September 2015 – President’s Message

By Barbara Todd, President

It is September already and I have a few stalwart roses that have survived the drought. I hope your garden is still flourishing and that you are taking the time to enjoy your garden while the weather is still nice.

We had a great program in August with our own Barry Johnson heading up our 60th year anniversary celebration. We heard interesting stories from some of the old timers, including Barry, Dave Amaral and Marie Hubbell. Barry prepared photo boards with pictures of PRS members throughout the years and also presented a slide show of past and current members. To top off the night, we had a tasty cake celebrating our 60th.

The NCNH District conference and Festival of Roses is coming up. Sponsored by the Butte Rose Society, the Conference will be held Saturday, October 3 at the Holiday Inn and Our Divine Savior Social Hall in Chico. The registration deadline is Friday, September 12. It promises to be an interesting conference, with the list of speakers including Steve Jones and Christian Bedard of Weeks Roses, who will highlight the introduction of new roses.

Our September membership meeting also promises to be very informative. Jolene Adams will be speaking on chemical safety, an important consideration for rosarians who use various products to enhance their roses.

I would also like to encourage you to participate in some upcoming PRS activities and events. First, we annually award a “Beleaguered Helper” award at our Christmas dinner and are currently accepting nominations. So, if you have an unsung hero that helps you with all the chores related to rose growing, please let me know.

Secondly, we are approaching nomination time for PRS officers for 2015. Potential officers are identified and approached by the PRS Nominating Committee. Anne Quincy and Carol Wong from the PRS Board have volunteered to serve on this Committee, but we still need two people from the membership at large to serve. Please consider participating in this important role, and let Anne or Carol know if you are able to serve.

“The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.”
—George William Curtis