The meeting was opened by Bob Eskietz, current President of MABA about 1:00 pm

Introductions of delegates present, clubs represented were as follows:

Cincinnati, Ohio Dayton, Ohio Springfield, Illinois St. Louis, Missouri Milwaukee, Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Quad Cities, Illinois Minneapolis, Minn. Des Moines, Iowa

Joe Franklin current Treasurer of MABA, reported that the organization received $6,381 from the convention held in Detroit in July of 2000. This leaves the current holdings of the organization at $12,266.47 as of August 18, 2001.

The meeting was then turned over to Tom McCormack of the Cincinnati club. Tom outlined the slate of nominees to be considered to fill the board positions of MABA. Those nominees were:

Tom McCormack President Cincinnati, OH

Jeanie Wells Vice-President Springfield, IL

Don Brown Treasurer Cincinnati, OH

Ron Fortmann Secretary Milwaukee, WI

Dave Billing Newsletter Editor Dayton, OH

Todd Renshaw Website Editor Detroit, MI

A vote was taken and the slate was approved unanimously. Tom McCormack then explained why dues would be waived till 2004 to help rebuild trust with current member clubs and will be used as an incentive for current non-member clubs to join the alliance.

The first action will be to build solid communication links between member clubs. This will be accomplished by asking each club to submit two contacts that have e-mail addresses and phone numbers. These individuals will be that contacts which all communication will be directed. They will be asked to provide information about the local club when needed such as current officers; event schedules (dates of visiting masters); meeting place directions; etc.

A discussion on what other benefits would be worthwhile to member clubs that belong to this alliance. That discussion came up with the following list of benefits:

Master sharing opportunities, where clubs could broadcast that they are planning to host a master and the dates that they are using them, other clubs interested could benefit by sharing the master and decreasing the costs to all parties involved.

Published list of individuals that would be available to judge shows for other clubs.

Provide listings of individuals that are looking to conduct workshop sessions at other clubs on particular species of material, or particular techniques such as grafting, carving, etc. Giving them an opportunity to gain confidence and grow while sharing their knowledge with others.

Share fundraising ideas that have worked well. Promotional ideas that help attract new members

Publish articles of members on any bonsai related subjects.

It was decided that MABA should have a Mission Statement, any suggestions as to what should be part of that statement should be forwarded to Tom McCormack and the officers will work to present a Mission Statement by year end (2001).

Dave Billing also asked that any submissions for the next newsletter should be to him by October 31, 2001.

Other actions to be taken are as follows:

Contact all clubs in the eight state region, and try to convince them to join the alliance.

Promote the alliance by submitting articles to be published in ABS and BCI magazines.

Tom McCormack also brought us up to date on the plans for the convention to be held in Cincinnati in July of 2003. The hotel is already under contract it is a Marriott Hotel. Presenters that they are pursuing are:

Salvatore Liporace from Italy

Colin Lewis from England (but soon Boston, MA)

Mary Madison from Florida

Boon Manakitivipart from California

They are now looking into the vendor selections as their next step.

Finally a motion to close the meeting was made by Bill Eardley and seconded by Dave Billing, motion carried and meeting closed.

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Fortmann