Just a quick reminder, the Region 21 Spring 2016 Meeting is a Whirlwind Garden Tour of the host gardens for the 2017 AIS Convention. This is an opportunity to see all 5 host gardens in one day, May 21st! Indications are there will be lots of blooms. Details can be found in this PDF brochure and registration form. Let us know you will be attending.
The Region 21 Spring Meeting this year is the Whirlwind Garden Tour which is a one day dress rehearsal for the AIS 2017 National Convention. Details have been mailed to Region 21 members. In case you did not receive it or would like more copies, 2016 AIS REGION 21 Brochure is the PDF of the brochure.
Hope to see you here May 21st and next year to enjoy the irises and all the great irisarians!
The AIS 2016 Convention Going East in 2016 has a number of speakers and events. The Convention website has the schedule, currently labeled tentative, here (found under the Convention selection), which does not yet list speakers and topics. Now many of the speakers and topics with dates and times are available in this 2016 AIS Convention Programs (PDF). It looks like a great lineup.
You can still register for the Convention. Information is available on the Registration page which links to the form you will need. Paul Gossett, the Convention Co-Chair has an Invitation to 2016 AIS Convention (PDF).
Region 21’s own Gary White was elected AIS president at the Board of Directors meeting in Omaha. A number of Lincoln Iris Society and Region members were there to help celebrate his election and installation. Congratulations to Gary and thank you for your service.
Some photos from the festivities. Jim Morris and Gary. Gary and Linda Wilkie. Gary and Ron Crampton who made the centerpiece shown in the last photo. It was made from irises reblooming at the time.
Thank you to the Greater Omaha Iris Society and Linda Wilkie for organizing and hosting this outstanding meeting.
The Greater Omaha Iris Society is hosting the 2015 American Iris Society Board of Directors Fall Meeting November 6th and 7th. The registration form is here: 2015 Fall AIS Board Meeting as a Word (docx) file.
If you need a PDF instead, use this link. Hope to see many of you there!
2015 November 6 – 7 Omaha, Nebraska
Meeting Chair: Linda Wilkie, 15115 Grant Circle, Omaha, NE 68116
phone: (402)493-3808
e-mail: lrwilkie@gmail.com
Your registration fee includes Friday evening hospitality (light hors d’oeuvres), Saturday luncheon and Saturday evening Banquet. (Friday evening dinner is on your own.) The hotel provides free shuttle service from the airport and registrants will receive complimentary parking in the adjoining hotel garage. Registration does not include your hotel accommodations (see details below for hotel information)
Meeting Fee: $65.00 (banquet only fee $35.00)
Checks should be made payable to Greater Omaha Iris Society and mailed to:
Phyllis Randall
22871 Kane Avenue
Glenwood, IA 51534
Credit Card payment can be accepted. Contact the Registrar, Phyllis Randall for instructions.
(phone: 712-520-7754 or email: pkrandall22871@gmail.com)
Questions may be directed to:
Linda Wilkie, 402-559-7649 (day time) 402-493-3808 (evenings) lrwilkie@gmail.com
Meeting Headquarters: Hyatt Place Omaha Downtown Old Market
540 S. 12th Street
Omaha, NE 68102
phone: (402) 513-5500
website: Hyatt Place Omaha Downtown Old Market
The hotel is located in the popular entertainment district of the Old Market in Omaha, the area has many restaurants, art galleries and upscale shopping. The area retains its brick paved streets from the turn of the century, horse-drawn carriages, and covered sidewalks in some areas. It is not uncommon to see a variety of street performers, artists, and other vendors.
Attractions available in Omaha and within the 5 mile limit for the hotel’s complimentary shuttle include:
· The Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo
· Lauritzen Gardens and the Dougherty Conservatory
· Joselyn Art Museum
· Midtown Crossings Shopping and Dining
Within walking distance of the hotel are over 40 dining venues and numerous art galleries and shops. November 6th is “First Friday” in the Old Market and most galleries are open into the evening hours for these open events.
Check: http://oldmarket.com/ to plan any activities for yourself or your travelling companion.
The Sioux Empire Iris Society is hosting this year’s Region 21 Fall Meeting in Sioux Falls, SD. Join us for Judges Training in the morning and afternoon, the business meeting, the evening banquet and an iris auction. Also, please bring rhizomes from your own gardens or club sales for a bargain table.
In case you did not receive the notice and registration form, here is the Region 21 Fall 2015 notice as a PDF for you. So send your registration soon and make your room reservations.
Hope to see you there.
Region 21 is hosting the 2017 AIS Convention in Des Moines, Iowa May 23-27, 2017. Our next planning meeting for this is Saturday, June 6th. It will be a Region 21 business review and AIS 2017 Convention Organizational Meeting which is open to all interested AIS members.
Details: Saturday, June 6
Lunch at 1:00 p.m. in Trellis, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden (group seating, pay your own). Menu (changes monthly): http://www.dmbotanicalgarden.com/visit-us/dine/
Meeting at 2:00 p.m. in the Walsh Room, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden
Hope to see you there.
The annual, this time the 35th Annual, Monument Valley Iris Show will be May 30th and 31st, 2015 at the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center, a mile north of Scottsbluff on Hwy 71. Judging will be concluded by noon Saturday and exhibits will be open to public viewing at 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. and viewing will be 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Sunday, May 31.
You can see all the details in the Star-Herald here.
This is also the location of the Monument Valley Iris Society Collection, which includes about 600 varieties of miniature dwarf, standard dwarf, intermediate and border bearded, miniature tall and tall bearded as well as several arilbreds and beardless irises. You can see many of these irises in bloom there now.
With the AIS 2015 Convention in Portland, we are not having a Region 21 Spring meeting. We hope many will be able to take advantage of the Portland Convention to enjoy irises and fellow irisarians. Immediately following it is the Siberian/Species 2015 convention.
For those of us not attending, you can sample some of the gardens that will be visited with these videos. And everyone can start thinking about 2017 when we will be hosting the AIS 2017 Convention in Des Moines!
“Based on popular demand, we have added a second bus to the Optional Gorge Tour on Tuesday, May 19, 2015. An all day tour with stops at the nationally famous Multnomah Falls, Bonneville Dam fish hatchery (trout ponds, sturgeon pond and the fish ladders-salmon migration), lunch at Riverside Restaurant, Hood River (Columbia River boat traffic and wind surfers), then south through the fruit orchards of Hood River valley with the final stop being at the Historic Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. Cost: $50.00 per person (includes lunch and bus transportation). Remaining seats on the bus will be on a first come – first serve basis. For tour registration contact Judy Nunn, Convention Registrar, email: Nunnjk@gmail.com or by phone: 503-390-3816.
John Ludi
Chair, 2015 Portland Iris Conventions
AIS Region 21 