ARS PRESIDENT S MESSAGE

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1 ARS & YOU American Rose Society newsletter for local rose society members Louise Coleman, Editor JULY 2012 ARS PRESIDENT S MESSAGE IN THIS ISSUE In This Issue ARS President s Message Executive Director s Report Electronic voting information Did You Know? Make the World a Greener Place Programs for Your Society Who is ARS Trial Membership program info Benefits of membership Local Society Relations Committee As my term as President draws to a close, I want to begin to thank the many people around the country whose willingness to put in time and effort for the American Rose Society. They have, despite continued challenges of membership and finances, kept us moving forward in our primary function: to provide our members with accurate and timely rose information. A big part of our educational mandate is provided by our quarterly specialty bulletins. Our decision some time back to put them on line has enabled us to provide them with color images, a virtual must for a flower society such as ours and something that was untenable with mailed copies. Our respective bulletin editors have put this color capability to excellent use, and I continue to encourage all of you to acquaint yourselves with these quarterlies through the ARS website. And so, a big thank you to our editors: Louise Coleman, editor of the ARS Exhibitors Quarterly and the ARS & You Jim Harrell, editor of the ARS Rose Arrangers Bulletin Stephen Hoy, editor of Singularly Beautiful Roses Phillip Paul, editor of the ARS Miniature and Miniflora Rose Bulletin Marilyn Wellan, editor of the ARS OGR and Shrub Journal Jeff Jeff Wyckoff, President

NEWS FROM ARS JEFF WARE, Executive Director s Report Monday, June 11, 2012 ADMINISTRATION Contact Laura Pfender for all questions related to Unique Voter ID Numbers: laura@arshq.org.

2 NEWS FROM ARS JEFF WARE, Executive Director s Report Monday, June 11, 2012 ADMINISTRATION Contact Laura Pfender for all questions related to Unique Voter ID Numbers: laura@arshq.org. Please allow 24-hours for replies. Triennial Election voting commenced at 9:00 a.m. CDT on June 1 and will continue until Noon, July 27. Voting is by electronic, online ballot only. Both the ARS website and the etapestry election website (where the votes are cast and tallied by the audit firm) are hosted on separate secure servers. Only designees of McClelland & Associates may access the secure voting data. Contact Laura Pfender for all questions related to Unique Voter ID Numbers at laura@ars-hq.org. Please allow 24- hours for replies. The Coalition of American Plant Societies was recently formed by participants of the first annual National Plant Society Summit hosted by ARS on May ARS is a founding member, along with representatives of the following groups: American Horticultural Society, American Camellia Society, American Orchid Society, American Dahlia Society, American Hemerocallis Society, Azalea Society of America, African Violet Society of American, Herb Society of America, Houston Rose Society, and Tyler Municipal Rose Garden. Thanks to J.B. Kenehan Printers for sponsoring the summit luncheon. Participants are pictured below

3 MEMBERSHIP ARS MINIATURE CONFERENCE July 27-29, 2012, Columbus Ohio Website: Contact Brian Burley, , for more information. We ended May with an increase in membership of of the 18 districts saw an increase in membership during May. We had the highest number of regular new members in almost 3 years: 111. PUBLICATIONS Work is underway on the Handbook and New Rose Introductions for Sept/Oct magazine. SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook = Twitter = Pinterest = ARS FALL NATIONAL September 27- September 30, 2012 San Ramon, California YouTube = Website = Website: froses.com/ Contact Thomas Bolden, for more information. BE SURE TO VISIT ARS ON LINE!!!

