December 10, 2018 Offices of Calavo Growers, Inc. 2:00 PM
Board Members Attending: Eric W, Toshi A, Ken O, Peter H
Guests: Chris Wengler and John Arelano
Meeting called to order at 2:00
Minutes
Peter H moved and Ken O seconded to accept Minutes of the 8/31/18 Meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Financial Statements
Ken O moved and Peter H seconded to accept the Financial Statements for November 2018 as presented and prepared by Chris Wengler. Motion carried unanimously. Highlights of the statements were a reduction in both the operating expenses and the VPC. Thirty-five members are paying VPC. As of November 30 there was $44,637 in cash in our checking account. Chris will check with accountants to verify if this cash needs to be allocated to specific accounts for future use.
The finance committee will meet to evaluate the performance and compensation of Chris Wengler before the next Board Meeting.
SHAC Reverse Trade
Toshi A reported on Japan reverse trade event that was hosted by HIPA and funded through SHAC. He reported that Jimmy will complete and submit report by next week and that Karen would complete the accounting by next week. Once in hand, Chris will submit to SHAC for reimbursement.
Rainbow Seed Production
Toshi A moved and Peter H seconded a motion to have HPIA enter into a MOU with CTHAR on the production of rainbow seed specifying quantities, timetables and pricing. This motion carried unanimously. Eric reported the CTHAR is beginning production of Rainbow seed for HPIA at two locations, Waiakea Station on the Big Island and on Kauai. In a phone call with Sharon Wages, Eric will confirm dates and quantities of projected production.
Discussion proceeded on the merits of opening up Rainbow Seed production to all HPIA members.
Toshi suggested that only the University, Ross S, and Diamond Head could produce enough seed to supply HPIA members. Further, that opening up seed production would remove the incentive for members to pay VPC.
Eric stated that HPIA has a non-exclusive right to produce Rainbow seed and the patent will be expiring soon. After the patent expires, anyone can make seed and HPIA will lose the incentive for VPC regardless. He suggested we should plan for that now by providing value to our members other than only rainbow seed. By training our members properly we have the best chance of preserving the integrity of the “Rainbow” and the virus protection from Hawaii strains of PRV.
Eric W moved and Peter H seconded a motion to all HPIA members who are current with their dues to produce their own Rainbow seed if they have been registered with HPIA and are trained as to how to follow HPIA protocols as to how to produce and pollinate seed correctly. Growers are free to use or sell the seed they produce as they see fit letting the market determine price and availability. This motion carried unanimously.
Discussion proceeded on the how to create value, so the papaya growers would want to support HPIA. Eric suggested that the board might consider changing the membership dues amount and the VPC amount to get the right mix of revenue. John A pointed out that VPC is voluntary not mandatory. Perhaps a larger membership fee and a smaller VPC rate would make sense. All Board members agreed that the biggest value to the HPIA is speaking with a single voice, when interfacing with Government agencies (especially during disaster relief, research of disease and pests, deregulation, chemical registration, etc….) Reaching out to all papaya growers in Hawaii and getting them to participate and help pay for the cost of maintaining an organization is the President’s (Eric) biggest goal for 2019.
Website
The website for HawaiiPapaya.com has been redone. There is a section for retailers, where buyers can connect directly with Hawaii producers. Chris will be sending an email to all members asking which markets they would like to be listed for. Only members may be listed.
Eric suggested writing a job description for our web master and a budget up to $500 per month to perform those functions. Once the specification sheet is done, that would go out for bid.
The SHAC program will help pay for producing 12 grower training videos. They will be short, no more than five minutes in length with a similar look and feel. A sheet of suggested topics was provided to board members for their input on choosing the 12 subjects. The topics include specific topics within the general topics of field preparation, planting, field maintenance, and harvesting.
T-shirts
Peter H moved, and Ken O seconded a motion to spend up to $2,000 to purchase t-shirts for the HPIA using the contest winners artwork, with mostly XL, then L, then M, and 5% S for sizes. Motion carried unanimously.
Other
Peter H suggested Board members get paid to attend meetings which might attract and improve meeting attendance.
Regularly Scheduled Board Meetings
Board Meeting will be scheduled on the last Friday of even numbered months at 2:00 pm. Next meeting is scheduled for February 22nd, 2019.
Board of Directors election
Ken O nominated John Arellano for the Board seat vacated by the resignation of Ross Sibucao. Toshi seconded the nomination. The board voted unanimously to elect John Arellano to the Board of Directors of HPIA.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 pm.