KCFA APRIL, 2012 MINUTES APRIL 17,2012 CTAHR OFFICE, KAINALIU
Call to order: 4:01 PM
Present: Board members C. Bondera,T. Butler, ML.Moss, B. Corker, C. Smith, L. Hanna and C. Wilson . Coffee was supplied by CTAHR
Next meetings coffee to be supplied by Rancho Aloha
March minutes were reviewed and a motion to approve was made by B. Corker and seconded by C. Wlson. Motion passed.
Treasurers Report was given by Pres. Smith . A motion to approve was made by M. Moss and seconded by B.Corker. Motion passed.
OLD BUSINESS
Kona Coffee Blossom Festival- M.Moss
Tickets are available at www.konacoffeefarmers.org and should be purchased by April 24. There will be over $7500 value in items for auction. As of now only 15% of tickets were sold and we need 150-75 to make it viable.
KCFA - P. Trygstad
Aloha Theater Program - There are plays in both June and July that are available. Any farmer interested contact Page.
Puerto Rico Report: No change in the KCFA- PR Coop. Any farmer interested in a possible sale of coffee contact Page.
Pres. Smith asked Page to write a report for the KCFA web site.
NEW BUSINESS
There is to be a Coffee Talk on April 24 from 3:30 to 5 PM at the CTAHR office concerning CBB updates. Talk will be hosted by Suzanne Shriner, Bob Smith and Andrea Kawabata.
Social- M. Moss
There will be a tour of the Sea Horse Farm on June 12 at 1PM. Tickets are $25 and limited to 50. Following there will a tour of the Kona Cold Lobster plant.
On Wed. the 25th we will move a pallet of burlap bags and Marylou requested help. Curt Schweickhard, B. Corker and B. Smith volunteered.
Document Request by P. Trygsted
Page requested copies of the last 3 years KCFA tax reports. The request was granted.
A question was asked by Debra Donald regarding the outstanding Mycotrol inventory, how it is perishable and this should be prevented from happening again. The product is good until 2013 and a motion was passed last month to oversee this. Page mentioned that the bylaws limit expenditures to $300 without BOD approval.This will be looked into.
CTAHR - Andrea K.
Andrea read off a host of activities available to Kona farmers. Information is available from Andrea and from her emails.
Businesss Plan Development
P. Trygstad suggested a Committee should be formed to develop a KCFA business plan pointing out our future goals and etc. Sandra Scarr said that since the IRS defines KCFA (we are described) as a 501(c)6 trade organization, we have more room (to engage) to be proactive to benefit our members. An AD Hoc committee was formed consisting of Page, Sandra and L. Hanna.
Treasurers Report
L. Hanna would like to see the Treasurers report revised to show more information, particularly to do with budget. She and Kurt Schweickhard will look into this.
Steve Braund and Suzanne Saxon from Alaska were introduced as guests.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
-Fundraising/Social Events Mary Lou Moss
We will be taking delivery of 1600 burlap bags on Wed. April 25 and I need help getting them from Mamalahoa Hwy/Brunner road to Page Trygstadt's storage area. Delivery will be mid morning.
APRIL 28TH BANQUET: We have collected over $7500 retail value of merchandise for the silent/live auction.Items are still coming in and now is the time to really talk up the sales for the tickets. We need to give a count to the hotel early next week. I would like to ask for help calling members to encourage them to buy tickets.
I also need volunteers to help with the collecting of items after the silent auction is finished and a couple people to help alphabetize the names of the winners. I also need spotters for the live auction.
SOCIAL COMMITTEE REPORT
The next social with KCFA will be on June 12 at 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. at the Seahorse farm. Tickets are $25 for the hour tour. As a bonus, Phil Wilson, of Kona Cold Lobsters (since we are in the area) will give us a tour of the lobster facility.
-Geographic Identities- Colehour Bondera
At this time there are no new items to report regarding the activities of the KCFA
-Legislative- Bruce Corker
1HB280 (Repeal of Mandatory Coffee Inspection & Certification)
This bill has passed the Senate in an amended form and will be going to a House/Senate Conference Committee. It appears likely that it will be passed in some form by the Legislature. A veto by the Governor is the best prospect to prevent enactment. This measure would be a major setback for the integrity and quality of Kona coffeeand would return Hawaii to the days of the Kona Kai Coffee Counterfeiting Scandal. HB280 would bring the end of quality assurances provided by the current inspection and grading system. This seems to be the principal reason for support of HB280 by the Blender/Processorsthey will reap significant economic benefits from being able to sell Off Grade coffee using the Kona name.
2PETITION TO GOVERNOR ASKING FOR A VETO OF HB280
All KCFA members are encouraged to join KCFAs Online Petition. There is a link to petition on the homepage of the website. Please also send email requests to your coffee customers asking that they join in the petition. Kona Coffee consumers have the same concerns about maintaining the integrity and quality of Kona Coffee as we do. As of 4/15 there were 311 signatures on the petition.