4 GARDENS & GROUNDS A ton of slow release fertilizer for the gardens was generously donation by Dr. Larry Unruh of American Plant Foods. Baxter Williams graciously delivered it for us in his pickup truck all the way from Houston. PLEASE CONSIDER AN ANNUAL FUND DONATION TODAY! Contech Enterprises, Inc. representative Tracey Robertson donated four scarecrows to the gardens to aid in deer control. We will be testing these green technology scarecrows over the summer months ( Thanks to Dr. Joe White who arranged this donation for us. What is a ScareCrow?????? Using the ScareCrow is easy. Simply attach a standard garden hose to its base, set the ScareCrow in the ground in the area you want to protect, and then turn on the water. Once you switch the unit on, it is ready to go. The ScareCrow uses a combination of sudden noise, unexpected movement, and a startling blast of water to create a memorable and unpleasant experience for the trespasser. The animal immediately associates this unpleasant experience with the location, and to avoid similar surprises, learns to avoid the area. If an animal chooses to return, the ScareCrow will be waiting.

5 WHO IS ARS?? The American Rose Society is the oldest and largest national society devoted to a single plant. Established in Washington D.C. in 1892, the society moved its headquarters to Shreveport in ARS is an educational, nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to the cultivation and enjoyment of roses. ARS supports its many members by providing educational programs, resourceful publications, and continuing research. There are more than 300 affiliated rose societies in our national network. While a human may flee several steps after activating a ScareCrow, animals are typically affected to a much greater degree. In most cases they run much farther, and stay away longer. Because the unit only triggers when the animal moves, its behavior is difficult for animals to anticipate, making it a very effective deterrent. PROGRAMS FOR YOUR SOCIETY The job of Program Chairman is one of the hardest jobs in a rose society. ARS has a Power Point program titled The Role of the Program Chair that could be helpful to you when you hold this job in your local society. ARS has a library of free Power Point programs to download from the Members Only section of the website and slide programs that you can rent at a nominal fee. There are many subjects that will be informative. Next time you are stuck for a program, contact ARS and check out all the programs available! Why not invite a friend or neighbor to your next society meeting?

VOTE NOW! Any member with a question about electronic voting can contact Laura at ARS headquarters or e-mail her at laura@ars-hq.

(Deadline for voting is noon on Friday, July 27, 2012) Instructions can also be found on page 3 of your May/June American Rose Magazine. Go to www.ars.

6 VOTE NOW! Any member with a question about electronic voting can contact Laura at ARS headquarters or her at laura@ars-hq.org Joint and Associate members will receive a unique voting number in the mail. Youth Members, Libraries, Trial Members, Complimentary and Corporate Members are not eligible to vote. (Deadline for voting is noon on Friday, July 27, 2012) Instructions can also be found on page 3 of your May/June American Rose Magazine. Go to click on the Election Ballot link on the home page. To vote, you MUST enter your personal unique voting ID number on page three of your May/June magazine. CANDIDATES FOR VICE PRESIDENT Pat Shanley is from Locust Valley, NY Pat Diane Sommers is from Menomonee Falls, WI Pat Shanley NY District Director, Dental/Financial Mgmt., ARS Executive Committee, Old Garden Roses & Shrubs Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, Planned Giving Committee, Chair of ARS Marketing & Membership Committee, Founder of Manhattan RS Diane Sommers North Central District Director, Director of Finance - Retail Banking, ARS Treasurer, ARS Endowment Trust Trustee, Maintenance Endowment Trust Trustee, ARS Executive Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, Director for 100 Grand Campaign

7 DID YOU KNOW? B Jeff Ware, ARS Executive Director ARS is coping with the economy as we continue to service our members. Over the past five years, ARS has undertaken many cost saving opportunities. As a result, our budget in 2012 is less than $1,000,000. That represents more than $200,000 in cost savings since A lot of postage has been saved through , utilities cost less now as we are turning lights and thermostats down or off whenever possible. We have used more electronic communications and less paper. But most of all, less people are on staff but they work harder to serve the membership. No one ever said saving money is easy. But for a nonprofit organization, it is essential to survival in the 21 st Century. One of the areas of cost savings is in our printed material. ARS spends thousands of dollars every year on printing costs and paper. We look for economies at every opportunity that will allow us to keep a balance with savings and quality. Admittedly, we don t always succeed, but our fiscal solvency is a primary factor in decisions related to printing. Some have commented that our award certificates may not be as nice as they once were. The fact is, we print on quality paper, but our printing is now done in house and ondemand, rather than outsourcing these items to commercial printers. This saves ARS money on both the printing and the stocking of inventory. Our rose show certificates are on the same quality paper we have always used for these. As a cost savings for ARS, we print in house for those certificates that have become out of

