Rain Gardens Help Solve Problems, Create Beauty Site/newsletters/October 2… · needs. Scientists and horticulturists often work together to solve such gardening problems. In doing

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ST. LOUIS WATER GARDENING SOCIETYTHE NEWSLETTER OF THE ST. LOUIS WATER GARDENING SOCIETY

WWW.SLWGS.ORG October 2013

Rain Gardens Help Solve Problems, Create Beauty

M any beautifully planned, well-organized landscapes nonetheless include one or more

problem areas—high spots and low spots, places that are too dry or too wet, some that are too shady and some too sunny for our needs. Scientists and horticulturists often work together to solve such gardening problems. In doing so, they sometimes create a solution that also adds beauty to the landscape. Such can be the case with rain gardens. Members of the St. Louis Water

Gardening Society have an opportunity at their October 29th meeting to explore that topic. Ned Siegel, a retired agricultural researcher and currently a Master Gardener, will present “Rain Gardens: a Job Description.” The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Missouri Botanical Garden, Beaumont Room. Note: This is the FIFTH Tuesday of October. Siegel was formerly a research scientist who spent 32 years in the field, initially with Monsanto’s Agricultural Research group and ultimately with

Pfizer, Inc., working in the Discovery Research biotechnology area. He holds a bachelor of science degree in biology and a master of science degree in botany from the University of Illinois. He is currently enjoying his retirement after completing the Master Gardener training and certification program at the Missouri Botanical Garden in 2007 and the Master Naturalist program in Illinois in 2008-9. He is a member of the St. Louis Master Gardener Speaker’s Bureau. Siegel’s discussion of rain gardens will center on what they are and how and why they can help to reduce storm water runoff.

Don’t Miss This!

What: Rain Gardens: A Job Description Where: Missouri Botanical Garden, Beaumont Room When: Tuesday, October 29, the FIFTH Tuesday of October, at 7 p.m. Who: Ned Siegel, Naturalist, Master Gardener

Ned Siegel

1 Water Word, October 2013

Continued on page 2

Mediation Garden Dedicated to the Memory of Ray Mueller Residents of and visitors to the Pallottine Renewal Center in Florissant have a new garden to use for meditation. The St. Francis Garden, was dedicated October 13. The garden was conceived and planned by Ginny Mueller as a memorial to her husband, Ray, who died in April 2010 when the motorcycle he was riding was struck from behind by a motorist. The garden has been in the planning stages for more than three years. Shortly after Ray’s death, Ginny spotted the large statue and colonnade at Hillermann Nursery in Washington, Mo. She immediately felt the statue would


Did You Miss This? On Damsels and Dragonflies

If your eye has ever been drawn to a sudden flicker of bright blue in the air near you, causing you to stop what you are doing and watch, you are one of those

who appreciate the beauty in the flight of a dragonfly. Bryan Prather is another of those. He has worked at Wild Birds Unlimited for six years as salesman in the Birding and Agricultural Department. Prather is a naturalist and a well-known area bird- watcher, an advisor to the St. Louis chapter of the Audubon Society and a past board member of Wild Bird Rehab. He also is a student of the

dragonfly and damselfly. He brought his enthusiasm for the topic to the September meeting of the St. Louis Water Gardening Society in a

presentation titled “Dragonflies of the Garden.” Prather said the dragonfly is large—2” to 6” long, and will have 1-10 abdominal segments along the tail. They are habitat-specific—there is an eastern group and a western group. The dragonfly can see 360° with its wide-set eyes, and it lands with its wings out widespread. “They don’t have teeth and they don’t sting,” Prather said. “The damselfly is much smaller, 1” to 1-1/2” with

big eyes on the sides of its head,” he said. She is purple and will land with her wings held closed. Dragonflies spend the majority of their time in the water. Their life cycle begins in the water, where their eggs winter-over on plants and rocks. As the water warms in the spring to 55° or 60° they will climb up a plant and begin their metamorphosis. Because they depend on water and spend so much time in and around it, the presence of dragonflies around your pond is a sign of a healthy aquatic system, Prather said. Dragonflies are generally habitat specific creatures, but they can travel as much as a mile away from their breeding area, he said. There are currently about 5,000 species of dragonflies and damselflies known, according to the Dragonfly Website, www.dragonflywebsite.com. More information about species can also be found at www.dragonflies.org.

