BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
May 13, 1999

The meeting was opened at 1835 by the President. All members were present as well as the editor of the Newsletter. The Secretary's report was submitted and moved to be accepted by Jean Maday. The Treasurer's report was submitted and accepted.

Mary Douglass reported on events at the national level. She reported on the adulteration situation in Vermont and that legal sanctions had been taken against a producer who had adulterated syrup. She also indicated that a number of major producers, primarily from Quebec, are developing a "quality logo" to be used primarily by producers in the world market.

The following committee reports were submitted:

Newsletter: Cathi Bates reported that the "616" area code will be split and the new code will be "231 ". There was a discussion and approval of giving Terry Coleman the title of Profile Editor in the Newsletter and reimbursing him MMSA related phone calls.

Fall Tour: Steve Youdes recommended that a plaque or trophy be purchased and used to list each of the annual winners. He also suggested a unique individual trophy, such as a gold spile, for individual winners. He received approval

Nominations: Ron Kistler reported three names for the January election. These names were accepted and they will be contacted.

Annual Meeting: John Anton reported that he has made tentative arrangements with the Doherty Hotel to again host the Annual Meeting. There was discussion on using an evaluation form by meeting participants to help the Board enhance future meetings. There was also discussion on reserving and limiting vendor spare for the meeting as well as break out group topics and a feature speaker.

Membership Honorarium: Membership was reported at 193 by Larry Haigh. After discussion the approval of the list of honorees was tabled to the September meeting.

Legislative: Mary Douglass reported that the Asian Longhorn Beetle was sighted in Lansing. She further reported that the MDA and USDA were continuing to work on limiting its spread.

Promotion: The website advertising application was presented and approved. There was brief discussion of the DPT Group Project and the dues structure, however no action was taken.

Historian: Jean Maday has compiled a list of Board members back to 1983. She also presented a photo history of the Fall Tour.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2125 hours.

Respectfully Submitted
Brian G Vissers, Secretary