Re: OT-BIO: Perry Dyer

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Perry Dyer wrote:

 OK, let's see if I do this right (if I mess up, I expect a message from John Jones!).  I jsut got on the internet a couple of weeks ago, and signed up first-thing to iris-talk. My name is Perry Dyer.  I'm 43 years old, native Oklahoman, and live in Blanchard, OK in central OK.  I've been around the block a few times with the irises, as I have been growing them since age 8.  I am a hybridizer, and have a hobby-gone-mad business, Contemporary Gardens (catalog available, see the AIS Bulletin Shopping Section for info -- I won't use iris-talk as a forum to advertise my business!).  I hybridize TB's and medians, and am now trying my hand at arilbreds, Louisianas, gladiolus, and (big-time) daylilies. I grow all classes of irises that CAN be grown here in the Sun Belt, with the exception of Japs (I'm not too good at Siberians, either, but am gonna give it another shot this fall).  I grow 1500 varieties, in addition to about 220 official convention guests. I have had my best success at hybridizing with medians, with 3 of my releases winning the top award in their class (except the Dykes Medal, of course):  Silent Strings (IB, Sass Medal); Soft Spoken (BB, Knowlton Medal); and Serenity Prayer (SDB, Cook-Douglas Medal).  I am releasing my first introductions in 10 years this year (3 TB's and 4 SDB's), including one which I have named for my mother, Kitty Dyer (aka, "Miss Kitty" or "Perry's Mom").  I also introduce for Augusto Bianco from Italy and Louisianas for Kevin Vaughn from Mississippi. I work for the Federal Aviation Administration in Oklahoma City as a staff analyst for the inventory/logistics division, which takes care of seeing that air traffic equipment remains operational.  My education is in music, with a BA in Music, Piano Performance, from the University of Oklahoma in 1977. I was the first recipient of the Clarke Cosgrove Youth Achievement Award in '73.  That same year I became a fully accredited AIS judge (at the time, the youngest in America).  I'm now a Masteer Judge, and do a lot of judges training clinics around the country.  I was honored to be asked to judge the Premio Firenze Competition in Florence, Italy a few years ago, but that's another whole story, and I think I've exceeded my word limit. I grow a lot of Louisianas too, and am the Immediate Past President of the Society for Louisiana Irises. That's it for now.  We're fervently preparing for the national iris convention here May 4-8.  I'm currently working on finalizing the bus routes, and am also in charge of the convention booklet.  Hope y'all can come. Perry DyerZone 7a, although I swear last summer I swear I had forgotten to die but went to hell -- it was HOT here! 

Glenn

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Glenn & Linda Simmons
Springfield, Southwest Missouri, USDA Zone 6
g*@swbell.net
         or
G*@netscape.net
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