New
Style of Convention
Let's Make it Happen!
Tom Micheletti, Deer Park, IL |
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![](images/NS01.jpg) | | There is nothing
more rewarding to a gardener than to hear the accolades from fellow
gardeners
extolling the delight and joy derived from visiting their garden. All over this country there are
great gardens
that we may never see if individuals or local groups are not willing to
host an
AHS Convention. That is the premise that went into the planning for
this
summer’s convention. As I have said before, two cheeseheads planned and
executed a very fun and enjoyable event. By all accounts, the 2013
American
Hosta Society convention in Milwaukee this past June was a HUGE
success! From
the numerous comments received, it was considered one of the most
enjoyable
gatherings attendees had experienced. The new concept of self-guided
tours to
the gardens was, to say the least a bit controversial, but attendees
overwhelmingly endorsed it. Many said, while they were skeptical going
into the
convention, they liked it better than being on buses and shuttled to
the
gardens. | Two Cheeseheads - Jack and Tom | | |
They elicited the following positive comments: “We weren’t on
a
schedule established by bus routes.” “We could eat lunch when and where
we
wanted.” “We didn’t have to put up with bus bathrooms!” “There were no
large
crowds at the gardens.” “Parking was not a problem.” “We could spend
time
talking to the gardeners.” Gardeners echoed similar comments, “We could
spend
time talking to attendees and answering questions about our garden.”
The
accolades received went on and on.
The only
negative comments, and they weren’t all that negative, were concerns
that
attendees were limited to driving with the same people to the gardens,
and
didn’t get to interact with others on the bus. However, generally
speaking,
most people sit on the bus with the same friends they drove with, and
there is
little interaction with others on the buses other than those sitting
immediately around them. | | ![](images/NS02.jpg) | | Rob
Mortko and Dave Wanninger | |
![](images/NS03.jpg) | | There was also concern that some of the social
interaction that conventions provide would be lost. I also have a
similar
concern, because I attended the hostatality suite and there weren’t
many people
there. I remember previous hostatality suites
hosting wall-to-wall
crowds, with standing room only. I have noticed a decline in attendance
at
hostatality suites over the years, and I am concerned with the lack of
participation. I know our population is aging and we get tired more
easily; I
know I do, but I hope we don’t lose the social interaction that
hostatality
offers. | Silent Auction | | |
With no prospect
for a 2013 convention, Jack Barta and I offered to host this convention
experimenting with a different format. We actually thought it worked
quite
well. We didn’t have to run decisions by a committee. We just got
together and
decided. Our filter for decisions was, “What’s best for the convention,
attendees, and the AHS?” We were representing the AHS in all matters of
the
convention. We asked people to help with key positions, and many
stepped up to
volunteer, offering their assistance. We took advantage of many of them
in
order to make things happen. We want to say thank you again to everyone
that
helped make this convention the success it was. | | ![](images/NS05.jpg) | | Hosta
Friends | |
![](images/NS06.jpg) | | Another thing we
did to modify the convention was to reduce the number of days from four
to
three. Things commenced on Thursday and finished on Saturday. A normal
convention would start on Wednesday and go through Saturday. This made
for a
very tight schedule with little down time, and also reduced the need
for an
additional nights stay at the hotel, helping keep costs down. The other
contributing factor to this cost-effective convention was that
we did not have to pay for buses. I received a thank you card from an
attendee,
stating that he was skeptical about not having buses, but really liked
the new
concept. He added that he estimated that, between his wife and him,
they saved
around $500 compared to previous conventions. | Van Wade and Mike
Shadrack | | |
So what does the
future hold? Well, it is all up to the hosting committees. The decision
is
theirs to make, buses or self-guided tours? What Jack and I also
accomplished
was to show that it doesn’t take a large group of people to host a
convention.
The AHS will do the Hosta Show and auction, and people that attend are
more
than willing to help out where needed. One just needs to ask. Given a
specific
task, most people are happy to help. I will also assist with convention
planning, and I know I can speak for Jack in saying he will help as
well.
Fortunately we have convention hosts for 2014, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and
2015,
Raleigh, North Carolina. Without future conventions, the fate of the
American
Hosta Society could be in jeopardy. There is too much at stake not to
host a
convention. One just needs to arrange eight to ten gardens that can be
toured
in an area and help assemble some local volunteers and the AHS can help
make it
happen.
I get very sad
thinking that the possibility exists where there may be no AHS
convention.
Conventions provide the time to spend with hosta friends. I
see
them only once or twice a year, and that time is precious! In a
discussion with
Van Wade at the convention he said that one could fly over this country
and
about every 100 miles there would be a hosta friend one could visit.
That makes
for a lot of gardens that can be visited! We can no longer sit back and
wait for
someone else to do it! Won’t you step up and offer to host an AHS
convention?
It can be a lot of work, but it is also a very rewarding experience.
Contact
Cindy Tomashek, AHS VP in charge of conventions, or call me,
and offer to host a convention. Let’s help insure that the AHS stays
alive and
well, far into the future! | | ![](images/NS04.jpg) | | Owen
Purvis with Steve Cunningham |
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