Re: AIS: Board Meeting Report

From: Irisborer@aol.com

Good morning happy iris folks.  Kathyguest has returned from the AIS fall
Board meeting in Boston, Mass.... had a couple cups of high-test, and what
follows is my impressions of that meeting - with charts and graphs and three-
part harmony.  Those who have suffered these 'reports' know that I can be.....
ummmmm....  wordy, so delete now if you want to talk about grey irises some
more <BG>

First of all, you should know that I never attended a Board meeting until I
became RVP of my region.  My region pays a stipend of $1,200 toward attendance
at these things and I thought I ought to give folks their money's worth.  Next
thing I know, I was asked to act as Recording Secretary... and now I've
actually been elected to the Board.  Pretty heady stuff for a Buffalo gal.
But, that's beside the point.

The fall AIS Board meeting is considered the 'working' meeting.  That is, it's
undertaken with no real distractions so that the Board can attend to the
business of the organization.  The meetings are looooong, but most of it seems
to fly by with so much to accomplish in such a short time.

This meeting was hosted by ISM, the Iris Society of Massachusetts.  A fall
Board meeting is hosted by an iris club who makes arrangements for dinner on
Friday and Saturday nights.  Board members generally begin arriving on
Thursday, with the bulk arriving on Friday morning.  Being a working girl, I
opted to arrive Friday around 5 since it was only about an hour's flight.  I
tried to get a ride on the shuttle that was recommended, but was advised that
they were completely booked and that I should get a cab when I arrived.

My flight left and arrived on time.... my luggage was all carryon so I headed
for a taxi stand and told the driver I needed to go to Bedford.  Two things
should have tipped me off that I was in trouble.  

1)  When he said "Bedford?????"
2)  When I realized it took me three tries to figure out that that's what he
had said

When we finally understood each other... and we both checked his trip sheet to
determine that Bedford was 18 miles away... I settled back for a ride in
Boston rush hour traffic.  These drivers make good use of their horns... and
driving through a tunnel was something like Dante's seventh level.....  I
couldn't make up my mind if I was being serenaded due to high spirits or road
rage or what.... but this tunnel had to stretch half the length of the state.

Pretty soon, my driver began informing me in a worried voice that he did not
know where my hotel was in Bedford.  I asked him if he knew how to get to
Bedford (since I sure had no clue) and he assured me that he did, but he just
didn't know where the hotel was.  I told him not to worry... that I had a cell
phone and would call them when we got near our exit.  AGAIN, he handed me his
rate/trip book and again I looked at the 'Bedford' entry and noticed that the
bulk of our trip would be on I-95.  I noticed that we were on I-93.... but
he's the driver and I'm the passenger and I figured he was taking a route
around some of the traffic.  When the meter clicked over to $40 (close to the
fare I expected to pay), I called the hotel and told him to take Exit 31B off
of I-95.  

An hour later I began to get suspicious.   And not long after that, I saw the
words that chilled my soul:

WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE

My brain was screaming NEW HAMPSHIRE!?!?!?!?!?!?!, but I calmly said "do you
know where you're going???"  And he replied "I think so".  I pointed out that
we were now in a totally different STATE and he began to mutter in whatever
language he spoke.  So... off the highway we went, into the boonies of New
Hampshire, and my cab driver began stopping people on the street and asking
them where Bedford was.  Now, these people could understand him no better than
I could and so he was not getting too far.  He finally pulled into a pizza
place parking lot.... fled the cab and began stopping people.  He found a man
(finally) who knew where Bedford, Massachusetts is and he got back into the
cab, still muttering.  At this point I was getting tired of the adventure
(although I felt bad for the poor cab driver who was very apologetic) and I
told him that I was expected in a meeting at 8 (it was a little after 7 at
this point..... 2 hours since we left the airport).

Boyz and girlz..... we broke the sound barrier on the way back to Bedford and
I recalled every prayer I ever learned.  But he delivered me at my hotel at
7:45.... I gave him the flat rate he was entitled to for the trip I had asked
for... and bolted into my hotel to be ready on time.

The AIS Board is made up of 13 elected Directors from a cross-section of AIS
members, plus a President, First Vice-President, 2nd Vice President,
Secretary, Treasurer and Editor.  In addition there are administrative folks
(Registrar, Membership Secretary, Recording Secretary and Sales Director).
There are also Standing Committee Chairs (some on the Board and some not), and
RVP's of the Regions are encouraged to attend for imput.

This meeting was exciting for me since I had been nominated for election to
the Board, and the incoming president, Clarence Mahan, had asked me to take on
the job of Public Relations.  Again, astounding for a 'nobody' gardener.


Kathyguest..... ending part 1, and suggesting that you may wish to save
yourselves now

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