MRHS President's Message
Spring, 2024
Greetings fellow hostaphiles. It is that long awaited time of year, but wait a minute. At the time of this writing (mid-March) most of the Midwest is already about 3 weeks ahead of a normal spring schedule. In Kansas City we already have hosta pips emerging following a continued warm spell with temps in the 60's and 70's. But (as you might expect) this weekend nighttime temps will drop to the mid-20's. So brace yourself for an untimely freeze or two between now and early May.
How about that recent Winter Symposium? By any measure it was a huge success. The weather even cooperated this year. Our Friday evening "Meet and Greet the Fransens" hostatality event was especially fun. Thanks to Phil Timm for lining up an all-star speaker lineup. A special thanks to Marco and Joyce Fransen for travelling all the way from the Netherlands to speak. Pastor Rob James reinvented our silent auction with live plant donations from a number of hybridizers and hosta vendors. If you missed this event, put it on your calendar for next year. We schedule the Winter Symposium two weeks after the Super Bowl. Join a hundred or so other hostaphiles for this uniquely MRHS event.
Looking forward, our summer convention will be held this year in Fond du Lac, WI on July 11-13. Our convention will be hosted on the shores of Lake Winnebago by a couple of "cheeseheads". When a local club could not be found to host the event, Pat Gwidt and Glenn Herold stepped up to co-host with the support of the MRHS. Join Pat and Glenn for some Wisconsin hostatality. The "Countdown to Winnebago Haho" is on. In the words of the native Winnebago people, "Haho" means a friendly greeting.
And so, it shall be. You will find more info on the convention in this newsletter and on the MRHS website. Don't wait any longer to register! As an added bonus, all of you who attend the summer convention will be given a complimentary one-year extension to your MRHS membership.
I've said it before, and I will say it again. Our challenge as a vibrant and thriving society is to support our two annual events - the summer convention and the winter symposium. The lifeline of our society remains with these two, in person events that stimulate new friendships and sustain longtime friendships. What first brought us together was a plant, but what keeps us coming back is the people. Haho captures that essence. See you in Fond du Lac!
Hosta'ly
Rob Mortko
MRHS President
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