INSIDE THE IPA
F
irst of all, I would like to welcome Olie Garrison as the new first Vice President, David Edgley as the new Treasurer and Lynn Fuller
returning as Membership Secretary to the IPA Board. They were duly elected for a two-year term to their positions. Special thanks
to the members of the Nominating Committee and to Tom Harper for chairing it. Additional thanks go to Cathy Rider for serving
the IPA as our Recording Secretary and then as First Vice President, organizing the terrific 2013 Symposium in Austin, Texas. I also
want to thank Olie for the great job that he has done as Treasurer of the organization for the past three years.
I am happy to report that membership of the organization has remained stable at around 400 members for a year now. This is a good sign,
as we are trying to rebuild our international membership with the new offer of our electronic magazine at the same membership rate as
the domestic US membership. Our treasurer, Olie, reported that the
organization has remained financially stable for the year as we were
able to meet all our expenses and end up with a surplus of about $1,000.
However, I need to remind everyone that dues only cover about two
issues of the Journal each year; the other two issues are possible due to
the successful auctions carried out during our Semi-Annual Meetings
and the Symposium. At the recent Minneapolis meeting, we raised over
$2,500 for the organization. I want to thank everyone who donated
plants to the auction, especially Norman’s Orchids, Krull Smith, Stones
River Orchids, and Orchidview for their generosity.
At this same meeting, HP Norton was presented with the first ever
Lifetime Achievement Award given by the IPA for his hybridizing work
over the last 30 plus years. He also received the coveted Award for
Excellence in Hybridizing from the American Orchid Society. You can
read more about the awards and HP Norton inside this Journal.
And that brings us to the 2014 Symposium, our 20th Symposium.
Being hosted by Region 1 – Southern California & Southern Nevada it will be held at The Ontario Airport Hotel and Conference Center
in Ontario, California, on August 8th and 9th (Friday and Saturday).
Speakers for this event will be Mr. Yang Yang from Taiwan, Mike Mims
from North Carolina, Alan Koch of Gold Country Orchids and Norman
Fang of Norman’s Orchids. In addition, there will be vendors from the
US as well as Taiwan. More information on the Symposium can be
found inside this issue of the Journal, including a copy of the
Registration Form. Please take particular note of the deadlines for Hotel
and event registrations.
For 2015, IPA’s 25th Anniversary, we are planning to celebrate this milestone by having two Symposiums. The 21st Symposium will be held
in conjunction with the 2015 Taiwan International Orchid Show in Tainan, Taiwan, on March 6 and 7, 2015. We are planning to have as
many as eight talks, with Olaf Gruss leading the way on species and Dr. Yin-Tung Wang on culture. There will be a good mix of speakers for
the event with half of them being from Taiwan. The 22nd Symposium will be held in the US in August, 2015, back in Apopka, Florida. We
will keep you informed as to the location and dates for this event.
So mark your calendar for the Symposium and Members’ Meeting in August. Another great event …
Respectfully submitted
Carlos
Phalaenopsis | Second Quarter | Volume 24 | 2014
5