ayres said that the website has moved due the high cost of the previous hosting platform.  The site now uses WordPress and Elementor.  She encouraged people to check out this content management system on YouTube to see if they would like to modify their own pages on the region website.  It is easy to add events to a calendar.  The Newsletter tab has not been added.  Plus, the pages for all clubs except MVIS needs to be further developed. The site also has a link to the 2021 convention website

9. Affiliate Reports – These reports are also included in the convention booklet.

New Business

      – The AIS have been providing webinars on judges training for space age and novelty irises.  These have been recorded and can be used as programs for the clubs.

      – The pandemic is causing problems for Mesilla Valley Iris Society.  There is a great deal of uncertainty about the status of the pandemic next April.  MVIS doesn’t know whether to cancel the AIS National convention to be held in Las Cruces in 2021, postpone the convention until 2022 or put on a virtual tour.    Members from all over the region worked hard on the Las Cruces gardens.  MVIS has spent over $2500.  It will be a shame to not have people view the regions hard work.  Another possibility is a more informal tour with no buses or lunches.  The gardens will be open for several days and people can drive themselves to the gardens and eat lunch on their own.  However, it all depends upon the governor opening the state again. 

      – MVIS requested that if a convention does occur, the other clubs provide 1-2 items for the goodie bag and each club take over providing snacks for one garden.  They will also need help manning the registration tables.  There will be 6 gardens at the 101th AIS Convention in Las Cruces.  The theme is Iris Enchantment.  This is the first AIS National convention in New Mexico.   

      – MVIS decided to make a final decision about the status of the convention in late October.  Any checks to support MVIS will be held until October.

Programs

No programs this year due to the time limit of the Zoom meeting.

The meeting ended suddenly when Zoom kicked everyone off at 8:00 pm.

Good Job Eva Barry for setting this up and running a meeting in a format very different from the region’s usual format.