Re: AIS Awards (Clarence's suggestions)


:There is a strong sentiment for "fixing" the situation where at present there
:is only one tall bearded iris, i.e. the latest Wister Medal winner, on the
:Dykes candidate list.

Yes. I think it would be proper to have all AM winners in all classes
eligible for the Dykes after a uniform waiting period. The Dykes winner
would automatically also receive the special medal for its class.

:I have two issues I think should also be considered.  One is to put bearded
:irises on the same "time" rules as beardless irises, i.e. at present
:beardless irises cannot be considered for an HM until the 3d year after
:introduction...but bearded irises can be considered for an HM the 2d year
:after introduction.  I think 2 years does not give enough time to properly
:evaluate in different geographic areas and climates.

Yes, the waiting period sould be uniform, and the longer the better (within
reason). We're so obsessed with novelty that we forget we are making a
recommendation to the gardening world that endures for decades. We can
afford to wait an extra year to be sure we're making the right decision.

:
:A second issue is the number of votes judges may cast in various categories.
: In areas where there are lots of introductions, e.g. tall bearded, standard
:dwarf beard, it has come to be next to ridiculous.  We judges should not have
:85 votes to cast for TBs for an Honorable Mention award in my opinion! I
:think this situation acts to demean the award system.
:
I'd say the cheapening comes from the total number actually awarded,
rather than the number of votes each judge is allowed to cast. I guess
I feel that an appropriate number of HMs is something less than 5% of
the total introductions in a year. I'm not sure where this number would
fall these days. Anyone with figures handy who can help out?

:Another issue, but one I do not feel quite as strong about, is the name of
:the HM award.  Honorable Mention sounds like something came in 2d or 3d or
:10th, etc. To me it has always had a connotation of something that didn't
:quite make it. I would like to propose the name be changed but I don't know
:to what.  I have thought something like the GI Award (Good Iris Award) or JC
:Award (a revival of the Judges' Choice Award title), or SF Award (Step
:Forward Award...maybe this title would make more judges think twice before
:casting votes!).

I like Lloyd's "Highly Recommended".
:
:I do hope those of you who have views on this subject will add your views to
:the list...I promise to print them out and take them to the AIS fall Board
:meeting.  The current Board of Directors is really, REALLY, interested in
:members views and opinions.

I'm glad to hear it. If the AIS board members and officers on Iris-L are a
representative sample, I think we should have some good years ahead to
look forward to.

:)

Cheers, Tom.


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Tom Tadfor Little         tlittle@lanl.gov  -or-  telp@Rt66.com
technical writer/editor   Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Telperion Productions     http://www.rt66.com/~telp/
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