JARS 49n3 - From the President

From the President
Herbert A. Spady, M.D.
Salem, Oregon

WOW! What a good time we had at the 50th anniversary celebration of the ARS. If you missed that meeting you missed one of the greatest. It was not only a wonderful meeting, but considerable action took place at the Board meeting which will influence everyone.WOW! What a good time we had at the 50th anniversary celebration of the ARS. If you missed that meeting you missed one of the greatest. It was not only a wonderful meeting, but considerable action took place at the Board meeting which will influence everyone.

Convention co-chairman Mike Stewart leads a toast ARS President Herb Spady gives founding member Ruth Hansen a citation Eva Jackson (left) is the winner of the rhododendron quilt made by Adele Jones (center) and Paula Cash (right).
Convention co-chairman Mike Stewart
leads a toast to the ARS at its
50th anniversary celebration. 		New ARS President Herb Spady gives
founding member Ruth Hansen a citation. 		Eva Jackson (left) is the winner of the
rhododendron quilt made by Adele
Jones (center) and Paula Cash (right).

In order to be able to include more information in the Journal some of the Society news may, in the future, appear in smaller type. In addition, as your president, I will attempt to keep these messages short and pertinent so space can be available for useful information about our favorite genus. We hope that the change in the Journal paper weight is not too obvious to you. I am calling your attention to the fact that the paper is lighter. The color pages are slightly lighter and the black and white is considerably lighter. The cost of paper has skyrocketed. In order to keep our expenses in line with income it was necessary to reduce the weight of the paper. This is a trial and we would like input from the membership regarding the change. If people are dissatisfied we can change back to the heavier paper. Keep in mind that such a change to the former paper would likely mean an increase in dues.

Speaking of dues, there will be no change in the way dues are collected. There will be no consideration of the Society collecting dues until changes are made in the Society's accounting and membership records. There are other problems that require resolution before the matter can be reconsidered. Increased effort will be focused on the efficiency of chapter dues collection, so that we do not lose members simply out of neglect. This has happened several times in the past. Help may be coming from two committees which a re the result of division of the Public Relations and Membership Committee into its two components.

Considerable time is needed to gather information about award candidates and process the information through the Honors Committee. If you have in mind candidates for Gold, Silver or Pioneer awards begin working on it immediately. Gold and Silver medal nominations must be made through your district director. Pioneer awards may be made via the Society president. Remember that nominations should be kept absolutely secret from the potential recipient. If the candidate is informed they may become very unhappy if the nomination is not approved.

As your new president, I do not want to create unrealizable expectations either in the minds of the membership or in my own mind. There are no grandiose plans, but there will be an effort to increase the efficiency of the Society's committees and the resulting services to our membership. Since we are a volunteer organization improving operation of the committees is likely to require "stimulation" by the Society's officers. Each officer in the Society has been asked to monitor the activity of some of the committees.