Bryan Prather shared his expertise on

damsels and dragons at the St. Louis Water

Gardening Society. September meeting .

Dragonflies are frequent visitors to the Jewel Box ponds once the water warms up and the tropical lilies bloom. They spend most of their time in the water, says Bryan Prather.

Memorial Garden Dedicated (Continued from page 1) be a proper centerpiece for a memorial garden for Ray. At the same time the Sisters at the Pallottine Center, where Ray’s memorial service was held, were in need of a replacement for a small St. Francis statue that had been broken. At the dedication, Ginny quoted St. Francis, who said “Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” She continued, “I believe in angels and inspiration, and know that sometimes things are just meant to happen, and things are meant to be.” Sister Gail, Pallottine Provincial, welcomed visitors to the dedication and lead the opening prayer. Readings and prayers also were offered from Matt Maranzana, Ginny’s nephew and a landscape designer who designed the St. Francis Garden; Jill Schmidt, Ginny’s sister-in-law; and Sister Mary Grace, a Pallottine Sister.

Ginny also thanked a long list of people who assisted in the development of the garden. “St. Francis said ‘He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands, his head and his heart is an artist.’ So thank you to the many ‘artists’ who created this garden.”


Presidential Ponderings This time of year brings cooler nights and a change in color of the leaves—so pretty to look at. However pretty, those leaves can be quite a hazard to our ponds. I believe that the most important thing we do for our ponds happens to be preventing all those pretty leaves from gathering in

the pond. There is a magic number of leaves that each pond can hold before serious fish health issues are caused. The problem with this magic number is we really don’t know what the number is—and even if we knew it, it would be difficult to keep an accurate count of the leaves hitting the water as the autumn wind blows. Therefore, I feel it is best to cover our pond with a net and simply prevent the leaves from ever reaching the pond in the first place. So my autumn warning flag has been raised. If you haven’t netted your pond before, and need some basic instruction, just do an internet search for “water garden netting” and you’ll find lots of advice. Or, if you need help, call one of our advertisers for an appointment! I think we all had a nice surprise with Bryan Prather from Wild Birds Unlimited at the September meeting. Bryan gave a great program on dragonflies. I say this was a surprise because I thought Bryan would be speaking about how our ponds will help us have success with attracting wild birds to our landscapes. His dragonfly presentation was very good and I

think most would agree was a very nice surprise indeed. Knowing Bryan’s background though, many of the questions after the presentation were about backyard birding—which he readily answered—so we really got two good topics in one speaker. At this month’s meeting we will host Mr. Ned Siegel. Ned, prior to retirement was a research scientist with Monsanto and Pfizer. Now a Master Gardener, Ned will be sharing with us his popular presentation on rain gardens. Rain gardens are used to help reduce storm water runoff. I hope you are able to join us and get a “job description” for rain gardens. In November we will again have our pot luck dinner which is always lots of fun. When we decided, months ago, to have this pot luck dinner meeting even though we would not be electing officers, we looked at it as just a fun way to end the year. While it is that, we will also have a major election issue to vote on—changes to the Society’s Bylaws. In this issue of Water Word you will find a copy of the proposed new bylaws that incorporate many changes to past practices. I implore you to read the document and consider it seriously. As a Society we are on the cusp of changing the official manner in which the Society conducts its business. Please don’t take these changes lightly. Read it, ask questions and most importantly take part in this process. Thank you for allowing me to serve. Joe Summers

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St. Louis Water Gardening Society Calendar of Events

2013

Membership meetings in 2013 will be held on the dates and at the locations listed below between 7 and 9 p.m. Meetings will be held at the Missouri Botanical Garden Ridgway Center, Beaumont Room unless otherwise noted.

