San Gabriel Valley
Orchid Hobbyists, Inc.

Society News
 

Message from the President

I want to thank all of you who pitched in at the last minute to help at the LA Garden Show.  It is always a good idea to expose the public to our society and what we do with orchids.  This type of event is the best way to gain new membership. 

I also want to thank Kay Hudspeth, Shirley Lundine, Greg Orozco, and John & Cecilia Gorham, who helped obtain auction donations from about 30 orchid vendors.  If I missed your name I apologize; just know that your assistance was greatly appreciated.  Our auctions require teamwork to coordinate and make it run smoothly.

 I want to update everyone on some issues that have come up and been corrected since I became President.  First of all, I have been coming to society meetings for over 20 years and as long as I can remember there was always yellow bins on the refreshment table called "Feed the kitty."  I have never seen this at any other orchid society and have always wondered why this society would ask for a donation to help pay for refreshments.  If your membership dues don't cover this, surely the annual auction does.  So, my first new business was to eliminate this form of begging. After some discussion it was approved.

 I then began to discover that one or two nice plants were taken from the "raffle table" and placed on the silent auction table.  This seemed to be a unofficial, undelegated policy that some members had followed with good intentions of raising more money for the society.  As you know, the raffle table plants are paid for by the society at below wholesale prices and you, the members, buy raffle tickets hoping to take home a plant at close to the same price.  Anyway, I promise you that this will not happen again.  The society and those who are paid to provide plants strive to provide enough plants or enough QUALITY plants to entice you to buy raffle tickets.  This is NOT a "money-maker" for the society as we usually do not gain a profit, nor do we want to.  This is a way for you to build your orchid collection from a wide variety of sources for a very low price.  If I am really interested in one or more plants I usually buy at least $10 worth of tickets; otherwise, I spend $5.

One last issue is the society's use of gift certificates which were originally donated to the society for the auction.  Some gift certificates were saved for future use but expired by the time they were given out as prizes.  I promise you the society will have a much more sensible policy with these gift certificates.  We again will have a number of these donated for the auction.  If they are not auctioned off, they will either be placed on the silent auction table in June or added to the next raffle table.  We will also make every effort to add a catalog or list from the vendor to these gift certificates so you'll all know what value they are to you.

  See you Thursday night!   Matthew Swift

Check out our new DVD library additions:  Orchid Growing Basics with Brian, the Orchid Guy and Ambient Orchids, Ultimate Photo Gallery.

Advertising in the Bulletin

Anyone interested in advertising in the SGVOH Bulletin should contact 
Shirley Lundine (626) 335-6641 richley@adelphia.net

Membership Message 

Please welcome new member Ana Hernandez.  We are delighted to have you join us.  We had 55 in attendance.

WE NEED AUCTION WORKERS!!! Come have some fun! You can bid and help out at the SAME time!

Early jobs (5:30 PM – about 8:00 PM):
            Help with room & refreshment set-up
            Assist in registering donations & placing them
            Assist in registering bidders           

Later jobs (6:45 PM to 10 PM)
            Plant runners (from auction to plant hotel)
            Staff plant hotel or Assist record keepers

Late tasks: (9:00 PM – 10 PM)
            Assist in directing ‘traffic’ through check-out process
            Assist in plant hotel to check-out plants to buyers
            Help with final clean-up

To help, contact: Shirley Lundine (richley@roadrunner.com or 626-335-6641) or Matt Swift (tolumnia@yahoo.com or 909-548-9780), or sign up at the meeting.

Have lots of ribbons at home?  You can bring in up to 15 ribbons and receive a free raffle ticket for each one.  Just think you can win a plant or two just for pulling those ribbons out of a closet where they are tucked away!

Enjoy having some refreshments?  
  Bring some treats and receive a
 free raffle ticket for a special drawing the night of the Auction.  Both snacks and beverages are welcome.

 
We can all help with the clean-up after the meeting!

Bringing Plants for the Silent Auction?  Please bring a stamped, self-addressed envelope so the Treasurer can mail you your portion of the sale price (or you can just donate your portion to SGVOH!).

NEEDED:  A WEBMASTER beginning July 2008. 

For more information, contact Domingo Cabrera (dscabrera@verizon.net).

We need a representative on the Southland Committee.  It meets one Friday evening a month to plan for the Southland Show each October at the Huntington.  It is a great way to get to know others.  Let Matt Swift know of your interest or the name of a person you recommend.

The next Board meeting will be held at 7 PM on Thursday, May 22, at the LA County Arboretum.  Board members unable to attend should notify Matt Swift (909-548-9780).