Thank you!!! Great intro letter!!! Leigh Blake, Trail, Oregon On Wed, Nov 22, 2023 at 7:35 PM fritchick via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > All, > > Let me begin by heartily thanking immediate past President Robin Hansen for > her efforts on behalf of the Society. We wish her well in the future, but > as she will continue to edit The Bulb Garden, are happy she will still be > involved with PBS. We are grateful for her experience, expertise and time > at the helm. I must also personally recognize Jan Jeddeloh, who wrangled > the SX for the last couple of years, as she steps out of her role and gets > to spend more time on her own endeavors. > > I would like to welcome Mark Akimoff and Lisa Zankowski to the Board in > their respective positions as Vice President and Seed Exchange Manager. > I would also like to thank each of our current Board members for > their efforts on behalf of PBS. A stellar team of dedicated bulb nuts > whose combined knowledge is vast. Each of them brings something interesting > and helpful to the table. I have already learned much from them and they > are generous with their time and energy. There is much happening behind the > scenes to keep PBS running of which many members may not be aware. > > I thought it may be helpful to share a little bit of background on myself. > I garden in southeast Pennsylvania. My passion is hardy aroids, arums and > arisaema, especially. Many of you have had interaction with me in my > position as Bulb Exchange Manager, of course, and I will continue to hold > that position. It is one of my favorite things about PBS: I get to see all > of the fabulous items our members donate and send them on their way to new > homes. Every small box represents a whole lot of hope and excitement. > > My horticultural background is hobby grower, prior owner of a small garden > maintenance business and garden enthusiast. > > My journey to heading up PBS is amusing to me. About ten years ago a > friend of mine who lives in Australia introduced me to arums - really > interesting arums; he grew enormous dracunculus and miniscule biarum. They > spoke to me because I am into nearly any plant that possesses a spadix. I > had been growing arisaema for years but had not explored further as I was > creating a Japanese woodland garden at my last house. Mediterranean > bulbs/corms were a revelation. I was hooked, but how to get all these cool > things? He suggested I join horticultural societies and acquire seed. I > did. NARGS, SRGC, PBS. I ordered seeds from all, treated them all wrong and > lost mostly everything. But then I requested bulbs and corms from PBS. > And the love affair began. After several years, I volunteered to take over > the BX because I felt I needed to give back to PBS. I'd enjoyed > inexpensive access to rare bulbs you cannot obtain easily, not to mention > access to the Wiki. (An invaluable resource. It is by far one of the best > tools referred to time and again by experts and newbies all over the > world.) > > My seed game still needs work; I'm getting there. But I do have a lovely > collection of arum and relatives growing in my garden, along with myriad > member-donated items I've received over the years from the BX. I've been > posting on social media about membership having its privileges for some > time and will continue to do so. Louder. I am PBS's biggest cheerleader. > > My hope for my time as President is to grow the Society, foster improved > communication between the Board and members where appropriate, assure we > are financially stable, make some changes to our social media presence and > shepherd new ideas as they are introduced. > > I'm looking forward to the next couple of years as a steward of PBS. It's > important to me. > > Thank you. > Bridget Wosczyna > > P.S. I would like to reiterate the matter that Arnold addressed in his > recent email: membership. If you renew (or join) now, you can do so at the > current rate of $20 a year US ($25 overseas). You could renew for the next > few years at that current rate of $20 (or $25 overseas) as long as you do > so by December 31. Thereafter, annual membership rates will be increased > to $25/$30. > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > PBS Forum latest: > https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…