November 15, 2011 – Board Meeting Minutes

KCFA BOD Meeting Minutes
Nov. 15, 2011
Yano Hall
There was no quorum at the appointed time. The meeting was called to order at approximately 4:10 without a quorum for a discussion only, no voting meeting. Jason Stith arrived late.
Present: B. Corker, K. Wood, ML Moss, C. Bondera, M. Da Silva. 100% Kona Coffee furnished by Jason Stith. Mahalo.
December is Christy Carrico.
Acknowledgment of guests: Karen Kemp presented with KCFA Certification of Appreciation for all her contributions to KCFA.
Pres. Bondera's "Quote of the Month": Basic overview of nonprofits and the key roles in nonprofits , particularly of the chief executive/officer.
Minutes: At the time this item appeared on the agenda there was no quorum so the October minutes were not voted upon.
Treasurer's report: At the time this item appeared on the agenda there was no quorum so no action was taken.
Committee Reports
Legislative: B. Corker.
-There are still dividends from the Safeway Boycott. A Civil Beat reporter Sophe Cocke (who covered the Safeway story) noticed that Kona Blend Coffee [delete--(clearly labeled as such)] was served in the APEC pressroom and wrote a news article questioning the APEC commitment to Hawaii products like Kona coffee. Thank you, Sophie.
-KCFA is still perusing the Origin Disclosure Bill. Josh Green is still on board.
-After the initial Coffee Berry Borer Task Force actions in the early months not much has activity has taken place. It appears they are supporting a reported 3.65 million dollar bill, which Jim Wayman of Hawaii Coffee Company is drafting, that would provide a fumigation center here in Kona (Below Teshimas ) and also monies for eradication of wild coffee and traps, etc. [delete--assistance to farmers for fungus, etc.]
-KCFA is still considering moving forward with a suggestion of a "green tax"; per discussion the "green tax" should not hurt Kona Coffee Farmers.
Pest and Disease: B. Corker
-There was a 2 hour CBB State Task Force Conference call on Nov. 1. The Task Force is still attempting to secure monies from the State Legislature while KCFA (Melanie Bondera and Suzanne Shriner) is moving ahead with the CBB Video project.
-There is still no entomologist in Kona
Paige advised BOD and members that he had discovered that the CBB was attacking the parchment on his drying deck.
Fine powdery particles are an indication that the CBB is still alive and going into beans in your drying parchment.
Farmers should be on the alert for this.
Branding: C. Smith
Jason Stith was now present and a quorum existed. A motion was made by B. Corker, seconded by J. Stith, to adopt "The Kona Typica Position Statement and Resolution" drafted by the Branding committee and it was unanimously passed.
An inquiry was made as to whether or not the BOD should vote on the Oct. minutes since there was now a quorum present. It was decided that not all corrections had been sent out based on comments of those who had forwarded corrections so no action was taken.
Website: C Smith
Everything is going as it should - emails sent, emails answered, info given, info sent, etc.
Newsletter:
A thought - with the loss of the current editor BOD members may have the opportunity to rotate this task on a monthly basis.
Education:
The Nov. coffee talk was given by members of the Captain Cook fire dept on fire and accident preparedness in the coffee belt. Attendance was low.
The Dec. coffee talk will be a panel discussion/Q&A on Farm Tax Planning. Speakers and topics for the January 28th Expo are being researched.
Trent Bateman from Mountain Thunder is doing an event Jan. 2nd on the topic of wet milling, dry milling, etc.
Events: ML Moss
-Successful coffee sales with donated coffee on Oct. 23rd on Alii Drive
-Coffee & Art Stroll on Sat. Nov 5th was very successful
-Sales at KCFA table during the Outrigger Cupping contest on Wed, Nov. 9th was successful as were sales at other venues during the remainder of the Coffee Festival. All told, the grand total for income during the Cultural Festival was $4,484
Grants: J. Stith
Nothing to report.
Membership: ML Moss
Currently there are 322 members; 253 are voting members, 47 are associate members and 22 are supporting members.
Several new associate members were signed up during the cultural festival; it is easy to recruit associate members if we simply ask them if they support Kona Coffee and advise how we use the membership dues.
Public Relations: Claire not present and paper copy of the report was not present but there was a discussion regarding the successful Al Jazeera video on Kona Coffee. Trent Bateman and Tommy Greenwell were featured in the video. Al Jazeera is possibly the largest news agency in the world so this exposure for Kona Coffee was excellent. Bubba Gumps is the site for the Nov. after hours event for the COC; it is uncertain if any KCFA members will attend.
Social: K. Wood
KCFA is sponsoring a potluck for Andrea Kawabata, the new CTHAR extension agent for our area on Sunday Nov. 20th to provide an opportunity for farmers to meet her. It is being held at the outside pavillion at the Old Airport.
AOP/International: C. Bondera
-Positive followup communications continue from the Mexico oriGin meeting
-The AOP is hoping to wrap up the Article of Incorporation of the organization to file before the end of 2011. KCFA is one of the three founding groups.
Adjourned at approximately 5:50 pm.
Minutes by Maria da Silva