January 2002

President's Message

by
Candy Hansen

There, I just wrote the new year for the first time!  Of course, I'll probably miss a few times before it becomes habit.  Habits are a mixed blessing.  Good ones let us run on auto-pilot, doing many of the things we know we should if we consciously think about them.  Bad ones get in our way of learning and/or doing things a new or maybe better way.  Be careful what you make your habits.

My New Year's resolution list is to hopefully get some better habits in maintaining some of my bonsai.  So, I resolve to be more watchful about repotting in a timely fashion so I do not stress my trees unnecessarily.  I resolve to stay ahead of pruning, so I do not have to regrow fine branches that got too long, or too big around.  I resolve to be very faithful in feeding my plants, so their vigor is sustained.  Any of these sound familiar??

I hope everyone has had/is having a great holiday season with family and friends!  See you at the January meeting to hear Greg Setter discus collecting.

Calendar of Events

Jan. 9  Monthly Meeting
Collecting for Everyone
 Greg Setter
 7:30 PM
Zilker Garden Center
Refreshments by:
  Alisan Clarke
  Candy Hansen

Jan. 16 Board Meeting
 7:00 PM
 Zilker Garden Center

Jan. 19 LSBF Meeting
1:00 PM
 Zilker Garden Center

Jan. 23 Members Workshop
 7:30 PM
 Zilker Garden Center
 Black Pine with Mike Hansen

Jan.  26Digging Trip
 Be at monthly meeting for details

Mar  2 The Joy of Bonsai
 Bath, United Kingdom

Mar  21-24 California Bonsai Soc.
 Burbank, Ca.

May 17-19 Int'l Scholarly Symposium on Bonsai & Viewing Stones
U.S. Nat'l Arboretum, Wash., DC originally scheduled Oct. 2001

May  17-19 Annual Austin Bon. Soc. Show

Nov  15-17 State Bonsai Convention
 New Braunfels, Tx.

General Meeting Minutes

by
Els Ulug

The December monthly meeting of the Austin Bonsai Society was called to  order by President Candy Hansen on Saturday, December 1, 2001, at 6:20 P.M. The meeting was our Christmas/30th Anniversary Party.  Thanks to Sandra  Vitone and Alisan Clark, the tables were nicely decorated.

Candy Hansen motioned, and Jim Allan  seconded to amend the November  General Meeting minutes to include the election of the officers for the coming year.  The officers are Candy Hansen, President; Gloria Norberg, Vice President; David Gordon; Secretary, Pat Ware; Treasurer, and Jim Baumann, Tammy Bieri and Carl Quisenberry; Members at Large.  They are invited to be present at the next board meeting to be held December 10, 2001, at 7:30 P.M. at Candy Hansen's house.  The amendment was approved by the members.

Gloria Norberg talked about events for the next year: In February, Nick Lentz will be presenting a workshop.  Boon Manakitivipart will be back in April, and Mary Miller will do a presentation about tropicals in June.  In August, a joint meeting is planned with the San Antonio Bonsai Society.  The annual auction will be held in September and the State Convention will take place in November.

 The trees for the LSBF Convention workshops were brought in to give a preview of the materials  available.  Chuck Ware said registrations for the convention will start on the January 1, 2002, and the registration forms at the dinner were not the final version.

Audrey Lanier was given a Life Membership Award for being a founding member of the Austin Bonsai Society, and Don Rehberg was given a Longtime Member Award.  Alisan and Elaine started a musical band with whistles, which was very funny, especially with some confusion mixed in.  Each family attending received two small Ficus bonsai trees and two black coffee cups commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Austin Bonsai Society.  Good fellowship was had by all.

Board Meeting Minutes

by
David Gordon

The Board of Officers of the Austin Bonsai Society met on December 10, 2001, at 7:30 P.M. at President Candy Hansen's house.  Members attending were Candy Hansen, President; Gloria Norberg, Vice-president; David Gordon, Secretary; Pat Ware, Treasurer; Jim Baumann, Tammy Bieri and Carl Quisenberry, Members at Large; and Chuck Ware and Alisan Clark, Past President.

Old Business:

 Special thanks was given to Alisan Clark and Sandra Vitone for their hard work on the Christmas Dinner/30th Anniversary party the club held on December 1, 2001. The party was a great success because of all the members who helped with the planning, activities and food.

 The tree collecting outing was discussed.  We will tentatively plan for the last Saturday in January.  This will depend upon the site.  It is yet to be determined where we will have the collecting outing.  A location will be announced at the January General Meeting.

Outside advertising for the membership directory was discussed.  A motion was made by Gloria Norberg, seconded by Jim Baumann, and passed by the board that advertising will be accepted that is business card size and ready to print. The fee will be $25.

New Business:

 The Zilker Garden Council position was discussed.  President Candy will see if Don Rehberg wants to continue in this position.  If not, a replacement will be sought.

 In order to save money on the club's subscription to BCI, a motion was made and passed by the board to pay for a three year subscription instead of one year.

 Gloria led a discussion of the programming for next year.  She has outlined a proposed schedule for 2002 for the monthly speakers, special programs and the study group.  In January, Greg Setter will present a program on collecting at the general meeting.  The study group, (fourth Wednesday of the month) will be led by Mike Hansen.  He will present a program that will run for three consecutive months.  The programs for the rest of the year will be finalized and appear in the 2002 Membership Directory.  Gloria has spent a considerable amount of time preparing what appears to be a great year full of opportunities for us to learn about various aspects of bonsai.

 The meeting was adjourned by President Candy Hansen at 9:10 P.M.

DUES ARE DUE!

