There should be a distinction between commercial promotion and sharing information. A nursery promoting their products to the membership is different from, as someone pointed out, a member requesting information on sources and another member responding with thoughts on how to find the plant.
I would advise against requiring membership in order to be listed as a source, though. That makes me uncomfortable. If the Society is about sharing information and promoting bulbs, then requiring a payment for the privilege of being listed seems off.
John WickhamLos Angeles, CA
On Sunday, August 3, 2025 at 08:24:40 AM PDT, 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 It’s a great starting point, but it's very outdated and raises a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.*
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