The Council of Chapters Nominating committee is pleased to present the following slate of Council of Chapters Officer candidates for election. All candidates this year are running unopposed, but still need your votes to be officially elected.
On March 11 (next Saturday) the Nominating Committee will send an email to all then-registered* Chapter Representatives to announce the opening of the Council’s Forum online voting. To vote, go to the Forum (http://www.forum.fnps.org), log in using the button on the green header on top, scroll down to the Council of Chapters section, click on Voting. Note that each officer position requires a separate vote, so you will vote 3 times.
Voting will close at midnight on March 25 and election results will be announced at the Council of Chapters meeting on March 26.
Chapter Representatives must have an individual Forum ID and password to access the Forum to vote. If you have not already gotten a personal Forum login (or have forgotten what yours is), please request one from webteam@fnps.org.
Council of Chapters Election Slate
Lisa Stanley - Council Vice Chair (2-year term)
Lisa is a member of the Pinellas Chapter and a native West Virginian where she had a 4-acre wildlife sanctuary, was a volunteer eastern box turtle tracker, and a part-time mushroom hunter. After retiring from the Army in 2022, she came to St Petersburg, where she’s building her native backyard to encourage reptile, bird, and bee inhabitants.
Lisa previously volunteered for several years as an Outings Leader for the Sierra Club, a Fundraising and Finance Committee member with the Lion’s Club, various roles at the American Red Cross, and numerous veteran organizations. Lisa loves to spend her spare time admiring the natural world and wants to share her love for native biodiversity through habitat restoration. She holds a Master’s of Science in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University, and currently works in technology fields.
Megan Prats - Council Secretary (2-year term)
Megan is the owner and founder of Smarty Plants Nursery. Smarty Plants Nursery is a 1.25 acre nursery located in Homestead, FL that grows 7 gallon South Florida Native Shrubs for the wholesale market. Smarty Plants Nursery has been a native nursery for 7 years.
In addition to being a member of the FNPS Miami-Dade Chapter, Megan is also a long-term member of FANN and has made educational materials for FANN’s social media to promote more demand for native plants in landscaping. Megan wholeheartedly believes that native plants are always the best option for the landscaping customer because when the customer goes native, everyone wins - the grower, the landscaper, the customer, and the Earth. She passionately believes in the FNPS mission and vision and wants to help further the mission by being a part of the Council of Chapters.
Melanie Simon - Council Chair (1 year term)
Melanie has been serving as Council Secretary since 2020 and has been serving as Chair for the past year. Her interim Council Chair term ends this year. An additional 1 year term will re-align the election schedule so Chair and Vice Chair/Secretary elections occur in alternate years and provide continuity for 2023.
As Council Secretary Melanie updated Council procedures, the Council website, and Chapter Representative orientation materials. For the past year Melanie has not only kept the Council running, she has also been instrumental in organizing initiatives such as a New Member Package, Brochure Printing, and Volunteer Hours reporting. In addition to her service on the Council, Melanie is the current Passionflower Chapter President.
*Name, Chapter Representative status, contact information, and email registered with the Society Administration (at info@fnps.org) and correctly displayed on the FNPS.org Chapter Representative Contact webpage.
