Lindheimer Chapter Board Minutes February 2026

9:30 am 2/10/26.   Called to order at 9:38 AM

Tye Preston Library Board Room

Attendance: Dick _x_ Sara T. _x_ Debbie _x_ Bev _x_ Sarah M. _x_ Craig _x_ Marian S. _x_ Nancy _x_ Christina _x_ Mike Laffey _x_ Jan Walker __  (Quorum met, 6 of 6 required).       

Old Business:

• Mike Laffey – review proposed changes to the By-Laws, are we ready to send them to the membership? Changes were discussed, Dick moved that we proceed with the version Mike emailed the board, Debbie seconded, unanimous approval.  Mike’s draft will be sent to Charlotte to be proofread and then emailed to our membership to give them 30 days notice of a vote to be held at the chapter meeting.

State Society:

• NPSOT Spring Symposium – Feb. 28.  Registration for the 2026 Spring Symposium is now open with both in-person and virtual registration options.  Share this agenda with your followers and encourage them to sign up!
• Spring NLCP Classes – Registration is now open for NLCP classes!  Be sure to promote the classes in your area.
• Academic Scholarships Available – Encourage undergraduates to apply for our scholarships now through March 15 by sharing this graphic.
• National Invasive Species Week – National Invasive Species Week is Feb. 23-27. Look out for posts on NPSOT state social media you can share, or create some of your own to spread the word about invasive plants.
• New Member Portal Feature – Make sure your members are aware of the new Committee Role Job Board -found on the left sidebar of the Member Portal. Encourage them to get involved!
• Monthly Membership Tip – Allow plenty of time for chapter members to visit before the formal meeting starts. That’s a great time to mingle and get to know new people.

President’s Report: Sara Torres, Acting

• Continue Board meetings at TPML at 9:30, on the second Tuesday, reserved for January to April at TPML.  During construction our Board can meet in the Chamber of Commerce meeting room.  We will hold our chapter meetings at Mammen Family Public Library during construction.
• Please turn in your Event Liability Forms.
• Have State NPSOT signs been ordered?  Yes.
• State Chapter Leaders Forum Thursday February 19^th Noon-1.
• Workday to replace storage shed flooring? Will be looked at next month.

Secretary’s Report:

• Dick Bigelow, VOTE to approve minutes.  Dick made a motion to approve, Sara seconded, unanimous approval.

Treasurer’s Report: Sarah Mato

• Chase Checking $4,345.16 as of 1/31/26.
• Casino Night / Canyon Lake Area Chamber of Commerce – Casino Night / Canyon Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.  Craig has been sent all the NLCP transactions, he is working on asking for our reimbursements.
• Mycology Talk/Walk – I think I paid for our 2 tickets for Lichen walk with Chapter Debit – I owe Chapter $20.

Director of Formal Education: Craig Bruska

• Native Seed Library Program, upcoming workdays

• February 19^th (third Thursday) Garden Ridge seed cleaning 1-3 PM.
  • March 12^th (second Thursday) Mammen seed cleaning 2-4 PM.
  • March 13^th (second Friday) TPML seed cleaning 2-4 PM.
• NLCP-1 April 25th TPML (Spring Plant Sale).
• NLCP-4 May 23rd Headwaters.
• Mamman has enough plants to be able to conduct NLCP 2 there.
• Sara made a motion to give Mike a scholarship to attend NLCP 4 so that he could help teach the class, Craig seconded, unanimous approval.

