September Update from the President...

Hello and Happy September, Region 2-ers!

THE REAL STORY

Contrary to recent rumors, I am returning as the President of Region 2 for 2011-12. Detailed in the upcoming Region 2 newsletter, the elections to select a Regional President and AHS Director at the 2010 Summer Meeting were invalid. The procedures as outlined in the newly ratified regional bylaws was not followed and the result was a voided election. However, AHS has a procedure to insure the continuity of officers should anything out of the ordinary occur, and thanks to the help of the AHS President and AHS Counsel, the candidates selected by the Region 2 Nominating Committee will continue to serve into 2011. This procedure does require the resignation of current officers so that they may be reappointed by the AHS Board. At the request of the AHS President, I did provide this "procedural resignation" last week, and somehow the nature of the resignation was discovered by others and subsequently misinterpreted and miscommunicated. It has been an honor to serve as the President of the largest region in the AHS, and I intend to continue on in the office for a final two-year term. Bottom line- you're stuck with me!

REGIONAL PUBLICITY DIRECTOR SEARCH

I have a possible candidate for a new Regional Publicity Director, and I am waiting for them to finish "noodling" on taking over the job from Joyce Hersh. Joyce voiced her intent to move to Florida to be with her extended family (including grandbaby #2 coming this January) and we have been looking for a suitable replacement for her. Hopefully we can fill this position very soon.

REGIONAL NEWSLETTER EDITOR SEARCH

Narda Jones, our award-winning editor will retire at the end of this year as well, and a successor has not been named. Hopefully final decisions can be made in the coming months and the new editor can work with Narda on our winter edition- getting their feet wet and learning from the best in the process.

POPULARITY POLL RESULTS

Our Popularity Poll results are tabulated and are awaiting final approval from the AHS Popularity Poll chair. Once again, I believe the new way of voting and adding cultivars to the list is working! A few cultivars have dropped off our list for 2011, and several were added from write-in votes. Check the AHS website in the coming months for updates and announcements on this topic!

2011 WINTER SYMPOSIUM

The dates for the 2011 Region 2 Winter Symposium are February 25-27 and the location will once again be Blue Ash, Ohio (just outside Cincinnati, Ohio.) Plans are in the works as I write this, and registration forms and agendas will be posted to the regional website before the end of this year. Dan Bachman and JR Blanton are the co-chairs for the event, Mandy McMahon is the auction chair, Kimberly McCutcheon is handling the seedling/introduction slide show, and Diane Pruden is the new registrar. Any questions on the event can be directed to me or any one of those individuals. The speaker line-up is shaping up to be the best ever, so this is a perfect way to chase the winter blues away and get inspired to garden in 2011!

2011 SUMMER MEETING AND GARDEN TOURS

Speaking of 2011, our Region 2 Summer Meeting is hosted by the Southern Michigan Daylily Society and will be headquartered in Troy, Michigan (a northern suburb of Detroit.) The dates of this event are July 15-17. Mark you calendars. Eight tour gardens, many open gardens, an unprecedented boutique, FIVE meals, a massive live auction, unbelievable raffles, superb gift / bus plants, and Jamie Gossard as the keynote speaker make this the event of the year for Region 2. Please plan to attend.

As summer blows away in the autumn breeze, I hope you breathe a sigh of satisfaction in your gardens this year. Don't make your "to-buy" or "to-do" lists for 2011 too big - yet.

Wishing you blue skies and beautiful blooms,

~

Nikki

New Members for Region 2!

I have received the latest AHS membership rosters from the wonderful AHS Executive Secretary, Pat Mercer.  I get these lists a few times a year and they are very useful.  It shows me how many members are in our region, how many new members have joined and how many have not renewed.

This information is available for any local club president or representative who may want to use this information to communicate to new members in their area.  Please contact me if you are interested in receiving a copy.  Today (March 3) I will email it to the local club contacts I have for just this purpose.  If you do not receive it, or would like a new copy, please let me know.

The good news is that renewals are up for AHS and for Region 2.  So far for 2010 there are 10 new members in Illinois, 6 in Indiana, 9 in Michigan, 16 in Ohio, and 6 in Wisconsin.  Club presidents and membership chairs, please reach out to these folks.  Send them a flyer, send them a voucher for your next plant sale, send them a set of your clubs newsletters from last year...send them some daylily love!  We all remember what it felt like to be a new member, and for some of us, that experience was not all hearts and flowers - do your best to make it awesome for someone else!

Speaking of hearts and flowers, here is David Kirchhoff's H. 'Hearts and Flowers.'  Stunning, stunning, stunning, and not typical of a daylily done by "the David."  I have grown this since 2002 and it gets better every year.  This last summer it decided to exhibit polymerous characteristics on many of its blooms, which made for a real interesting display.

And speaking of David, he is the featured speaker at the SMDS Spring Banquet coming up on April 18th in southeast Michigan.  For more details, please visit http://www.daylilyclub.net/.  All are welcome and encouraged to attend.  I know I will not miss it.  They have a raffle and auction to die for!

Back on topic, I would encourage you to reach out to the folks on the "New member" list in your area and invite them to your next club event, or your next open garden. 

Friends are found everywhere...

Here's me (far left) clerking at the 2008 Southern Michigan Daylily Society Exhibition Show.  I look like I'm in deep thought, don't I?  In the photo with me are L-R: AHS Helen Field Fischer Medal Winner Hal Rice, Pam Klein and Elaine Schultz.  Clerking is a great way to learn about judging, exhibiting and most of all, patience!  It sure is hard to keep your mouth shut while clerking when you also are an accredited judge and seasoned exhibitor.

That's all for now, friends.  I hope to see you along the garden path sometime this summer.