October 29—Ned Siegel, a member of the St. Louis Master Gardener Speaker’s Bureau, will present a program on rain gardens, what they are, why and how they can help to reduce storm water runoff, at 7 p.m., Beaumont Room. This is the LAST TUESDAY of October.

November 5—St. Louis Water Gardening Society Board of Directors meeting at the home of Rick and Pam Jokerst, 305 Wyndmoor Terrace, Town and Country, MO, 7 p.m. November 19—Annual pot luck dinner and social, 7 p.m. Commerce Bank Center for Science Education (CBEC), 4651 Shaw Avenue, St. Louis, MO 3110. This is the LAST TUESDAY of the month. There will be one article of business on the agenda for this meeting, the vote on the adoption of the proposed new bylaws for the St. Louis Water Gardening Society. All members present may vote on the issue. A simple majority vote will prevail. Note: There will be no meeting in December; meetings will resume in January 2014. Watch the website for the announcement of the 2014 calendar.

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Special Committee and Board Complete Draft of Bylaws Revisions

Continued on page 6


A special committee appointed by the SLWGS Board of Direc-tors last year to revise the Constitution and Bylaws has complet-ed its work, reported to the Board, and make here its recommen-dations. This is the first time in several years the articles of or-ganization have undergone a complete review, and major changes have been recommended. Changes in the bylaws must be officially approved by receiv-ing a simple majority vote of those in attendance at a meeting of the membership in the month following publication of the pro-posed changes. The recommended new bylaws are presented here, are available on our website www.slwgs.org, and will be formally presented at the October general meeting. The commit-tee will ask the general membership to approve the bylaws by a vote at the November meeting. Major changes in the bylaws include the formal establishment of a Board of Directors and specify who serves on it; make the position of secretary an elected office; change the time-frame for electing officers; add a parliamentarian; and make Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised the parliamentary authority for the Soci-ety.

Bylaws of the St. Louis Water Gardening Soci-ety (Proposed revisions, November 2013)

Article I--Name The name of this Society shall be the St. Louis Water Garden-

ing Society (SLWGS).

Article II—Object The object of this Society shall be (1) to provide a local means

for the exchange of plants, ideas and information about water gardening among members through meetings, visits and tours, data collection, a newsletter, a website and other Society projects, and (2) to stimulate public interest in and knowledge of water gardening by doing civic projects, providing speakers to give short talks or presentations to other groups, submitting articles to newspapers and magazines, and staffing information booths at fairs, festivals, and shows. This Society shall be a non-profit soci-ety.

Article III—Membership Section 1. Membership Eligibility and Admission Procedure

Membership in this Society is open to anyone with an inter-est in water gardening. Anyone can become a member of this Society by filling out and returning a membership form and pay-ing annual dues.

Section 2. Dues The annual dues for members shall be twenty dollars ($20)

per year per household/family residing at the same address. Dues are payable in advance (in January for the calendar year) and may be paid by mail or in person. A reminder that dues are payable shall be published in the January newsletter. Dues are delinquent on March 31st and those who have not paid their dues by April 1st shall be automatically dropped from membership in the Soci-ety.

Section 3. Membership Responsibilities Members are encouraged to expand their own personal inter-

est in water gardening, share what they know with others, partici-pate in Society activities, attend meetings, volunteer for Society officer and committee positions, and submit articles and photos of interest to the newsletter editor and website chairman.

Article IV—Meetings Section 1. Regular Meetings

A minimum of eight (8) regular meetings shall be held each calendar year, but the calendar year can be planned to include more. The president shall provide advanced notice to the mem-bership of meeting dates, times, and locations.

Section 2. Additional Meetings, Special Meetings and Special Events

Additional and special meetings may be called by the presi-dent or by the Board of Directors. The purpose of any such meet-ing shall be stated in the call, which shall be sent by mail and/or e-mail to all members at least three days before the meeting. Spe-cial events may be planned by the president or by the Board of Directors and shall be publicized in advance.

Article V—Board of Directors The governing body for the St. Louis Water Gardening Society

shall be its Board of Directors. Section 1. Duties and Powers

The Board of Directors shall A. Be responsible for formulating the policies and direc-

tion of the Society and for communicating those to the member-ship.

