At the June meeting, I’ll hand over the NWOS presidency to Abigail Chang who volunteered to take over. I appreciate Abby’s willingness to lead the society. Thank you.

As you know, I hadn’t expected to be president. But our loss of John Burke created a need and a lot of people stepped forward: Michael Cory took over my job as secretary, Christina Fredette-Sankey, filled Mike’s trustee position, and when she moved to the East Coast, Mike Pearson filled her vacancy.

We had a great year with lots of varied programs and events. At the risk of failing to name members who contributed significantly to the society over the past year, I want to specifically thank several people for their contributions. As seen by the length of this list, it takes a village to run an orchid society. My special thanks go to George and Cylvia Grantham for transporting orchids all over Washington and Oregon on behalf of the NWOS and setting up displays; Joff Morgan for creating and shepherding the NWOS Flower & Garden Show Display; Jamie and Dennis Notman for their work on all of our shows and sales—and especially for their work on the Mother’s Day Sale; Chris Peterson and Pat Gossler for tallying sales and writing checks all year long; Mike Cory and Peter Maunsell for hosting speakers and Peter for hosting the upcoming August picnic; Mike Foster for an outstanding selection of speakers and programs; Mary Nichols for always having coffee and goodies at every meeting and for cleaning up afterward; Linda Petchnick for creating the terrific backdrop for the Flower & Garden Show display; Jerry Hoffmeister for putting out the newsletter; Brian Anderson for creating this year’s Show Poster and for putting together and publishing the society’s directory; Mike Pearson, the society’s Webmaster; Caroline Mann, the NWOS librarian; and Ellen Covey, for chairing the meeting display tables.

I’m grateful to the entire NWOS Board of Trustees and officers. George Krasle and Judy Vincenzi leave the Board in June. Joining the Board will be Ellen Covey, Alan Mathews, and Erin Goecker—all serving as trustees for the first time. Leanna Fox, was nominated from the floor at the May meeting, and will return as a trustee for a second consecutive term.

Other than president, all officers agreed to serve another term and all were reelected: Mike Foster, first vice president; George Grantham, second vice president; Chris Peterson, treasurer; and Michael Cory, secretary.

Upcoming NWOS Sales and Shows

Our next event is a picnic in August. Hope to see you then.

NWOS Dues Notice

The NWOS fiscal year is July 1 through June 30 so unless you joined recently, please complete the membership form and either send it in with your check (payable to NWOS) or pay at the June meeting. Dues are $25 for one person or $30 for two people at the same address. If you pay now, your check will not be cashed until July 1. Members who joined at or after the Flower & Garden Show in February are paid through June 2010. Dues are kept low to encourage membership but they cover only a small portion of the society's expenses.

Free Cymbidiums

Richard Mauritsen, who lives in the Orting area, has about 30 cymbidiums that he would like to give away. If you're interested, contact him by phone or email: 360-893-5720; mauritsen@msn.com.