March 2016
This month’s speaker is Steve Champlin of Floralia Orchids in Brazil. Steve started in orchids at Armroy Inc. in Carpinteria, California in 1983 and continued to work in orchids when Armroy was merged with Stewart Orchid in 1986. Steve married and moved to Brazil to work at Floralia Orquideas in 1991, where he continues to work with his wife Sandra. He has been involved with the AOS judging system since 1984 and is now a senior judge. He was the Co-show chairman at the World Orchid Conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1996. He has two sons who are now starting to work in the nursery.
Steve will be speaking on “Brazilian Cattleyas 2.0″ which will include Laelias, most of which are now considered Cattleyas by the RHS.
Steve has taken pre-orders, will have Brazilian orchids for sale, and we will also be purchasing orchids from him as well for our raffle table.
Volunteer Now!
The Asheville Orchid Festival is fast approaching (only 5 weeks away as of this writing). There is much to be done before the start of the Festival on April 13th, and the size of this event will require a significantly larger involvement from our membership to ensure success. You can sign up to volunteer at our Volunteer Page . We need all of you to really step up and be a part of this exciting Festival!If you cannot make it to the meeting, you can see all the volunteer opportunities and sign-up for those you want to help support at our Volunteer Page now!If you aren’t comfortable with the internet or don’t have a computer never fear, we will have the ability to assist you with volunteer registration at the meeting.
The event website for the Asheville Orchid Festival is has been live since November. It now has full registration, schedules, and all other details of the event so be sure to head on over to the Asheville Orchid Festival Website and check it out.
The Show committee has finalized the benefits package for all WNCOS members for the Festival this year. These details are as follows:
– The Show and Sale at the Arboretum will be free to all members
– The Preview Party (on Thursday evening) will be free to all WNCOS members.
– WNCOS Members receive free shuttle bus service between the Hilton and the NC Arboretum
– 4 hours of volunteer service will entitle a member to a free single day admission (day of your choice), a $45 value.
– 8 hours of volunteer service will entitle a members to a free full event pass, a $99 value*
Please note that admission to the Gala Banquet, and other meal events will require paid registration to partake in those events regardless of volunteer hours spent. This is due to the direct costs to the society for each additional person attending.* Also note that you will need to make a specific request to the Festival Committee in order to receive the free benefits. We will have to validate your volunteer hours and manually enter your registration into the system in order to avoid charges. More details on this will be provided as we get close to the event.
There will be a significant increase in the need for volunteers to help staff all of the activities planned for the Festival. To facilitate this increase, we have created an online volunteer sign-up to allow all of our members to see what volunteer opportunities are available, and to sign up for the ones that best suit you. This system will allow us to better communicate to you all of the volunteer opportunities, it will send you reminders a couple days before your volunteer commitments, and it will allow us to track where we need additional support as we get close to the event. You can check it out and sign up at our Volunteer Page now!