SER President's Notes April 2013
by Sue Hamilton, Southeast Region President.
Spring greetings- although spring has sure been slow to get here this year! I'm ready for spring to stay so I can get outside and enjoy working in my garden with some pleasant weather. Be sure and mark your calendar for a wonderful Conifer Rendezvous Open House on Sunday April 7, 2013 at 2 pm at Dr. Alan Solomon's GA-TOP (God's Answer To Our Prayers) Garden in Knoxville, TN. It's definitely a garden you don't want to miss seeing. It will be a treat for your eyes! Details can be found at our regional website.
Our regional Vice President, Tom Neff, and I attended the ACS National Board meeting in Tampa, FL on Saturday February 2nd. Lots of change' to share with you. The national office manager, John Martin, is retiring so a search for the position is being planned. His wife, Sue Martin, is also retiring from chairing the Awards and Recognition Committee so a new com-mittee chair is being sought. The national board also voted to launch a new ACS website which is already under development. The new site will make use of website technology that enhances user friendliness and is more appealing and welcoming to website visitors.
The ACS journal, Conifer Quarterly, will also be archived for electronic use. Partial funding for the new website will be provided through a portion of each ACS membership. We are not sure yet of the exact date that the new web-site will be unveiled but I will keep you informed.
Election of our new regional officers needs to be done by August of this year before the National Meeting in New York August 8-11. If you have interest in serving on the nominating committee, serving as an officer, or would like to nominate someone for an office, please let me know. You can e-mail me .
Mark your calendar and make plans now to attend our annual re-gional conifer conference this Oc-tober 11-12 in Memphis, TN. Plans are underway to make this an exciting meeting!
We will visit the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, the Memphis Botanic Garden and several private gardens. Memphis is a fun city and the National Geographic Traveler editors have selected Memphis as one of 20 must-see places this year! They write there's something newly electric in the air and credits are given for the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Shelby Farms Park and Central BBQ for their innovative and DIY spirit in making Mem-phis great.
We will announce the host hotel and further conference details in the next newsletter. Save the date for now; between public and private gardens, renowned speakers, nurseries and garden centers, this is sure to be a great meeting.
Finally, don't forget to regularly check our regional website for information. You'll find details of the National Meeting in Mt. Kisco, NY August 8-11 and our re-gional rendezvous' and annual conference. Until next time. - Sue