B. Have authority to make meeting plans, plan special events, determine the use of Society funds, and make decisions regarding other routine matters.

C. Approve all budgets and expenditures for the Society with guidance from the treasurer. Budget plans shall be presented to the membership at large for approval annually.

D. Perform such other duties as are specified in these by-laws or may be deemed necessary by the Board of Directors or the general membership.

Section 2. Limitation of Powers Routine proposals for programs and activities shall be pre-

sented at board meetings and shall be considered adopted by a simple majority vote, provided a quorum of board members is present and voting. (See Article V, Sections 3b and 3c). Howev-er, major policies and changes to major policies shall be formu-lated by the Board of Directors, then presented to the general membership at a regular meeting of the Society or by a special mailing, and shall be approved or rejected by a simple majority vote of the membership present at a regular or a special meeting.

Section 3. Composition A. The duly elected officers of this Society (specifically the

president, the vice-president, the treasurer and the secretary,) the immediate past president, in addition to specifically appointed members at large (not to exceed three in number) and these spe-cifically appointed committee chairmen: AKCA representative, community service project chairman, historian, hospitality chair-man, librarian, membership chairman, merchandise/sales chair-man, newsletter editor, parliamentarian, Pond-O-Rama chairman, publicity chairman, special events chairman and website chair-man shall constitute the Board of Directors for the Society.

B. Each of these named positions shall have one vote on matters that come before the Board. However, if one individual holds two or more of the named positions, that individual will have one vote on Board issues.

C. For any vote to be approved there must be a quorum of eight (8) above-named board members present and voting.

6 Water Word, October 2013 Continued on page 7

Section 4. Board Meetings The Board of Directors shall meet regularly to transact the

business of the Society. The meetings shall be open to all Society members. Society members shall be notified of the date, time and place of board meetings either by a verbal announcement at a preceding regular meeting of the Society or by publication in the newsletter and/or on the website. In emergency situations special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the president without notice to the general membership, but any action taken at such meetings must be reported to the general membership. Such meetings must be held in person or with a telephone conference call that includes a quorum of Board members for any vote taken to be valid.

Article VI—Officers, Elections, Terms, Vacancies

Section 1. Officers and Duties The officers of the Society shall be a president, a vice-

president, a treasurer, and a secretary. These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Society.

A. The president 1. Is ultimately responsible for the administration and

continuation of the Society and for establishing its direction and objectives.

2. Is responsible for establishing the activities, agendas and locations for all meetings and shall preside at all meetings.

3. Shall, with the approval of the remaining elected officers, appoint standing committee chairmen from the general membership each year in January, and may appoint other chairmen as needed to conduct the business of the Society.

4. Shall perform such other duties applicable to the office as prescribed by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Society.

B. The vice-president 1. Assists the president in carrying out his or her duties and

will conduct meetings for the president when necessary. It such an instance, the vice-president shall have all the authorities assigned to the president.

2. Will assume the presidency of the Society if the president, for any reason, is unable to fulfill his or her term of office. A new vice president will then be elected according to Article VI, Section 5.


C. The treasurer 1. Is responsible for handling all funds of the Society. 2. Shall deposit all funds of the Society into financial

instruments in a financial institution approved by the Board of Directors, and in such accounts as needed to conduct Society business (checking, savings, etc.)

3. Shall use Society funds to pay such expenses as are required to conduct Society business, under the direction and approval of the Board of Directors, including reimbursements to Society members for funds spent on behalf of the Society. Such reimbursements must be supported by the presentation of a valid receipt for the expenditure.

4. Shall make routine payments and reimbursements with a check signed either by the president or the treasurer.

5. Shall provide a cash box and necessary monies when required for special events.

6. Shall, with the assistance of the Board of Directors, prepare an annual budget for the Society, to be approved by a simple majority vote of members present at the regular March meeting.

7. Shall prepare and file any special financial reports and make any required filings to the Internal Revenue Service.

8. Shall compile an Annual Financial Report during January or February, which shall be examined by the audit chairman. Upon approval by the audit chairman, this report shall be published in the March newsletter each year.

