Ken, Well said, thank you for sharing, Mike On Sun, Aug 3, 2025 at 8:24 AM ken isaac via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > Hi all, > > This is a really valuable discussion. Thank you, Arnold, for opening the > floor. > > Like a few others, my mind went to our official 'Sources' page on the > website. It’s a great starting point, but it's very outdated and raises a > helpful question: Is the current concern about members mentioning *any* > source in a post, or is it more specific to members promoting their own > nursery, especially if unsolicited? > > Clarifying this seems key. The questions about our 501(c)(3) status are > important, but fortunately, this is a well-navigated area. Many other major > horticultural societies have found that providing up-to-date resources for > their members is a core part of fulfilling their educational mission. > > Following their successful models, we could modernize our list to highlight > vendors who are also fellow PBS members, perhaps with a simple icon to > denote which are state-licensed nurseries. This would add a new layer of > trust and value for everyone. > > Creating a robust list like this would be a fantastic "win-win." It helps > current members, provides clear answers for new members looking for plants, > and would likely encourage more commercial growers to join PBS. Crucially, > it also gives our member-vendors a dedicated, appropriate place to be > recognized, which would work toward solving the issue of self-promotion on > the main forum or email server. > > This seems like a great, actionable first step. Down the road, it could > open the door to a wider discussion about other ways successful non-profits > support their mission, such as accepting sponsorships or formal advertising > within the established IRS framework. If we are cash-strapped, the dues > must go up AND the funding for future projects dries up. That is not a > "win-win." > > As requested, I'll send a more specific email to Arnold with some of this > research for the board to consider. I’m optimistic that we can find a great > path forward together. > > Great to see this being discussed. > > Best, > > Ken Isaac, PBS member and licensed nursery owner > > *Sunny, hot, and dry here in Utah—clivias, hippeastrum and Ken happy only > in the afternoon shade.* > _______________________________________________ > 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://…