Are you a member of your local &/or national Orchid Society? Why or why not?

[LadySoren]

I recently joined my local OS.

Also, I was browsing around about the American Orchid Society and read that they went from around 30,000 members to 11,000 in a span of just a few years.
I wonder why that is?
I was looking to see if their public greenhouse and gardens were still next to the Morikami museum and gardens north of Boca Raton, and alas, it had been sold to an Autism Foundation.
I never got to go.
I wasn't "in to" orchids yet when I had noticed it when I visited the Morikami.
Anyway, the articles I read said it was because they couldn't afford it any more.


So, are you a member to anything?
Why or why not?

[ALToronto]

I'm a member of my local OS, but not AOS. I'm just not that serious a grower. The decline in membership is due entirely to the Internet and the rise in online forums and mail-order plants and supplies.

Until 15 years ago, the only way you could get help with your orchid problems was to go to a society meeting and ask a senior member. Also, the most convenient way to get good supplies was from a vendor at a society meeting. So people went. Now, with online forums, when you ask a question, dozens of experienced growers will respond, so you're getting far more information than you used to be able to get.

I'm a member just to support the OS, and to have access to specialized vendors who come to the meetings to sell their plants and supplies. Also, since I'm in Canada, the OS meeting is the only place I can get some bootleg Physan. But there are very few people under the age of 40 at the meetings.

[terracotta7]

I have not joined our local AOS but I do go to their semiannual show/sale. The folks I have met are super-nice and very helpful. I have not joined because their meeting time is on Sunday afternoon and that is not a good time for me.

[orchidsarefun]

I am a member of my local OS........AL hit on something which is a concern, very few people under 40 at the meetings. I became a member so that I could learn from more experienced members.
I don't know why memberships are going downhill - one reason could be that these days nobody these days wants the hassle of caring for things that are "throwaway" - in other words so cheap that you just buy another one with blooms if you want. I was told a story that up to 20 years ago, an exciting hybrid could be sold to hobbyists for upwards of $1500. The advent of mass-cloning virtually stopped that pricing in its tracks.

[MattWoelfsen]

I am a member of the American Orchid Society, and a member of my local orchid society here in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I also belong to the Fuukiran Society of America. I subscribe to the Orchid Digest. I think it is good to be a member of these organizations because they provide additional resources not available online, on the Internet. **I keep telling myself I need to donate some money to support this Orchid Board--as this is an excellent resource.**

Unfortunately, the American Orchid Society has not kept up with technology and has not proven itself as a topical source and a good place to interact with orchid hobbyist. I use them as I would a library--going to AOS after I exhausted all other resources. Or I start at AOS, and then go to other resources for newer or updated information.

I joined my local OS this past March. My membership has enabled me to meet other hobbyist and learn from their experience in growing orchids in my corner of the world. We could be a much larger organization, but there seems to be enough of us--37 members at last count--to enable our society to do many activities. For example, we had a display in Dayton, OH at the Mid-America Orchid show. A week after that, we had a display at the Michiana Orchid show and two weeks ago, we had our own show. In a three week time span, we were hauling orchids from Dayton, OH to South Bend, Indiana and back home in Fort Wayne--all in beautiful Fall weather.

Raising orchids does not require interaction with other human beings--if seeing pictures, and reading suggestions on forums, enables you to grow orchids successfully. I'm inclined to require additional input from other people. Nothing beats seeing and smelling an orchid in person and seeing another person's grow space.

[nikkik]

I'm a member of my local orchid society because I like hearing the speskers, I love the raffle table, I enjot setting up our show and I like that most of the time there's a vendor at our meeting.

I haven't joined the AOS because for me I don't get enough return on my investment. As Al said, I troubleshoot problems and learn about culture online. I would only benefit from their magazine which isn't worth the price to me. I'm sure their exclusive online section has some great information, but since I'm not a member I don't know what I'm missing. Plus, I grow orchids because its fun, I'm not interested in having them judged

[Ray]

I think Alla's assessment of the reasons for the decline of the AOS are pretty well on the mark, but they are likely not the only reasons. Growing orchids is an expensive hobby, and when economics dictate, to me, a magazine subscription goes on the chopping block first. One might also consider that the magazine itself has undergone content change from time to time, and some may feel it doesn't fit their preferences at the moment, especially when the membership cost has gone up.

I am a member of the AOS, the Paph Guild, the IPA, the ODC, and one of three local orchid societies - chosen because of its proximity to home.

As I have moved for my career, and more recently, travelled around the OS speaker circuit, I have seen a broad spectrum of societies, ranging from small to large, "dead" to dynamic, and open and friendly to insular and politically back-stabbing. I suppose that's normal for any club (saw it with Irish Setters, too), so the thing to do is go try it out - I have never seen and OS that prevented non-members from attending meetings - and see if it fits for you.


Ray Barkalow
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[Paul Mc]

This is a fascinating topic and I was about to post something very similar. From a marketing stand point, I am curious as to why people decide to join their local societies or not, and what the estimated average age is of most societies.

Personally, I have been speculating that the Internet and the vast amount of info available has been eating away at society memberships, but mostly for the younger generations. But as others have already stated, there are many factors involved such as timing, availability, need for social interaction (or not), costs and economy, etc... However, it is a concern to me when I see organizations that have minimal younger membership. It's understandable given the many possible factors though.

For me, I was more than happy growing on my own for years. I didn't see a benefit to joining an OS when there was so much information elsewhere. The costs of joining magazines were ok so I did get some for a while, but the content was so scientific it proved little value to me as a hobbyist and wasn't worth the cost to just look at pretty pictures.

As for the local society, I thought about it until I overheard a disgruntled OS person volunteering at an event commenting very rudely and negatively about the organization. After 2 years, I decided that person may be a singular incident and checked them out. I've been a member since, hehehe... They bribed me with orchids! How could I resist?! LOL...

The society has become invaluable to me. They have vendors at most events so I can get orchids cheaper than online, knowledgable people you can call and hangout with or ask for help from when you don't know what to do or have an issue arise, door prizes, and truly wonderful people, etc...

For me, all of those things drew me in. But what keeps people away and how do we reach those people and meet "their needs" is my big question. We are a diverse group of people with often little in common other than our love of orchids/plants. But their surely has to be other common threads between us all. But overall, meeting peoples needs is what will keep membership and make it grow.


Paul McMahon
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[Kevin_PR]

I recently joined my local OS but am not a part of the AOS. I am actually considering not being a member of the Local OS. I feel like they really don't have anything to offer me. I am the only member that I know of who has interest in species and I feel like there is no new and pertinent info for me. Not to sound cocky, but I feel like I am in a different league. I would not say because I grow species and not hybrids, but rather because I am much more exposed to the orchid world than they are IMO. When I go to a meeting and there are 20 big Catt hybrids, 10 itergeneric Onc, 15 Phal hybrids, and the only 3 species at the meeting are my own, I find it hard to "ooh and aahh" at the variety. I am not knocking people who grow hybrids at all. Perhaps if there were 1 or 2 more species growers, and if we visited peoples growing areas, or had guest speakers I may find it more interesting.

[RandomGemini]

I went to a meeting at my local OS. I am not sure I will join. I was the youngest person in that room, and I'm in my late 30s. When I tried to engage people in conversation, they sort of nodded their heads at me and said, "Oh, that's nice." and moved on. The club president was very nice and I liked her, but the other club members... not so much. I felt very much like an outsider looking in. Maybe it was my hello kitty shirt, I dunno.

I would like to learn more about my plants from my local OS members, but my experience at the meeting I went to just wasn't very good.