From the Executive Director
Laura Grant
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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| Laura Grant, ARS Executive Director |
Once again it was a treat to attend an ARS spring convention hosted by the ARS Chapters of District 9 and the Brookside Gardens Chapter, Azalea Society of America. I do not ever remember such a huge variety of azaleas and rhododendrons offered for sale. Many of them were the new introductions by the local hybridizers and rare clones never found in the local nurseries. It was truly a pleasure to meet members from such far away places as Chile, New Zealand, and Germany, England as well as Canada and all corners of the United States. On the way to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello we passed our beloved "rhodies" in their native habitat painting the hillsides of the Blue Ridge Parkway purple, pink and yellow. The private gardens were packed with rare treasures and the flower show had some stunning trusses. All in all, great convention!
At the Board meeting several new District Directors were welcomed to their elected positions. Very shortly the renewal packages will be in the mail and will reflect some changes made by your Board. Our webmaster, Bob Weissman, has created on-line membership search capability available to all ARS Board members and committee chairs.