8 stock. This on-demand printing is one of the cost saving measures we ve been forced to undertake in order to balance our budget. Commercial printing costs have skyrocketed and no longer offer us a competitive option for certificates. We do listen to our members and always welcome feedback. As an example, we experimented with on-demand printing of our 2011 calendar. We offered a variety of sizes, and to save the cost of maintaining an inventory, we printed ondemand through a third party printer. It didn t work; our members didn t like it. So, we asked our new magazine printer to print our calendars in the same format our members were accustomed to, and to do it for less money. The 2012 calendar is the result. We were able to offer it at much lower cost to our members We do our best to balance cost, price and quality. Sometimes it is difficult to please all of our constituents. I regret if anyone is not happy with their purchases from ARS. We are doing our best for all our members. Make the World a Greener Place Fertilize Naturally. Lawns take up the largest amount of carbon when they recycle grass clippings. So, take off that mulcher bag and leave clippings on the ground while mowing so they break down and feed your grass naturally. Or, add the grass clipping to a compost pile to use later. Plant Right to Conserve Water. Prepare your garden beds with peat moss, perlite and/or compost added to the soil. Then, plants will need less water and fertilizer to survive. There are also planting soils that contain materials that help to conserve moisture in the soil. Water Early. Watering in the early morning before the sun is intense helps reduce the water lost from evaporation. Installing rain gutters and collecting water from downspouts also helps reduce water use. Trickle irrigation, drip irrigation or smart

controller systems help reduce water use and meet the needs of your plants. Prevent Disease. Space plants so air can circulate. Keep garden debris off the soil.

Your plants will benefit, especially in very hot weather. ROSES IN REVIEW A bouquet of roses to Phil Schorr for 15 years of service as Chairman of Roses in Review!. Thank you Phil!

9 controller systems help reduce water use and meet the needs of your plants. Prevent Disease. Space plants so air can circulate. Keep garden debris off the soil. Check the ph often to keep plants healthy. Create More Green Space. Lawns and other green spaces lessen the heat island effect, especially in urban areas, keeping surrounding areas cooler. Your plants will benefit, especially in very hot weather. ROSES IN REVIEW A bouquet of roses to Phil Schorr for 15 years of service as Chairman of Roses in Review!. Thank you Phil!!! Don Swanson ( Donswan45@aol.com) is the new chairman of Roses in Review. It s time again for the annual Roses in Review survey. The July/August issue of the American Rose magazine will have the RIR insert with the paper forms and the list of varieties. The online survey will follow shortly thereafter on the ARS website. This survey is the source of all the Garden ratings in the Handbook for Selecting Roses. It gives us all an idea of how the newer roses are doing in other rose growers gardens. Clearly, the more people we have reporting, the more reliable the results will be. Why not join the 1,000+ other rose growers around the country (and the world) who are already participating in Roses in Review? You ll be helping other rose growers just like you with their rose buying decisions, and you will help yourself by getting a better feel for the performance of your roses as you think through your answers to the questions on the survey. Thanks in advance for your help.

