News of importance to members
Call for Nominations
The 2012 NPSOT Awards Committee is asking for nominations for awards to be presented at the October, 2012, awards banquet. The purpose is to acknowledge the achievements of individuals whose work enriches our understanding of native plants and their environments. These awards honor excellence in writing; acts of conservation and public service; and lifetime achievement in the field of native plants.
Visit this page for a description of the various awards and previous recipients.
Email your award nominations to the 2012 Awards Chairman Cynthia Maguire.
Benny J Simpson Fellows Award
NPSOT is asking for nominations for the 2012 Benny J. Simpson Fellows Award. This award is recognition for longtime involvement within NPSOT at the local, regional or state level. Nomination Forms will be mailed to members later this summer. Nominees must have been a NPSOT member for at least ten years and not have received the award previously. Click for a list of eligible nominees.
Chapter Plant Sales
NPSOT holds a Class M Floral License from the Texas Department of Agriculture. The permit allows chapters to legally hold plant sales, as long as certain procedures are followed. NPSOT pays for the annual license and for the permits to be used for each individual plant sale. Check the LeaderWeb site for forms and instructions.
Collections Policy
A policy on plant collection has been developed and adopted by the Board of the Native Plant Society of Texas, in response to many requests from our chapters. Read it here.
State Board Meetings
NPSOT state board meetings are held quarterly – in January, April, July, and October, usually on the third Saturday. All members are welcome to attend. A members meeting is held annually in October at the state symposium.
Check the Schedule Page for the date and location of the next meeting.
NPSOT Strategic Plan
In 2008, the NPSOT State Board formed a Strategic Planning Committee composed of state and chapter leaders and assisted by consultant Ed Conroy. Since the last Strategic Plan dated back to 1996, the State Board realized that the times called for a rejuvenated strategy and action plans that would drive membership growth, strengthen both our local chapter and state-wide influence, and thus increase our ability to advocate for native plants and their habitats.
The committee subsequently developed the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan, which was approved by the membership at the Annual Meeting in October, 2008, and rolled out to the general membership in a 3-part series featured in the NPSOT News in 2009. The Plan focused on three key areas for innovation: 1) Advocacy; 2) Chapter level goals and objectives; and 3) State-level goals and objectives.
Some of the significant goals included adding a state-level VP of Advocacy with a mission of strengthening our state-wide advocacy; rejuvenating our scholarship and other educational programs; energizing our environmental liaison role with a strong emphasis on developing partnerships with kinship organizations; creating a Development Board to increase our funding levels; and adding the position of Executive Director to administer our state-wide efforts (note: this role was first suggested in the 1996 Strategic Plan!).
• Strategic Goals & Objectives for 2009-2012 – Executive Summary (Adobe Acrobat PDF file, 7 pages)
• Strategic Goals & Objectives for 2009-2012 (Adobe Acrobat PDF file, 12 pages)
