had the honor of having his H. 'Skinwalker' win the Stout Silver Medal for 2009, and
the presentation will be made at the 2010 National Daylily Convention in Valdosta, GA.,
the week prior to the AIS Convention. My family and I will be going to Valdosta where
I'll accept the award. Ned was born in Georgia and spent his childhood and teen years
there. We are extending our Georgia time so that my grandchildren (ages 12 and 14)
will know more about the area that was home to their grandfather's early years.
~~~~~~~~There are a number of items I've been wanting to write about, so now is as good a time as any.
Please bear with me and at the very least, read the following and give these statements some serious
consideration.
1. On the matter of conventions: I think it's important to have a yearly convention; however, I would definitely consider shortening the time because of the time and expense involved.
I think we should consider having two days of tours rather than three. When I was on the
Board, I mentioned this, and it was met with non-approval, but it may be time to reconsider this. I found that
sometimes the gardens were not always up to the highest standards, and
often a garden was on the tour twice. It is becoming increasingly more difficult for a planning committee to
schedule enough high-quality gardens for three days. Perhaps it wouldn't be as difficult for a committee to
schedule TWO days of tours, and Paul's job of seeking convention venues would be made easier.
2. Convention scheduling for RVP meetings: Is there any way these could be scheduled later in the week?
Present schedules require that an RVP arrive at the beginning of the week and then may not have anything but free time for a day or more.
3. Would you consider dropping the VICE in RVP? The daylily society has done this, and it
was very easy to transition to RP, which really makes more sense. When dealing with hotels, for instance,
managers often want to speak to the PRESIDENT, rather than the VICE
PRESIDENT. They don't understand the reasoning behind this terminology as we do, and
why should they?
4. I think it make sense to revamp some of the regions. A look at the map should tell you why.
5. We're concerned about membership, and indeed we should be. It would be wonderful to
be able to attract younger members, but I think we need to rethink some of the traditions many of us have
known for a good number of years. Young people today lead extremely busy lives with sports, music, church,
and any number of other school activities, not to mention homework and a lot of it in most cases. If we are to
attract these younger members, we need to consider time and financial commitments to this hobby of ours.