10 EVERYONE LOVES A BARGAIN ARS Trial Membership Programs The Free 4-Month Trial Membership is for new non-ars, local society members. New is the key word here. Every member that joins a local society and is not an ARS member, receives a FREE 4-month Trial Membership to ARS. They can join our society today and receive a FREE 4-month trial membership to the American Rose Society an $86 value!! The local society is NOT charged for this. It is FREE!! The society MUST send the contact information, including address, to Laura Pfender laura@ars-hq.org, at Headquarters. The $ Month Trial Membership is available for existing local society, non-ars members. The $5.00 fee offsets processing and mailing costs. ARS does not make money on this offer. For this small fee, any local society member who is not already an ARS member can try ARS out and hopefully like ARS enough to renew at the full membership rate when the trial membership expires. In addition: All local societies may also extend this $ month trial membership to any non-ars member attending a rose or garden event that they are hosting. This is a special offer for Local Societies. The general public (non-ars members) will be offered the 4-month trial membership for a fee of $10. Applications are available on the website or from Laura Pfender. WHAT A DEAL!!!! Sign up your members now! How about a full gift membership for someone who loves roses?

11 Benefits of Belonging to a Rose Society By NC/SC Membership Chairs: Jimmy Speas (jspeas@usairways.com) and Pat Hibbard (charlestonrose@bellsouth.net) Local rose societies have many similar benefits as listed below. To determine the benefits a local society has in a particular area. Contact the ARS find a local rose society, laura@ars.org. The Local Rose Society: Provides newsletters to educate members about growing good roses. Provides speakers at meetings regarding rose growing and other rose-related information. Arranges rose garden tours to enhance your rose-growing skills. Has fund-raisers to support community rose educational events. Hosts an annual rose show (or other) to educate the public on growing good roses. Supports the District and the American Rose Society with monetary contributions and rose-growing events. (ARS can be reached at ). The District: Provides and arranges accredited training classes for Consulting Rosarians, Horticulture and Arrangement Judges. Sponsors an annual rose show with special challenge classes for members only. Supplies a quarterly award-winning newsletter with rose growing, local, District and ARS news and information. Elects a Director who acts as a liaison with ARS. Provides a webmaster who keeps local society website links updated on the District website.

12 American Rose Society: Provides the American Rose, a bi-monthly magazine. Provides the American Rose Annual, which provides upto-date scientific information on roses and rose culture, and articles of general interest to rose lovers. Provides the Handbook for Selecting Roses, your annual rose ratings guide. You receive discounts from Member Benefits Partners. Gives you access to ARS Consulting Rosarians, a national network of local rose experts, ready and willing to give free expert advice. Gives you an invitation to participate in (300+) Local Rose Societies affiliated with ARS. Provides you with listings of mail order nursery sources for all commercially available roses. Offers free admission to The Gardens of the American Rose Center, year round, and automatic membership in the American Horticultural Society s Reciprocal Garden Admission Program allowing you free or discounted admission, or other benefits, to more than 230 select gardens and horticultural events throughout the United States. Provides National Conventions each year to network with other rose lovers. Provides a Miniature-Miniflora National Conference each year featuring the best in miniature and miniflora roses. Offers you eligibility to join the Consulting Rosarian and Judges programs after three years of continuous membership. Offers you the Members-only American Rose Society U.S. Bank Credit Card (offer subject to credit approval). Provides a top-rated website offering the latest roserelated information with a password protected Members Only area.

Opinions expressed in this monthly email are not necessarily those of the American Rose Society or its subsidiaries.

13 Opinions expressed in this monthly are not necessarily those of the American Rose Society or its subsidiaries. To respond to items in this ARS & You, please write to any committee member of the Local Society Relations Committee Jolene Adams, Chair Louise Coleman, Editor Susan Bishop Pat Hibbard Phil Paul Marcia Sanchez-Walsh Charles Shaner Pat Shanley Dave Stever Sue Tiffany Your comments and suggestions to improve this newsletter are always welcome. If you have an idea or article to share - contact me. Louise Coleman, Editor - roseylou@aol.com HAPPY 4 TH OF JULY!! ENJOY THE CELEBRATION OF OUR FREEDOM

Trial Memberships in ARS Clearing Up Any Confusion

Trial Memberships in ARS Clearing Up Any Confusion Judy Heath, Editor Each year, I try to make sure that the information I provide in this newsletter is up-to-date. I want to make sure that any offer by