MNPS Election Time Again!

(Click here for the hard copy ballot that you can print out and mail in)

(Click here to send your votes to Patrick via email, and remember to mention your chapter affiliation)

As your native plant landscaped yard starts to blossom this spring, please don’t let the National Election hype discourage you and keep you from voting for the 2008 MNPS officers.  These elections are pure fun, not contaminated by campaign fundraising scandals. Rest assured that your neighbor’s Kentucky bluegrass, dandelion, and noxious weed landscaped yard won’t be filled with obnoxious MNPS election posters.

The MNPS Nominations Committee is proud to announce that Karen Shelly of the Clark Fork Chapter in Missoula has agreed to run for Vice President, even though she fears she won’t have time to serve as President if Dave Hanna dies.  The MNPS Board has assured her that the Board would step in to help her in that case, so she acquiesced.  Karen has served as Vice President for the past year.  She is a graduate student in Geography at the University of Montana.  She is a Teaching Assistant for Cartography and Physical Geography and a Co-instructor for Biogeography.  Prior to her move to Montana in 2005, he was the State Natural Areas Coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Incumbent Secretary, Patrick Plantenberg of the Kelsey Chapter and resident of Townsend, the site of the State of Montana Arbor Day Celebration in 2008, has agreed to run again and serve another two years if elected.  Patrick has been Secretary of MNPS for several terms.  He still patiently waits for a contested election.  Besides being the Election Committee Chairperson, he works as a reclamation specialist for the State of Montana, does landscaping on the side and is an edible wild plant enthusiast.  He is also active in civic organizations in Townsend.

The recycled Secretary and Past President of the MNPS and Past President of the Great Falls Non-Chapter of the MNPS, H. Wayne Phillips of Great Falls, has agreed to run for Eastern Representative-at-Large.  Wayne is a retired Forest Service ecologist and has been spending time teaching and writing about the flora of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains.  He has taught botany and wildflower classes at the Yellowstone Institute, Glacier Institute, University of Great Falls, and MSU-Northern.  He has written three field guide books: Central Rocky Mountain Wildflowers, Northern Rocky Mountain Wildflowers, and The Plants of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  A member of the MNPS since 1987, Wayne has presented numerous programs, led field trips, recited poems, and sung songs for the Montana Chapters of MNPS.  Wayne also is responsible for the plant identification contests at the Annual Meetings.  He is also the Co-Chairperson of the new ad hoc committee in the MNPS called Poems and Songs of the Plant World.  Watch for entertainment from the new ad hoc committee to be presented at the 2008 Annual Meeting south of Bozeman.

For the past five years, the MNPS Board of Directors has offered $100 to the Chapter with the largest percentage of voters.  The Maka Flora Chapter in northeastern Montana has won the prize every year!  The MNPS Board of Directors has decided to subsidize the Chapter again and award the $100 prize to the MNPS Chapter with the largest percentage of votes.  Can Maka Flora remain undefeated?  Or will they be beaten like the Patriots?

Don’t forget this will be the fourth year MNPS members can submit ballots to the MNPS Electoral College via e-mail. This is undoubtedly part of the reason the US Postal Service is raising stamp prices again.  Please log on to the MNPS website at www.umt.edu/mnps/ and find the link to the 2008electionballot.  Please fill out the ballot and e-mail it to the MNPS Electoral College in Townsend at m2andp2@mt.net.

If you prefer snail mail and the election analysis resulting from review of the hard copy ballots, fill out and mail the enclosed official ballot today and help your local Chapter defeat Maka Flora in 2008.  Results will be announced and the $100 will be awarded at the MNPS Annual Meeting, June 27-29, 2008 at the Annual Meeting south of Bozeman.

The MNPS Electoral College would like to thank MNPS members for their election support over the last few years.