ACMGA Members
Have you moved or changed your email address recently? To update your mailing address, ph0ne number or email address please send an email to Lynn Dolata, at the Adams UW Extension, lynn.dolata@ces.uwex.edu. Be sure to provide the same information to WIMGA if you are a member of this association also!
ACMGA dues are $10.00 per person and are used to cover expenses and support the activities and programs of the Association. Dues are to be paid to the ACMGA Treasurer at the annual meeting of each year.
Other benefits to you as a member include:
- Informative bi-monthly newsletter.
- Opportunity to be a member in Wisconsin Master Gardener Association (WIMGA)*
- Opportunities for continuing education.
- Coordinated community service projects
- Interaction with other Master Gardeners throughout the state.
- Sponsored garden tours May through September.
* Individuals may join the Wisconsin Master Gardener Associatin (WIMGA) on their own, but it is preferable to join through our local association. Participants in MG training offered through the MG Program Office automatically become members of the WIMGA for the remainder of the calendar year because the registration fee includes dues. After that year, dues must be paid to remain a member.
The bi-monthly ACMGA newsletter contains informative articles about MG activities, horticulture education, resource materials, upcoming events and more. Each issue of the newsletter is sent directly to everyone who is a paid member of the ACMGA. The newsletter is offered digitally by email as a pdf file, or issues can be found at Master Gardner Newsletter link
The content of the e-newsletter, or online version is identical to the printed version, however it is better because you get to view it in color!
All certified MGVs are eligible to order a Wisconsin MGV name badge (any MGV who is active and has completed their initial certification within the last year or is currently recertified). This is verified by our local program office from the database of volunteer hour records submitted.
The official WIMGA name badge is white plastic with screen printed logos, engraved letters and a pin back, and is approximately 2 x 3½ inches.
Group orders through our association are preferred rather than individual orders (to save on delivery costs). Name badges are paid for individually by MGVs but submitted as a group order (individual checks can be sent; the order does not have to be paid for with a single check). Order name badges from ACMGA Treasurer. Currently name badges are $6.50 each. Checks must be made payable to ACMGA.
During training you should be supplied with a timesheet, however if you can no longer find it, or you have misplaced it you may obtain another copy at the UW Extension office, or you may download a current time sheet at http://adams.uwex.edu/files/2010/12/Timesheet-2013.docx.
The deadline for submitting volunteer and continuing education hours is October 1 of every year.
Record sheets are a method to keep track of the hours you volunteer as a MGV. If possible, record your volunteer and/or continuing education activities when you complete them. If you wait until the end of the year to write this down, you may forget how much time you really spent on projects and underestimate your contributions (or just decide it’s too much trouble and get no credit for your hard work).
Keeping records is an important part of the MG Program. Not only do these records allow for recognition of volunteers for their hard work, but they are also invaluable for program evaluation. Timesheets provide a record of the many ways MGVs serve the public. Local and state governments, which fund the program, are very interested in how effectively Extension uses tax revenues. Consequently detailed records benefit both the MG Program and its clients.
Turn your reports in by the deadline to Don Genrich or designated person. Although you should always try to turn in your hours by the deadline each year, if you miss that date, don’t despair. Your hours can still be turned in for credit, although they may be “held” until the following year to simplify recordkeeping and database entry.
As a Master Gardener Volunteer, you are a representative of the University of Wisconsin-Extension and a team member in the local Extension office. Therefore, it is important to maintain a professional image when you are serving in any Master Gardener capacity. When doing a program outside of the office, wear a Master Gardener Volunteer name badge. This serves as your identification and denotes your association with the University of Wisconsin.
Occasionally a MGV may be offered a gift or honorarium as a speaker. It is permissible to accept a small gift but not money. It is not permissible to ask for or seek payment for any educational services provided as a MGV. It is the responsibility of the MGV to inform the person/group making the offer that no payment is expected or required. Donations to the MGA, or the MG Foundation Fund, are an acceptable method of handling “offered fees.”
A MGV can accept reimbursement for travel and expenses associated with preparing/conducting an educational program.