9. Shall provide a monthly treasurer’s report at meetings of the Board of Directors. Such reports will be made available to any Society member who makes a request to see them.


D. The secretary 1. Shall record the minutes of the Board of Directors

meeting. 2. Shall disseminate notes of each meeting to the Board of

Directors. 3. Shall maintain an historical record of the meetings. 4. Shall make such records available to any Society member

who makes a request to see them. 5. Shall perform such other duties applicable to the office as

prescribed by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Society. Section 2. Nominations and Elections

Beginning in 2014, an election of officers shall be held every year at the November regular meeting. In even-numbered years the president and the secretary shall be elected. In odd-numbered years the vice president and treasurer shall be elected. A notice of the upcoming election and the nominating procedure shall be published in the preceding August issue of the newsletter, and will include the name of the election chairman, a temporary chairmanship to be appointed from the general membership by the president. All nominations shall be submitted to the election chairman, and no nomination shall be accepted without the consent of the nominee. Nominations may be made in writing and sent to the election chairman, or may be made from the floor prior to the election.

Section 3. Election and Terms of Office The officers shall be elected by written ballot. If there is only

one nominee for each office, the written ballot may be dispensed with and the vote taken viva voce (voice vote). Election results shall be announced at the regular meeting during which the election is held, will immediately be posted on the Society website, and will be printed in the January newsletter. The term of office for officers elected in November will begin the following January. All officers will serve a two year term or until their successors are elected.

Section 4. Office-Holding Limitations No member shall hold more than one office at a time, and no

member shall be eligible to serve more than three consecutive terms in the same office.

Section 5. Vacancies A vacancy in any office except that of president shall be

filled by election at a regular or special membership meeting. Nominations shall be taken from the floor with the consent of the person nominated and voting shall be by ballot unless there is only one nominee for each vacancy in which case the vote may be taken viva voce.

Proposed Bylaws Revisions (Continued from page 5)

Article VII—Committees Section 1. Standing Committees

The positions of chairmen for all standing committees shall be filled by volunteers from the general membership and appoint-ed by the president in January each year. Each standing commit-tee chairman shall by the second board meeting of each year, submit to the Board of Directors a proposed annual budget for his or her area of responsibility. Standing committee chairmen may appoint other Society members to their committees as needed, and are responsible for communicating with their committee members. The titles and duties of the standing committee chair-man are as follows:

A. The American Koi Club of America (AKCA) repre-sentative is responsible for maintaining the Society’s member-ship in AKCA and managing the communication between that organization and our membership.

B. The community service project chairman is responsible for planning an annual community service project for the Socie-ty, maintaining necessary contacts with outside sources to carry out the project, ordering supplies and setting the project calendar.

C. The historian is responsible for maintaining the docu-ments and memorabilia relating to past actions and projects of the Society, and for sharing such information as needed with the general membership.

D. The hospitality chairman is responsible for recruiting volunteers to provide refreshments for regular meetings, for re-minding volunteers of their responsibilities and for making sure all necessary implements and supplies are provided for each meeting.

E. The librarian is responsible for maintaining the Society’s books and digital information, accepting and noting new dona-tions, keeping an accurate record of the assets of the library, making the library items available for loan to the general mem-bership and tracking the location of library items on loan.

F. The membership chairman is responsible for maintain-ing an accurate list of Society members, distributing up-to-date membership forms to potential members, reminding members when renewal is due, distributing membership cards annually, sending e-mail reminders to Society members as needed and sending the newsletter via e-mail to Society members who have requested receiving it in this manner.

G. The merchandise sales chairman is responsible for maintaining information and up-to-date order forms for Society merchandise as approved by the Board of Directors, making mer-chandise available to all Society members and filling such orders as received.

H. The newsletter editor is responsible for producing the Society newsletter, Water Word, which shall be published regu-larly as directed by the Board of Directors, advising the Board of Directors on printing options, vendors, and advertising rates, working with those selling and tracking advertising space to help offset the cost of publication.

