July 2016

This month we’ll be learning about “The Exciting Encyclias” from our very own Mark Reinke, fellow member and professional grower. This is an overview of a genus of fascinating orchids that are generally easy to grow and rewarding in the Southeast USA.

Mark highlights a dozen species out of the vast Encyclia range from Florida to Brazil, explaining how to grow them and showcasing some of the surprisingly impressive hybrids made from them.

He ends with examples of the Encyclia breeding taking place at Marble Branch Farms and will have seedlings of some of these crosses among the plants he will bring with him to sell at the meeting.

We will also be purchasing select examples from Mark to supply our raffle table…be sure not to miss it!

Be sure to bring all your bloomers to share at the show and tell table…and remember…every plant you bring for show and tell scores you a free raffle ticket! (Same goes for any food you bring to share as well)

Orchiata Group Buy

Orchiata orders are in and can be picked up at this months’ meeting.

There are also three bags of Classic (3/8″) and four bags of Power (3/4″) available at $28.00 each for those who may have missed the order.

If you need to arrange an alternate pick-up time or you want to jump on the remaining available bags, email Graham (DO NOT REPLY TO THIS NEWSLETTER) G_Ram@yahoo.com
with your order or any questions you may have. Order window will close on June 19th.

November Elections 
A reminder that we have a significant turnover in board memebrs coming at our November elections and we need new energy to lead the society forward. With several months before the election in November, we will be making a push for more inclusion and create opportunities for our general membership to become more involved. With that in mind, here are a list of efforts we plan to undertake:

• We have moved the board meetings to occur normally immediately before the regular meeting. our board meetings have always been open to the membership but we’re going to be making a push for more of you to attend and get a sense of what it is like. We’ll be making special note of board meeting times in coming newsletters and we encourage anyone interested in becoming more engaged with WNCOS to attend…no prior experience or particular orchid expertise required!
• We would like to encourage anyone who thinks they may be interested in a more active role to seek out one of the current board members and discuss what roles exist and the experience of being on the board…it really is enjoyable and satisfying.
• We’re planning to push both our board and our annual show planning in the direction of being more inclusive and engaging members in planning our regular meeting events and our show. We want to hear from you if you have any ideas of how to make that happen and any role you would like to play in any WNCOS activity.

In short…We have an amazing society that is one of the best in the country, we as a board are focused on fostering that environment, but we need you, the membership, to let us know what you want…and we want you to help keep this society active, engaging, and enjoyable for all.