here - Oklahoma County Master Gardeners

STANDING RULESMeetings:o Meetings will be construed as any and all groups of Master Gardenersassembling for the purpose of business or education.o The monthly Master Gardener Association meeting shall occur at 9:30 a.m.on the first Wednesday of each month.o Sales shall not be conducted while monthly Association meetings are insession.o All meeting rooms must be scheduled through the County Extension Center.They shall be left clean and orderly after all Master Gardener activities.o Master Gardeners are expected to conduct themselves in a respectfulmanner in order that they not disrupt the meetings. All speakers should begiven the utmost respect and attention.o If the Oklahoma County Courthouse is closed due to inclement weather,then the Oklahoma County Cooperative Extension office will also be closed,and all previously scheduled Master Gardener meetings at that location shallbe cancelled.Member Designations:o A Certified Master Gardener shall have completed the initial membershiprequirements authorized by the Association and is entitled to wear a blackbadge.o A Senior Master Gardener shall have completed one hundred sixty (160)service hours authorized by the Association and is entitled to wear a bluebadge.o A Grand Master Gardener shall have completed five hundred (500) servicehours authorized by the Association and is entitled to wear a red badge.

o A Distinguished Master Gardener shall have completed one thousand(1,000) service hours authorized by the Association and is entitled to wear agold badge.o A Distinguished Grand Master Gardener shall have completed onethousand, five hundred (1,500) service hours authorized by the Associationand is entitled to wear a purple badge.o A Platinum Master Gardener shall have completed two thousand (2,000)service hours authorized by the Association and is entitled to wear aplatinum badge.o A Diamond Master Gardener shall have completed five thousand (5,000)service hours authorized by the Association and is entitled to wear a whitebadge with green lettering and an embedded crystal.Membership Requirements:o Certified Master Gardener (C): Completed twenty (20) service hours authorized by the Associationper year Completed twenty (20) education hours authorized by theAssociation per year Attended four (4) monthly meetings of the Association per yearo Associate Master Gardener (A): Completed ten (10) service hours authorized by the Association peryear Completed ten (10) education hours authorized by the Associationper year Attended two (2) monthly meetings of the Association per yearo Emeritus Master Gardener (E): Exempt from annual service, education and attendance requirements

Miscellaneous:o A card will be sent to a Master Gardener who becomes ill or has a death inthe immediate family.o Following the death of a Master Gardener, a memorial brick will be placedin the Anniversary Garden.o All Master Gardeners and students are eligible to participate in Associationtours.o Individuals who wish to transfer membership to the Association shall do soin accordance with the Transfer Policy, which is administered by theRecording Committee’s Transfer/Reinstatement Subcommittee.Operational Guidelines:o Fiscal Year – January 1 through December 31o The Association’s Standing Committee and Special Committee Chairs shallbe appointed by January of the respective fiscal year.o The Nominating Committee shall be appointed during the January Boardmeeting. The committee will solicit nominations for officers during theSeptember Association meeting. The committee shall conduct the electionduring the November Association meeting.o The Audit Committee shall be appointed during the January Board meeting.The committee will submit its preliminary report during the February Boardmeeting with final report presented to membership during the MarchAssociation meeting.o All Standing and Special Committee Chairs shall submit their proposedbudgets to the Finance Committee by mid-January. The FinanceCommittee will present a proposed operating budget to the Board by theJanuary Board meeting. The Board will adopt the Fiscal Year Budget duringtheir February Board meeting and will present the adopted budget to themembership during the March Association meeting.Normal operatingexpenditures required prior to the approval of the annual budget will beapproved by the Association’s Treasurer.o Only Standing and Special Committee Chairs have the authority to approveexpenditures for their respective committees.o Each Standing and Special Committee Chair must maintain a record of thecommittee’s yearly activities. The outgoing chairs will pass these recordson to the new committee chairs at the beginning of the fiscal year, or uponvacating their positions.

Service and Education Hours:o All service and education hours must be submitted to the RecordingCommittee by the last day of the year in which they were earned.o Email address for recording service and education hours:mghours@gmail.com. Written forms may be dropped in the designatedbox at the County Extension Center.Authorized Service Hours Board of Directors meeting – actual length of meeting (must be on theagenda) Committee meetings – actual length of meeting Committee activities – actual length of activity Clean and Beautiful Schools – actual hours served Community Gardens – actual hours served gardening OSU-OKC Horticulture Center activities – actual hours served ingreenhouses or grounds Will Rogers Gardens – actual hours served gardening The Tree Bank – actual hours served gardening Junior Master Gardener program – actual time served Writing articles for the newsletter – actual time spent writing Telephone duty – actual hours served Additional opportunities for nonprofit organizations – as determined by theBoard and/or the Master Gardener Advisor.

Authorized Education Hours Oklahoma County Cooperative Extension Service horticultural classes –actual class length Statewide Master Gardener meetings – actual class length Horticultural seminars, conferences and classes – actual program length Horticulture (garden club) meetings – actual presentation length College horticulture courses – three (3) hours per credit hour Plant Detective Video Series – one half (.5) hour per tape Oklahoma Gardening – each new episode – one half (.5) hour per episode Other TV/radio garden programs – actual program length (maximum of five(5) hours per year) Horticulture books and magazines – actual time studied (maximum of five(5) hours per year) Master Gardener Horticultural tours – hours determined by TouringCommittee Chair Garden tours – actual time in the gardens Food Bank Gardening Programs – actual program time Monthly Master Gardener programs – actual length of presentation (doesnot include business meeting) Additional opportunities as they occur.The Association offers its program to all eligible persons regardless of race,color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability orstatus as a veteran.Amended – November 4, 2009Amended – July 11, 2012