it's that time of year......
Average total distribution per issue during preceding 12 months (including free copies) of Orchids:
2004 = 24312 2005 = 22574 2006 = 20863 2007 = 180102008 = 17339
i picked the high number; it might actually be less than that.
--j_a
Pity, becasue the magazine has gotten better. At least imho and fwiw.
K Barrett
i agree; i had suggested in one of their surveys that they add more technical stuff to it, and they seem to have done that.
--j_a
The web site is much better, too. Really, they have been trying hard and doing some great stuff.
Diana
i agree; i had suggested in one of their surveys that they add more technical stuff to it, and they seem to have done that.
--j_a
I had an interesting discussion with Linda Wilhelm who is on the AOS judging committee, last year. She was encouraging me to return to the fold after having dropped my AOS membership a few years back in the mass exodus.
I used the analogy of a divorced person who is assured the ex-spouse has changed and urged to re-unite with them. I said it took quite a few years to alienate me, after so many years of membership, to the point that, after a number of years of submitting objections, suggestions, and complaints, I finally 'divorced' the AOS. And it will take quite a while to convince me that I should re-join.
Not trying to be unnecessarily negative, but they'll just have to prove it and that will probably take a decade at least. And a lot of institutional change and re-direction that I don't see yet.
While I hear a lot of words proclaiming they have changed, I have yet to see the proof. Anyone can say "we've changed!" The mag is marginally better but still nothing like the fine Journal.
As for the website, they deliberately destroyed a cherished community because they didn't like hearing criticism. I don't think they can ever put Humpty Dumpty together there again. There are many orchid forums now, all offering pretty much the same things (and none of them seem to have that 'community' the old AOS site had) and most more interesting that the AOS's.
I like the divorce analogy. It has been both sad and funny watching the judges trying to recruit (bring back into the fold) commercial growers. Carlos is as good a person as you will find anywhere and the AOS has been lucky to have him, but it has not been change, just more of the same. Over the last year or so the 'NO AOS Judging' signs have started appearing on the east coast and in the last year three different nonjudge members have told me they would not be AOS members if they were not already lifetime members. In the backrooms away from the public and the judges, vendors are bitching about receiving awards. Seems some would rather take there spouse to dinner than pay for an award. The committees tasked to fix this mess are made of the very members that created it in the first place. I do not see real change coming anytime soon and I am afraid that a decade is optimistic. I wonder how long they are going to be able to carry that building.
(as a member of a non affliated society, i'm interested in folks' thoughts on this too.... one day someone is going to move that we affiliate, and i just don't know whether it's worth anything to us at this point.)
--j_a
Well, you're just the kind of person I'm asking.....SO, does YOUR society have successful shows? Lots of vendors, traffic, other society exhibits????
Let me take a stab at answering your queestion, Tennis.
Our local Society is, and has been for quite some time, AOS affiliated. Let me state right up front that there has been *zero* talk of changing that status. I doubt that anyone has seriously considered it. So my reply is based on my own observations over the past several years.
Some background first. Our membership (about 150 now) is very diverse. We have experts, newbies and everything in between. On the Treasure Coast, ours is the only show at which the other societies are invited to install 100 sf floor displays. Everyone else asks for table displays of one size or another. In 2009 our vendor list will be around 20 strong. Not absolutely certain of the number yet; I am not in charge of that.
Let's talk about participation first. Some of our seasoned growers very much value AOS recognition. They would not be as inclined to schlep specimen plants for ribbon judging done by society members. Since theirs are generally the finest plants, that would likely leave a hole.
The other societies would be less likely to go through the routine of assembling those big floor displays if they (and the plants) were not AOS judged. Personally, neither would I.
A few years ago, one of the area societies, out of necessity, put on a show that was not AOS judged. They had members *judge* the displays and plants. There was an awful lot of bellyaching, though it didn't come from our people. Having the AOS stamp on things generally eliminates the muttering.
For the newbies, having a plant chosen by the AOS judges to receive a ribbon (and they never expect it) is often the stimulus they need to become more active. It's a validation of sorts.
So, how does all that apply to your questions? Pretty simple. One of the big draws for us is those floor displays. They are the first thing people see when they walk in the door. Customers linger at them, often before even hitting the vendor booths.
So, if we eliminate the impetus for participants to bring in their special plants and put up those big displays, we disappoint a lot of our attendees. We also take away the impetus for newbies to bring in their stuff. So, you have less plants over all. And this is not to mention the education members get by clerking for the judges. I've seen people go from "I don't know enough" to "I'm learning a lot!" in the blink of an eye.
