By: Jim Bishop.
SDHS Night at the Fair
I hope you were able to join us for this year’s SDHS Night at the Fair to see all the wonderful garden exhibits and to honor Debra Baldwin, our 2017 Horticulturalist of the Year. Special thanks to all the volunteers who helped make it a memorable event.
Our Fair exhibit took multiple awards this year. Please join me in thanking those responsible for creating the award-winning display: Mannah Gbeh, Terry Chamberlin, Greg Hunter, and Karen Krugman. More details on the Fair exhibit on page….
Highlights of the May Board Meeting
Finances: After comparing year-to-date income and expenditures with those of the previous year, I’m happy to report that SDHS continues to be in good financial health. Our Spring Garden Tour, always a major source of income, was an outstanding success, and our ongoing expenses are within budget. Thanks again to all of those who helped out on tour day.
Board Openings: We still need to fill several critical positions on the Board. Most importantly, we need a new president. As mentioned in previous issues of Let’s Talk Plants, my term will end in August. We are still looking for someone to fill this essential position and take the organization forward. While it is a big commitment, it is also a lot of fun. There’s the chance to meet new people, see wonderful gardens, and, most of all, influence horticulture in San Diego. We are also looking for membership and volunteer chairs. The membership chair maintains our membership records, arranges for member check in and membership sales at meetings, and organizes new member orientations and outreach events. The volunteer chair schedules volunteers for events and organizes the yearly Volunteer Appreciation Party. Please contact me at sdhspresident@sdhort.org if you can serve.
Online Newsletter: We are moving ahead with plans to launch an online newsletter later this summer. The printed Let’s Talk Plants is beautiful and has been an outstanding benefit to members for many years. However, at this point, only a very few of our members actually subscribe to the print edition. As the number of print subscriptions continues to decline, we are getting close to the point where we will not qualify for bulk mail. At that point, the cost to mail the print issue will become prohibitive. At the same time, the online pdf version, which is what most of our members receive, is not easy to read because of its length and format.
Our new website will have the same content as before, but in a format designed for easy reading on computers, tablets, and phones. The website will be searchable, making it easy to find past articles, for example. There will be many photos of gardens and events to enjoy, as well as links to both content within our website and on other websites.
A mock-up of the new website was shared with the Board, who approved purchasing a name for the new site along with a one year subscription to a hosting service. Look for an announcement of a preview of the website later this summer. Once the new website is up and running, we will cease publication of the printed issue; those who subscribed to the print version will receive a credit in the form of an extension of their SDHS renewal date.
SDHS Workshops: Under Anne Murphy’s leadership, we have had outstanding workshops this year. More workshops are planned for the fall. Unfortunately, there have been a large number of “no-shows.” Instead of cancelling in advance, people who cannot attend simply do not show up. Space at workshops is very limited; there is almost always a waiting list. It is important for people who find they cannot come to let Anne know in advance so someone else can fill their slot. The Board offered several ideas to address this issue, and the Workshop Committee subsequently decided that people who do not cancel in advance would not be able to register for future workshops.