Director of Community Outreach: Sara Torres, Acting

• WORD of Comal County is exploring potential partner interest and getting some early feedback on an event idea we’re developing for this spring. We’re considering hosting a family-friendly Earth Day & Arbor Day celebration called Roots & Rivers on April 25 at Canyon Park in Canyon Lake. The focus would be on how native plants, trees, and land stewardship directly support clean and healthy watershed.  They would like to know whether this type of event seems doable, is our organization interested, any concerns or suggestions we might have.  Sara will respond after checking with TPML, this is the day of our plant sale.
• March 2nd,
• Pollinator Fiesta March 14th 10-2, Guadalupe State Park.
• Dino Days March 21st 12-4, will give away Bluebonnets.
• Agrifest May 2nd 9-1.
• Demonstration Gardens: 
  • Texas Museum of Handmade Furniture – Bev Willmann, still no response from Justin Ball as of 11:47 am this morning & 2:35 pm: “the mailbox belonging to 210-246-2006 is full & cannot accept new messages at this time”.  How do we email him to inform him we’re coming to dig up our plants?  No update as of the meeting, Bev will try calling him again.
  • Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country: Mickey Riviere, 1st Thursdays at 9:30-11:00.
  • Chamber of Commerce demonstration garden.  Our next workday is on Thursday, February 19th at 9:00 (day after chapter meeting).  Sara did some mulching in January.

Director of Communications: Marian Stasney

• Facebook – Nancy, as of February 4 -132 followers; up 2 from January 13.  Jan 7 – Feb 3: 1,165 views, largest viewing: 127 views – January 25 post with the plant list for the Spring Plant Sale.
• Worked with Bob on learning how to edit the Zoom meetings and post them on our YouTube channel.  We made a Zoom recording of the meeting in case anyone else would like to learn.
• The NICE posters have been ordered.
• I’m looking for a newsletter editor/co-editor if anyone is interested.
• Send upcoming events to Dick to be updated on the website.

Director of Plant Sales: Debbie Kyrouac

• Plant sale is Saturday, April 25th, with setup on the 24th.  The library has confirmed use of the patio for that date.
• The plant dig at Tye Preston on Feb 4th went really well.  There will be no plant dig needed Feb 13th. 
• Linda Chang may not have much to contribute this year.  She will be contacted in March.
• An email was sent to Bob to see if he would like some help with his property.  He has not responded yet.  Debbie will call him.
• Will check with Charlotte about doing a plant dig at her place.
• An announcement will be made at the next chapter meeting inviting members to donate plants.  An offer will also be made to come get plants from member’s yards if they need help and/or to supply pots if needed.  All plants need to have tags with both common and scientific name.

Past President – Sara Torres

Membership: As of 2-3-2026, membership is 140 total (104 members + 36 affiliates).  5 new members added in January. 

Hospitality: Jan Walker

• Discussion and possible vote on having the chapter picnic at the Dino Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country or the Headwaters in May. It’s too early for picnic reservations, but setting the date and location will help with program planning and any classes around then.  Jan is checking with both locations.
• Sara Torres has submitted a request for another HEB gift card.

Program Committee Chair:  Mike Laffey

• February 17th Victoria Raven of Esperanza Winery on “Native Grapes”.
• March 17th Central Texas Mycological Society (via Zoom), Sarah has sent them the $100 speakers fee.
• April 21st Cyrus Harp, Author of Native Food Plants of Texas: An Austin Forager’s Guide Based on Indigenous Knowledge, Christina will order his book for a door prize.
• May 19th Chapter Picnic.
• September 15th Looking at Jeff Pavalat – the Curator of Cacti & Succulents of the Zilker Botanical Garden in Austin, speaking on “Cacti & Succulents of South Texas”

Field Trip Chair: Christina Campbell

• The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment-
  • 211 San Marcos Springs Dr, San Marcos, TX 78666
  • Saturday, February 28 @9-1030am, meet in the parking lot at 830am
  • $150 check due upon arrival for our group of up to 20 people.
• Canyon Lake Gorge-
  • 16029 S Access Rd, Canyon Lake, TX 78133
  • Saturday, March 21st @ TBD (In the morning, before Dino Days)
  • The tour bus holds 15 people (including guide and docent), though the bus can make two runs if our group exceeds 13, no cost to our chapter.

New Business:

• John LaBonte, Canyon Lake Gorge.  The Canyon Lake Gorge is interested in reconnecting as a local partner.  The Canyon Lake Gorge is interested in reconnecting as a local partner.  We are in the process of developing an area to showcase native plants for new homeowners moving to our area and need your help.  Our goal is to educate the community about the resiliency of native plants and highlight their beauty.  How can the Canyon Lake Gorge Education Center and Park become a location worthy of NPSOT support?  This was discussed and Sara will explore it with him.

Adjourned at 11:18 AM.