Bottom line is, I don't think our show would be as vibrant or well attended if it were not AOS judged. As far as the vendors are concerned, what they care about is attendance. Few of them care so much for awards at this point. Less attendance, less sales, fewer vendors in the future, and it becomes a circular firing squad.
Perhaps this is unique to my area, but that is our experience.
Diana
If we are talking ribbonned shows, I agree with Diana. I would even say that you would be insane to attempt a ribbonned show without the support of AOS judges. There is just too much learned knowledge about judging shows, too many tried rules and schedules, and just too much raw man and woman power that comes with the AOS judges. Tennis, if you do not understand what I am trying to say, I highly recommend that you hang out at a couple of shows from the time registration opens until the start of the preview party. It will blow your mind; the work, the lost nights sleep, and the skill, experience, and the dedication of the various people making it happen. I think you would have more fun repeatedly hitting your thumb with a hammer than producing a ribbonned show with out the support of AOS judging.
There is nothing that says you show has to be ribbonned, but it would not be what most of us think of as an orchid show. That is not a bad thing. Orchids shows are having a hard time right now and maybe a society thinking outside of the box could come up with a very successful format.
Pat
Although I appreciate the input, my focus here is in trying to find out from people who have actual experience with such shows and whether they have been successful, rather than evaluating the possibility in a theoretical fashion.
Of course, such a show would include ribbon judging, easily accomplished by experienced orchidists as it is currently done at our second show of the year, a smaller show than our annual AOS-judged affair. I have been involved sufficiently with shows to be familiar with the mechanics involved in the entire judging process, and, more importantly, the expense.
Our current set-up is a full-scale show in the spring and a smaller-scale show in the fall which we have been ramping up in preparation to making it a second full-scale AOS-judged show. Our chief problem has been in getting willing volunteers to set-up, clerk, and man the various operations involved. No-one seems to be willing to do anything anymore, and we have scaled back our plans for the second full show and decided for now to keep it as a smaller-scale non-AOS judged show. It has brought the entire concept of AOS membership (as a society) and AOS judging into question. As times are hard and belts (includingthose of organizations such as ours) tighten, all expenses are subjuect to new scrutiny.
'Contributions' to judging centers, Orchids, AQ - and the required laptop, expenses associated with judging (photography, judges' luncheons, judges' coupons, etc, add up to a sizeable portion of the organizational budget. Revenue sources are becoiming less reliable and budgets must be evaluated with an eye at ensuring solvency.
roughly how much does all that end up adding up to?
--j_a
Janet,
I can't answer for Tennis, but I can tell you what our costs are, roughly.
Once a year, we volunteer to pay for a lunch for the judges at their WPB center. Not all societies do it. We choose to. The cost is never more than $100, and generally less. We don't even need to go down and deliver the food.
As for the show, we do need to have a photographer in case of awards. I think he got around $45/awarded plant last year. We also ask him to judge our photo entries (we have a category for orchid photography).
I don't recall how much our hospitality budget was for the show last year, but it was money well spent and IMO not a lot. We offer fruit & cheese, along with soft drinks, on set up day. The other societies (not to mention our own members) and the vendors need a break in the middle of the day. We would do this whether the show was AOS sanctioned or not. Coffee, donuts, bagels, fruit and whatever are available throughout the show, in the break room. After the judges lunch, we provide the vendors with lunch on that one day. This isn't fancy stuff, just sandwiches and side salads.
We are still getting AQ, but it is becoming less necessary with the advent of OrchidWiz. As most now know, OW is not expensive to maintain. Anyhow, that too is a minor expense in the grand scheme of things.
There is the cost of trophies, but we always have enough sponsors to cover that. Many of our members sponsor trophies, and most of the vendors do as well. Those sponsorships also pay for the AOS show trophy. If we were doing a "society judged" show, we'd still have to pay for ribbons and rosettes. And none of the above addresses the impartiality of the judges. I doubt that the same could be said of lay people from the society.
Bottom line for me: the minor costs associated with having the AOS imprint on the show are well worth it. And, it's good to remember that the judges are UNPAID (sorry for shouting) volunteers who have spent years of apprenticeship, again, unpaid. The least we can do is buy 'em lunch a couple of times a year.
I know times are tough for lots of folks, and that spills over to some societies. Fortunately, we have a steady influx of new members, and that keeps us fresh and on our toes. It also means that many of the people who volunteered for various jobs over the years can take a well deserved break.
Just my 2 cents, again. Well, make that a nickel.
Diana
roughly how much does all that end up adding up to?
--j_a
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