I. The parliamentarian is responsible for monitoring the actions of the Board of Directors and general membership to as-sure that such actions follow the procedures outlined in the cur-rent edition of Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised, and these bylaws.

J. The Pond-O-Rama chairman is responsible for planning the annual pond and garden tour (a ticketed event offered to the general public annually), recruiting hosts, finding retail outlets to sell tickets, communicating with the graphic designer for the booklet production, coordinating advertising sales for the ticket booklet with the newsletter editor and media information with the Publicity Chairman.

K. The publicity chairman is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with local media outlets (print, electronic and digital) to publicize favorably the goals and objec-tives of the Society and the benefits of water gardening and koi keeping to the general public.

L. The special events chairman is responsible for planning and executing events for members, including members’ only tours, field trips, the annual awards banquet and an annual mem-bers’ pot luck supper.

M. The website chairman is responsible for maintaining and updating the website, maintaining the contract with the web-site provider, and coordinating efforts with the Board of Direc-tors and general membership.

Section 2. Special Committees A. Temporary committees—there shall be two special com-

mittees appointed annually by the president for specific duties and with a limited term of service. These are an auditing commit-tee and an election committee. These committee chairmen may choose other volunteers from the Society to assist if needed.

1. The auditing committee chairman—each year in No-vember, the president shall appoint a volunteer from the general membership to be the audit committee chairman. The chairman shall examine the Annual Financial Report provided by the treas-urer within the first two months of the calendar year as pre-scribed in Article VI, section 1C(h) of these bylaws. Upon deter-mining the accuracy of the report, the audit chairman shall sign a statement to that effect at the end of the report, and the audited financial statement report shall be published in the March news-letter.

2. The election chairman chairman—each year in July, the president shall appoint a volunteer from the general membership to be the election chairman. The election chairman shall accept nominations, conduct the election, count the votes, and report the election results in accordance with Article VI, Sections 2 and 3 of these Bylaws.

B. Other Special Committees. Special committees may be requested by the president, the

vice president, the Board of Directors, or any committee chair-man as needed. All special committees shall operate under the direction of the Board of Directors.

Article VIII—Parliamentary Authority The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of

Order Newly Revised shall govern the Society in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order the Society may adopt.

Article IX--Amendment of Bylaws These Bylaws may be changed only by a two-thirds (2/3) vote

of members present and voting at a regular meeting of the Socie-ty. Any proposed amendments shall be presented to the general membership by publication in the newsletter and on the website, and in writing at the general meeting prior to the meeting at which the vote is taken.

Proposed Bylaws Revisions (Continued from page 6)



Water Word is published by the St. Louis Water Gardening Society 11 times annually, and is distributed to all members. The newsletter contains information about water gardening and fish-keeping, as well as information about SLWGS meetings and activities. Contributions of articles and photos are welcome and should be sent to the Water Word editor listed below. Documents should be in common text formats, and photos should be in high resolution (300 dpi or higher) jpeg format. The deadline for submissions is the first of each month. SLWGS membership dues are $20 annually per household. Information about the Society, including how to join, can be found at our website, www.slwgs.org or from any of the officers, board members or coordinators listed below.

2013 SLWGS Officers, Board Members

and Coordinators President Joe Summers (636) 527-2001 [email protected] Vice President Alice Gibson (618) 876-1628 [email protected] Treasurer Rita Zeitz (314) 821-2498 [email protected] Recording Secretary Diane Heuvelman (314) 843-9285) [email protected] Publicity Coordinator Virginia Mueller (314) 831-3063 [email protected] Special Events Coordinator Pam Jokerst (314) 276-9461 [email protected] Society Shirt Sales Coordinator Ruth Mosley (314) 878-7281 [email protected] Librarian Jeanne Lehr (314) 432-2842 [email protected] Membership/E-Mail Coordinator Gail Abernathy (314) 428-3037 [email protected] Jewel Box Coordinator Kay Miskell (618) 344-6216 [email protected] Water Word Editor/ Website Coordinator Alice Gibson (618) 876-1628 [email protected] AKCA Representative Steve Metzler (314) 845-3902 [email protected] Historian Joe Summers (636) 527-2001 [email protected] Hospitality Coordinator Sophia Cluck (636) 530-1726 [email protected] Past President David Stahre (618) 623-9341 [email protected] Members-at-Large Carolyn Haus (314) 993-0985 [email protected] John Nies (636) 458-2149 [email protected]

