Re: 2013 AIS Convention

["K. Loberg" <iris.loberg@comcast.net>]

   Janet, I did want to clarify just a little about the 2004 National 
Convention in Fresno.  As you know, I served as the 2004 convention 
Treasurer and worked very, very closely with Betty Coyle who was the 
chairman of the event.   (2nd AIS convention I was Treasurer.)

   There certainly were instructions provided to the guest garden hosts, 
much was taken from the AIS Convention Handbook (guidelines), and there were 
HUGE Thank You's given to all who participated as a volunteer.   Our Summer 
and Fall Region 14 bulletins do include articles of Thank You's, and I also 
personally know that Betty Coyle, on behalf of the Region 14 Board, 
expressed continual thanks to all the volunteers and garden hosts at several 
regional functions.   Additionally, although the event was centered near and 
around the Fresno area, it truly was a Regional hosted event and not an 
affiliate event.   I myself could never conceive of a single small affiliate 
becoming a host of a National Convention, as it took efforts of dozens of 
volunteers from all affiliates in our region to be successful with an event 
of this magnitude.

    There is no doubt, it is very difficult during the initial planning 
stages to obtain committments from a number of garden hosts who would be 
willing to become garden hosts for a National event.  Everyone knows it is a 
ton of work.



Kitty Loberg

Region 14 Past RVP



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Janet Smith" <ypauls@sti.net>
To: <aisdiscuss@aisboard.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 8:50 AM
Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] 2013 AIS Convention


My 10 cents worth and may be this will help you understand----- WHY
an affiliate will NOT volunteer to host a convention.  I am a member
of Fresno Iris Society which is part of Region 14.  We had the 2004
Convention here.  Region 14 was the organizer and Fresno did the
work.  What I do know from Fresno Iris Society's part is that we had
new members who volunteered to be the  guest garden (and at the time
were trilled to do it), they paid thousands from their own pocket so
everyone could enjoy their gardens.  We worked hard for the visit to
Yosemite, have a show etc.  There was sooooooo much anger and
frustration as time progressed that when it was done and over
----there is no way in H**** anyone in this affiliation will do it
again.  What was so very sad was the fact there were no instruction
books to help with the process, no HUGE thank you's and true
recognition to the guest hosts for the 2-4 years of work they did on
their own. (They did not expect reimbursement-I want to make that
clear.) But a nice plaque or gift as a thank you would have been
nice.  So word of mouth  from one affiliate to another gets everyone
to think - why would I want to go through that.

Janet Smith
P.S. Kudo's to Paul Gossett for all his hard work all these years.

---- Original Message ----
From: RUTHBB@aol.com
To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] 2013 AIS Convention
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:03:47 EDT

>I, too, agree with Jim and Dennis. We must make the adjustments that
>will
>keep us viable. Having a committee responsible for the convention
>detail
>arrangements would be a giant step towards scheduling conventions in
>the
>future. Yes, it is desirable to have the local affiliates, as well as
>the
>Region, as hosts, but it takes huge manpower, years of work, and
>sizable
>financial risk to host AIS Convention in the present manner. It is
>exhausting to
>host an AIS Convention. We have now run out of affiliates  that are
>willing
>to do it, or have the manpower  available.  How many
>affiliates/Regions that
>hosted in the past  ten years will stand up and say, "Oh yes, we'll
>do it
>again, since now we have  experience and know how to do it!"
>
>Our membership is mostly gray. In the past there was always a
>younger,
>energetic crowd coming along that was willing to pick up the ball and
>carry
>forth.  Those days are gone. Having the local affiliate or Region
>have the
>responsibility for guest iris gardens is all we should ask of them. I
> can see
>a benefit to having conventions in areas where we have few or no
>members,
>but fantastic botanical gardens available. That would make  much more
>of out
>fabulous country available for a convention location and  could
>expose our
>membership to areas that they would otherwise not have an
>opportunity to
>visit.
>
>Paul, as our convention liason, what say ye?
>
>Ruth
>
>
>In a message dated 3/30/2010 1:08:23 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
>plankmail@aol.com writes:
>
>Thank  you, Jim.  I am in absolute agreement with your remarks about
>AIS
>conventions in the past, in the present and what is possible for the
>future.
>Jeanne
>
>On Mar 29, 2010, at 2:30 PM, _MORRISJE1@aol.com_
>(mailto:MORRISJE1@aol.com)
> wrote:
>
>
>
>In a message dated 3/28/2010 5:08:41 P.M. Central Standard Time,
>_cemahan@aol.com_ (mailto:cemahan@aol.com)  writes:
>
>Every year...through the  Great Depression, interrupted only by WWII,
>AIS
>has held annual  conventions. An organization does not keep growing
>by
>eliminating its  annual conventions. How sad this is.  Clarence
>
>
>
>
>Clarence,
>
>Sad perhaps, but facts must be faced.  As Dennis said, we have the
>garden
>tour members locked in but why can't we consider an educational
>convention
>together with a botanical garden?  All of those conventions  you
>referred to
>did not all have garden tours and many had very small  attendance of
>less
>than 100 people.  Several were basically business  meetings.  True,
>they were
>business meetings of great men and women of  horticultural skill and
>fame,
>but they primarily visited the New York  Botanical Garden, Cornell,
>Nashville (an iris hotbed of iris hybridizing)  and Freeport, IL.
>The growth was
>after WWII along with the growth of  the U.S. in general.  Now we are
>
>mirroring the decrease in the U.S. of  interest in organizations of
>any kind.
>
>Jim  M.
>
>
>
>
>=



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