OCIA Nebraska
Board Meeting on Zoom at 8:30 pm
September 19, 2023
Those present: Rick Schuchardt, Kim Mosel, Karen Ostry, Simeon Mosel, Travis Wingate.
Meeting was called to order by President, Simeon Mosel at 8:42 pm. The minutes of the last meeting of August 14, 2023 were sent by email to all board members, so no minutes were read. Final copy of the OCIA Nebraska newsletter was sent by Genny to board members to review before sending to all members. Discussion was made on how many times per year to send out a newsletter and what compensation will be for Genny who did the bulk of the work.
Discussion was on Husker Harvest Days. Rick suggested that those who worked the booth to send in their expenses to OCIA Nebraska for the TOPP program to compensate them. We have received $5260 from the TOPP in helping to make more known about transitioning from conventional farming to organic farming. In the next two years-2024 and 2025 we need to have a farm tour and conferences to invite farmers to witness the TOPP program. We need also to conduct mentor training, all certifiers in Nebraska. Rick will take care of the quarterly reports for TOPP.
Ag Expo booth needs to be manned by our members for December 5, 6, 7 from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm in the Pavilion 3 organic building at the Lancaster Event Center in Lincoln. Board members will be able to stay at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Lincoln.
December 5th December 6th December 7th
a.m. p.m. a.m. p.m. a.m. p.m.
Rick S. Karen O. Jane S. Bud Wingate Travis W. Rick S.
Kim Mosel asked to hire Phil Schuchardt to bring the OCIA Nebraska website up to date and to add the TOPP information. Rick made a motion to hire Phil at $50 an hour and to work for 20 hours to equal $1000. Seconded by Karen and all approved.
Karen will end the advertisement in the Farm Bureau Newspaper. We used it for a year and are now ready to try new avenues. Cloud Storage was started by Rick for OCIA Nebraska. Rick and Kim will discuss how to have all board members to have access to it.
Scholarships will be discussed at the next meeting.
Adjournment motion was made by Rick and seconded by Travis and all agreed. Meeting ended at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Karen Ostry, Secretary
OCIA Nebraska
Board meeting on Zoom at 8:30 pm
October 18, 2023 Wednesday
Those present: Rick Schuchardt, Randy Reinke, Kim Mosel, Karen Ostry and Travis Wingate.
Meeting was called to order by Randy Reinke in the absence of President Simeon Mosel at 8:45pm. Rick is working on current press releases for advertising the OCIA Scholarships for Senior high schoolers. We also need statewide advertising of annual meeting in December for one month before the meeting and then one week reminder before meeting. Rick Schuchardt will draft the releases.
Website update: Kim says the new website is working well and Philip will finish setting it up.
Promotional items for OCIA Nebraska were ordered: Banners from Blackwell in Neligh; black tablecloth with white lettering showing OCIA Nebraska and website info at about $259 plus tax. We are looking at vinyl labels with our logo at 500 for $300 which is 60 cents apiece. It will be 4”x 5” sticker for handing out. A motion was made by Rick to find the best deal on decal stickers. Seconded by Travis and all in favor.
TOPP Grant Program is a five-year process and we have to continue promoting the program at Husker Harvest Days, Ag Expo, Farm Tour, State Fair, NSAS annual meeting in February, a Mentor-Mentee program with a “train the trainer”. We apply for grant money each year and can receive up to $145,000 each year and must show proof of purchase. We are looking for mentors from OCIA Nebraska members. Liz Sarno requested board members to be on panel for “Transition to Organic” on November 8th near Ithaca, NE. Rick will be on the panel and Travis was suggested by Liz to be on the panel, too. Randy made mention that he is willing to help anyone who wants to transition to organic or just answer questions they may have.
Travis made a motion to purchase Quicken software. Seconded by Rick and all in favor.
Quicken Financial Software will be incorporated into OCIA Nebraska to help keep the financial books. Kim will connect 1st Interstate Bank accounts to easily track with the software. It costs $28.68 annually and it is also good for auditing with everything in one place.
With our new website, companies are sending us their information to help sell their products. We need to use discretion when they ask us to promote their items. They need to be OCIA International approved, then when approved ask them to be a sponsor for OCIA Nebraska.
Next Board Meeting in person at Neligh Museum on November 14, 2023 at 6pm. A notice will be sent out to members for this meeting.
Meeting adjourned with a motion by Travis and a seconded by Rick. All approved. 9:32 pm.
Respectfully submitted, Karen Ostry, secretary