Two Ways to Get Water Word

Your issue of Water Word will arrive in your mail box each month, prior to the monthly meeting,

unless you prefer to have it delivered via e-mail. To sign up for e-mail delivery

only, contact membership co-ordinator

Gail Abernathy at [email protected]

The St. Louis Water

Gardening Society is a member of the

Associated Koi Clubs of America (AKCA).

Visit the association’s website at

www.akca.org.


Here we are again, approaching the end of another year—nearly unbelievable! It is usual at year’s end to look back and try to sum up. What have we done with this time we have

been granted? The St. Louis Water Gardening Society and its members have had a pretty good year. There was a great Pond-O-Rama with glorious weather for once and visitors from long distances who came on a bus tour—new for us! Our water lilies sparkled like the jewels they are at the Jewel Box in Forest Park, thanks to a crew of dedicated volunteers, and they showed off nicely to members who came to our annual banquet there. We had a great bus trip to Springfield, Ill., and Chicago, visiting sister clubs and the Midwest Pond and Koi Society show. When we weren’t traveling or touring or celebrating, we enjoyed a string of interesting and delightful speakers, thanks to the effort of our newly elected president, Joe Summers. Joe and his “best friends” also worked hard behind the scenes all year, as the unofficial board of directors helped to keep things moving. I use the term “unofficial board” because our current SLWGS bylaws does not have a board of directors structure in it—although the officers, committee chairmen and coordinators have operated like one for a long time.

I am sure you have noticed that your usually colorful newsletter has several pages of “gray matter.” On these pages is probably one of the most important accomplishments of the past year—delving into, actually reading and revising our operational authority. Those documents have not been revised in at least 10 years. A committee has been hard at work since last spring, and gave the “board” a completely overhauled set in July for their input. The combined document is now ready for you. Our current bylaws require that changes be published a month prior to their presentation for vote by the membership. They are here for your review. They are posted on our website www.slwgs.org (in slightly larger type) and they will be presented formally at the October meeting. The first major change is that this document combines the former constitution and bylaws into one functional operational format. There are other changes as well, including the formal establishment of a board of directors. I hope you will take the time to read it over and make note of any concerns you may have. The general membership will be asked to approve the bylaws changes at the November pot luck dinner. It is very important that you fulfill your duties of membership. This organization belongs to its members—not the officers or board of directors. YOU must decide how it operates.

From the Editor’s Desk...


Inside this edition: Rain Gardens Help Solve Problems,

Create Beauty ................ Page 1 Also inside: Mediation Garden Dedicated to the Memory of Ray Mueller ......................... Page 1 Did You Miss This? On Damsels and Dragonflies ..................................... Page 2 Presidential Ponderings .......................... Page 3 SLWGS Calendar of Events ................... Page 4 Special Committee and Board Complete Draft of Bylaws Revisions .................... Page 5 2013 SLWGS Officers, Board Members and Coordinators ................................ Page 8 From the Editor’s Desk .......................... Page 9 Photo of the Month ................................. Page 10

SLWGS Water Word 10922 Killdare Court St. Ann, MO 63074 www.slwgs.org

Attention Members:

This iss

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copy of p

roposed S

LWGS Bylaws

revisions. A vote

for the ad

option

of these B

ylaws will be

taken at

the November m

embership

meeting. See p

age 5.

Photo of the Month

Hey! We’re getting wet! A rainstorm blew in suddenly while the Jewel Box volunteers were finishing up their work in early October, drenching the already wet workers. In an attempt to photograph a group of lovely pink blossoms, Alice Gibson found ripples and raindrops got in the way, creating this unusual, yet beautiful, view of the Jewel Box lilies.