AIS:Conventions-Long
- To: i*@egroups.com
- Subject: AIS:Conventions-Long
- From: w*
- Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 09:30:39 -0600
- Priority: normal
Somebody asked about what goes on at an AIS Convention. Here is a
partial quote from the late Bill Bledsoe, an AIS president back in
the 1970's. This comes from the July 1962 issue of the Bulletin of
the AIS after the Bledsoes had attended their first convention.
"So you've never been to an AIS national convention? Neither had I
until this year, but I know now that we have been the losers for
having missed previous ones. If you weren't in Kansas City, you
postponed by another year the thrill of an iris-looking lifetime!
The bloom was at peak and the weather was warm.
The convention pleasantly surprised me in two ways. First, the heavy
drinking, the all-night poker games, and the noisy carousing, which
are accepted as a part of an ordinary convention, were conspicuous by
their absence. Come to think of it, after you've walked over iris
gardens all day you're too tired to make much whoopee that night,
even if you are so inclined. Second, the business meetings were
informal and informative, without sacrifice to efficiency. The
reports were laced with bits of humor that made them actually
interesting instead of a boring recital of statistics. I was
especially interested to learn that our Society is on a sound
financial basis . . .
If this convention was typical (and I'm told that it was), you need
never have any fear that you will be without congenial friends when
you do attend. There are no strangers on a garden tour! If you're
timid or reserved, you'll soon find yourself forgetting it and having
the time of your life as you discuss new introductions while looking
at them proudly growing in a garden, or as you chuckle over the
comical wisecracks or antics on the bus that brought you, along with
many orthers, to the garden. If you're an extrovert and meet new
people easily, you'll need a large notebook to hold the names and
address of your new-found friends. In either case, you'll want to
remember those names and addresses because you'll be swapping irises
with many of them and are likely to end up with valuable additions to
your display gardens.
An AIS convention reflects democracy at its best. Physicians,
college professors, cattlemen, registered nurses, housewives, retired
(and active) business tycoons, teachers, farmers, accountants -
people from every walk of life meet in a common interest, and on an
equal level . . ."
Mr. Bledsoe continues with a day by day account of the gardens he and
Mary Lou visited as well as the sectional meetings they attended.
He closes:
"After the banquet, it was as if the band had struck up 'Auld Lang
Syne.' Old friends and new ones rushed to say one last word of good-
bye to each other. The air was filled with shouts of, 'See you in
Denver next year!'"
This was written thirty-nine years ago but still applies today. It's
hard to top this story yet I think things have gotten even better.
So, if you have an opportunity to go to an iris convention, by all
means, go!
Walter Moores
Enid Lake, MS USA 7/8
