Text Box: John Lee continues to work on our ACBS web site. This is a critical element to the long term growth of ACBS. If we can create a web site that is up to date with information and interesting to visit it will transform our society. A good web site that we can up dated as needed will become a “must have” to every bonsai club in the world in the near future. Joe. Text Box: We will publish our list of ACBS regular meeting programs in the April newsletter. A 3 year list gives everyone a chance to see what we have ahead. The person giving the program has a long lead time to plan the program. As ACBS changes with members and time we adjust the schedule of programs. Now is the time to suggest the type of program you would like to see or present. Remember, nothing is impossible, nothing is too weird. Our society is a mix of advanced artist, artist starting collections and some artist somewhere in between. No program is too simple or too complex. Text Box: Southern Bonsaist Text Box: The programs I would like to add to the list are. 1. Every thing you need to know about internet web sites. By John Lee 2. Understanding the difference between good bonsai material and a lifetime project. 3. What killed my bonsai over the past three years. 4. Two new bonsai styles that could be developed from our coastal trees. Text Box: 5. How to increase membership in a bonsai society. Keep adding to this list with your programs. While you are thinking about programs think about events we could add to our yearly bonsai calendar. How we could improve our current events and any other thing that could make bonsai more fun for all ACBS members. Joe. Text Box: E-mail address. He also picks up the phone and call each week to keep up to date with all the fast changing events. Communication is the life blood of any organization. Text Box: As we come to the end of 04 I would like to say thank you to three members of ACBS. Joe Kuhn, Patrick LaNasa and John Lee. Joe Kuhn, very new to ACBS took my request for improving member communication to heart. He e-mails all the important information as quick as we receive it to all ACBS members that listed an Text Box: Patrick LaNasa takes time out to drive all the way from Diamond Head, Mississippi to Mobile to attend most meetings and events. Creating and watching over the the Gulf Coast Bonsai Society Patrick keeps us informed of their events and them informed about our events. Text Box: Page # Text Box: Treated Wood? Text Box: SPECIAL PROGRAMS Text Box: Thank you-no, Thanks a lot Text Box: They even say the landscape timbers are treated for rot but believe me it’s a surface treatment at best. These landscape timbers had been in the ground for about 5 years. Rotten and eat up with termites would be the description of all the landscape timbers. The Text Box: Regular 4/4 treated timbers were good as new. I didn’t find any trace of rot or termite damage to any of the 4/4 timbers. When you build in your bonsai area always use treated wood. If you put it in the ground check the tag that come on each piece of treated wood to be sure it says– treated for ground contact. Joe Text Box: I was taking down some bonsai stands and benches at a former members house today. Some of the post and benches were made with landscape timbers. Landscape timbers are those 6 foot post with rounded edges. They are about half the cost of a 4x4 treated post. The cost might make you decide to buy them instead of the treated 4/4 post. Text Box: “ I would love to see a program on two new styles developed from coastal trees”