That time of the year has come around again.
Fortunately, the dues have not been raised - so send them in NOW or pay at the meeting.
$25.00 for individuals
$30.00 for family
If you wish to continue to receive this informative  newsletter, see the treasurer and pay your dues.
OR
mail to our treasurer:
Pat Ware
12404 Ranch Road 12
Wimberley, Tx.  78676

For those of you that missed our Christmas/Anniversary Party, you really missed a BIG Deal!
BUT, here are some highlights, so you will know what everyone is talking about!

This is the glorious cake that had been done for the occasion. You still might get to sample it as it will be revived at a future meeting.

Our honorees for the evening - Audrey Lanier and Don Rehberg - were given certificates of appreciation.  Charlotte Cranberg, Bennie Badgett and Joe Trochta were not in attendance to receive theirs but will be honored at a later date.

Our music for the evening was rival to none!
Elaine conducted our musicians in some great Christmas carols and everyone in the audience had a good time.

The tree decorated with bonsai trees was a big hit - the origami peace birds in red, white and blue kept with the theme of the year.

This is to notify all concerned that the board has voted to raise the rate of the directory advertising to our member advertisers to $10.00 for their insertion.

Registration forms will be at the meeting so that you can be the first to sign up for the workshop you really want!

You saw the material at the Christmas Party so there should be no hesitation!
The excitement is building - be a part of it!!!
 

There will be a new "wrinkle" to our meetings.

Please bring a tree that you may have a question on and would like someone to give you an answer between 7:00 and 7:30 PM.Whether you want help with a styling problem or an insect  problem - whatever you want help with!

 To All Texas Club Members:

As we look forward to the upcoming year, we wait in anticipation for the 2002 Texas State Convention, "Bonsai Bridges Into 2002," which will take place November 15 -17.  The format will be a whole new experience for all of us and a wonderful opportunity for everyone in attendance to participate in several workshops.  There is a great line up of artists and I have seen first hand some of the material that will be used and believe that everyone will be pleased.  As chairman of the 2001 convention, I know how much work is put into one of these endeavors and the changes to the format I'm sure have brought along their fair share of challenges.  I am impressed to see this difficult task smoothly coming together and being carried out by a coalition of two clubs.  This in itself was no small task!

It has come to my attention, and understandably so, that there has been some confusion with the upcoming convention being held in Dallas in April of 2002.  It is being called "Texas 2002 Bonsai Convention."  I thought it my duty as president of the Dallas club to clarify some of the particulars with all of the LSBF members.  Sometime last year I was approached by "Dreamscape Gardens" (a privately owned bonsai vendor and landscape company) to assist in welcoming Mr. Masahiko Kimura to be part of a private convention.  Since in Japan Mr. Kimura is considered a National Treasure, there needed to be some type of bonsai affiliation in order for Mr. Kimura to accept an invitation to conduct workshops and demonstrations in this type of format.  At that time the Dallas club was asked to be a welcoming committee for Mr. Kimura with no benefit to the club except the fact that it was named as the collaborator for the event.

As a bonsai enthusiast I was thrilled at the opportunity to see first hand the incredible talent of Mr. Kimura.  The fact that it was in our own hometown just made it even more exciting.  As president I have been cautious to keep our distance from the event since it is a private affair.  Being so, neither the Dallas Club nor the LSBF have any control over the name that has been given to the event or for that matter anything else pertaining to this event.  As stated before it is strictly privately funded.

I hope that this information will be helpful in clarifying any misunderstanding.

Sincerely,
Sylvia Smith, President
Bonsai Society of Dallas

Alisan says:

 With our members, we sent out over 110 hand made  invitations and expected  a good turn out. We had a musical evening, a short garden tour show and a great dinner for everyone to enjoy. Audrey Lanier and Sandra Vitone joined me to cater and decorate.  Our Bonsai tree with the other Zilker Christmas trees,  is the tree you all put together last year. The red ,white and blue origami birds were made for us by Maggie Galbraith from the advanced Japanese language class at LBJ high school.  These were added to honor our September 11th national losses. Gloria Norberg had a  cake made, with a  special tree  design, for dessert.

The  beautifully decorated tables, with candles, trees and more origami peace birds, snow frosted greens made it special.  Thank you to all that helped and it is the hope that everyone enjoyed!  Peace to all!

Gloria Norberg requests:

All members who drink coffee
Please save the lids from your 3 lb. coffee cans!  Cans are not needed,
JUST THE LIDS!!!!!!!

January Meeting Program

My topic will be the why and how of collecting material for training as bonsai and the importance of binary code in selection as well as the use of canine assistance.

Austin and San Antonio are combining with LSBF to have the State Convention at that time.  It will be held at the Civic Center in New Braunfels.  All members in BOTH clubs will be working with each other to make this a success.  Everyone is excited about this new concept initiated at this Convention.

Show Chairpersons: Chuck & Pat Ware
Registration Chairpersons:  Greg & Sheila Setter
Treasurer:  Arlene Hastings
Vendor Chairpersons: Mike & Candy Hansen
Goodie Bag Chairperson:  Libby Huffman
 Co-Chairperson: Sherry Westra
Exhibit Chairperson: Marty Klajnowski
 Co-Chairperson: David Gordon
Transport/Hospitality Ch.: Paul Tyler
 Co-Chairperson: Larry Gfeller
Publicity Chairperson:  Elaine White
Raffle Chairperson: Gloria Norberg
 Co-chairperson: Alfred Lopez
Monitor Chairperson: Donna Dobberfuhl
 Co-chairpersons: Audrey Lanier & Charlotte Cranberg
Food Chairperson: Sandra Vitone
 Co-chairperson: Mary Martini
Logo/theme Chairperson:  Jim Baumann (Jimbo)
 Co-chairpersons: Jordan Merson & Alisan Clarke
On Site Logistics Ch.:  Ron Westra
Webpage Design:Jim Allan
Fun Shop Chairperson: Terry Ward