3HB283 ($140,000 for CBB Control and Destruction of Feral Coffee Trees)
This bill has passed the House and Senate in different forms and will go to a conference committee. KCFA and member testimonies suggested that $140,000 represents a gross underestimate to the scope of the CBB Emergency facing Kona coffee growers and that the money would be better spent on placing an HDOA entomologist in Kona to work on CBB. Those suggestions have not been followed by the Legislature
4HB1947(Agriculture Safety & Security Program)
KCFA testified in opposition to this bill before the Senate Agriculture Committee because it is premature to proceed with this costly effort before the federal FDA issues its rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act. The measure was passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee, but has not been given a hearing by the Senate Ways and Means Committeeand appears to have died.
5Publicity in Japan re Effects of HB280
Legislative Committee member Page Trygstad has suggested that, with the assistance of his wife Yoko, the KCFA consider publicity directed to Japanese consumers concerning the effects of HB280 on coffee quality and suggesting farm direct purchases through the KCFA's "Buy Direct" website listings in order to obtain the quality that they have come to expect of premium 100% Kona coffee. Question: Is this a matter the Board would like the Legislative and PR Committees to jointly consider?
-Membership/Volunteers- Louise Hanna
Report of members who have renewed or joined KCFA March 18 April 14, 12
Name City Voting Associate Supporting business
Christopher Quinn Honaunau, HI X
Milt Mendes Captain Cook, HI X
Isaac Gillette Holualoa, HI X
Michael Boshes Philadelphia, PA X
Shai Yerlick Holualoa, HI X
Debra Dickens Holualoa, HI X
Matthew Scheider Holualoa, HI X
Peter Van Dyke Honaunau, HI X
Carolyn Wallace Honaunau, HI X
Wes Muramoto Kailua Kona, HI X
Tim Valentine Mills, WY X
David Case Keauhou, HI X
Dorothy Case Kailua Kona, HI X
David Borton Milwaukee, WI X
Bonnie Lind Fresno, CA X
Verna Dacalio Kailua Kona, HI X
Major efforts were made by board members both by email and by phone to contact expired members to encourage renewals. All expired members on our email list received an email letting them know that they were being dropped from the member rolls, but that they would be welcome back at any time they chose to renew their membership. They were also encouraged to visit our website to keep abreast of coffee news. All internet sales of memberships received a personal email of thanks for their support. Sincerely, Louise Hanna
-Pest & Disease- Bob Smith
The only new information that I would like to transmit is that we will be conducting a CBB talk story session on April 24th from 3:30p to 5:30p at the Kainaliu extension office. The objective is to share ideas and experiences of dealing with CBB. I look forward to hearing what is working or not working, and determining any Best Practices.
The State CBB Task force is more or less inactive at the moment and Dan Kuhn who has been heading the group is looking for a replacement. I suspect that the realization on how ineffective a group such as this is in actually dealing with the problem on the farm is becoming clearer by the day.
Getting a working Entomologist in Kona still has not happened, which is a terrible shame as much time is being wasted and potentially valuable information is not being collected. The State DOA apparently does not view this as an emergency situation and is reacting accordingly.
-PR/Newsletter- Clare Wilson
Edited and distributed April Independent voice.
Wrote and mailed letter requesting donations of dinner or dessert to all 35 restaurants on our list of restaurants serving 100% Kona coffee.
Prepared community type press release about Kona Coffee Blossom Banquet. Distributed it to West Hawaii Today and several online news outlets.
Prepared and submitted a color display ad and a black and white display ad for the banquet. The b&w ad appeared on the 13th and the color on the 15th. Both were on the Community page (page 2). Both will appear again next week.
-Education/Grants- Paul Uster (no report)
-Finance- Christy Carrico
Hi all, outstanding check: David Case reimbursement meal w/ Governor $40
Checks paid out this past month (cleared already):
Bookkeeping Express (my training) $115.20
David Case reimbursement $202.60
Bruce Corker reimbursement $232.60 both for travel (legislative Committee)
Refund for mycotrol order $538
BEI $30, 01961
One Blue Path (website) $97
American Express Bill $101.68
Lorraine Mecca $60 banquet supplies
-Website- Cea Smith
For 04/17/12- KCFA Website Report: Website redo is done (Note by Tuesdays meeting, it will be complete-Member section is not yet in as I write this). 2 weeks ahead of schedule. We have meshed the old site into the new format, essentially. Our programmer Valerie Finch has put together an updated site worthy of commendation. Because we are a web-based organization of volunteers, I feel this update will significantly help the KCFA.
Please Go here: https://konacoffeefarmers.org/index.php Of course with every new site, there are bound to be hiccups so please let me know if you see any errors. Of particular note on the new site: Better organization of Home page- see list on the right which will be automatically updated as documents are entered, new larger Buy Direct From Farmers button, new larger displays of Farms there, new larger and more space given to Supporting Business Member for their $30/year etc. A much easier format for me to manage. A fresh new look for the KCFA website of 2012.
BTW we have removed Farm Listings that have no entries. As soon as a Member updates their listing with something, it will go immediately into the Buy Direct List. We also have reversed the order from z-a of the full farm list, after having it a-z for years.Take a tour and let me know your thoughts and comments. submitted, Cea Smith Website Chair
Old Business:
Aloha Theatre- Page Trygstad -Bruce & Lisa Corker, Rancho Aloha Farm is providing coffee for the Tempest this month. There are two upcoming events for which we need representative farms. The first event begins 6/15 and is the Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. production. The second event begins 7/13 and is A Chorus Line. Any farm interested should contact Page.
Meeting adjourned at 5:12PM
Minutes by T. Butler