Looking Ahead to a Growing Year
Hello everyone,
I am sorry to inform you that we will meet once again via Zoom on February 3, 2022, at 7:30pm. I’m not apologizing, but due to Covid circumstances, the First Christian Church will not allow our in-person meeting to take place. The Zoom link will will be distributed to your emails through the MailChimp process.
Last month there were more than 30 attendees for a great presentation by our own Rice University Prof. Ken Whitmire about the chemistry of orchids and orchid growing. It was informative, and hey, I thought it was fun! Maybe that marks me as a goofy science nerd, but I’m used to it.
For February, our new VP of Speakers, Stephen Gallagher, was anticipating what we all want—a real program with a great grower and the opportunity to purchase orchids. Luckily, Stephen and the speaker’s circuit in Texas were able to negotiate a switcheroo. The program intended for March will now be presented February 3, and Dave Sorokowsky will come in person in another month later this year.
The February 3 program will be presented by another HOS member, Laurie Skov. He and his wife, Sheila, have filled many duties over the years in our Society, and the entire Texas Orchid Circuit will have the benefit of sharing in his presentation on Nobile Dendrobiums during the week of February 3. Stephen Gallagher has prepared an introduction to Laurie, so you will find more details on the link on this page.
In other news, Houston Orchid Society is plugging along, taking care of business. Before the end of January, I will have held the board meeting that will approve the budget for 2022. Expect to vote on the budget at the virtual meeting in February.
I hope you have taken time to visit our new website! That’s exciting, too. Just search for “Houston Orchid Society.” Please let me know if you see errors or changes needed.
This month, I am excited to share the complete list of Board Members and Committee Chairs and members. It is my desire to have a mix of veteran and newer members to ensure the continuity of this organization. I intend to be open to the ideas and commitments of both kinds of members. This list includes a new “tech” position under the VP Speakers. This person makes sure the virtual aspects of each in-person meeting are more seamlessly available to folks who are unable to attend in person. Welcome aboard as our Zoom assistant, Brian Fitzgerald.
Surely March 3 will find our group under one roof! The details are still fuzzy, but I am leaning toward another month where the meeting will be shorter and masks will be required all the time. This precludes the ability to have an open refreshments table, so we will have to once again defer the debut of our Refreshments Chair, James Nelson.
Stay tuned (as they used to say on radio and TV)! This group of dedicated volunteers is willing and able to keep us going as Houston Orchid Society passes its 77th anniversary.
—Sarah Bentley, President