president's message

January 2021

~Presidential farewell~

As we embark on a new year and take on new roles, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for all the support and guidance from the OSSC board members as well as long-time society members not currently serving in an official capacity. These last twelve months have been challenging and an adjustment for all of us in different ways, but it was eased by your helping hands, informed experience and willing participation. Looking ahead, I hope the blend of in-person meetings with Zoomed-in speakers will further enhance and enliven our meetings while giving everyone more of what they'd like to see and hear. A special thanks to Ted Augustyn for helping facilitate the technical aspects of this new 'house blend' as well as, of course, to Carol Beule for the constant supply of wonderful speakers.

Much like many of the orchids we grow, we as a society can get away without some parts of our structure for a while, but we definitely don't reach our full potential unless we have all the parts we need to succeed. If you find yourself wondering how you might be able to help keep the society running, we could use a few more members-at-large to participate at our quarterly board meetings (via Zoom). Not only does this give you a glimpse into some of the decision making that happens for the society, but it helps us to better gauge what our membership would like to see happen.

I know we have an exciting year ahead to look forward to--hopefully to include some activities we have had to set aside for awhile, such as auctions, deflasking, garden parties and the like. I look forward to enjoying these upcoming experiences with you and welcoming new members as we do so.

Sincerely,

Ryan Langton

Past-president, OSSC

Ryan