What's new?

Conservation Donations

In some good news in an otherwise discouraging year, the HOS Board has approved two donations to support orchid conservation.  We donated $500 to support the Writhlington School Orchid Project, which is helping establish orchid conservation in Sarawak, Malaysia.  We also donated $500 to support the Illinois Conservation Orchid Program in saving Peristylus holochila, an extremely rare native Hawaiian orchid (only 33 plants are left in the wild).  Click here for more information on these programs.
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New Board members.  Board members for 2021 were elected at the November meeting, including two who are new to the Board of Trustees but long familiar to HOS members.  Ellen Train (left) has been our Membership Chair for several years.  Matthias Seelis (right) is the owner of Shogun Orchids, known for breeding and growing spectacular Cattleyas.
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Holiday Party and Auction cancelled.  The Board of Trustees has regretfully cancelled this year's holiday party and auction, normally held in December, due to the pandemic.  A survey of members showed that not enough members would likely attend the event to make it feasible.  We're sorry for those who had been looking forward to it.
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Scholarship winners.  Each year we give scholarships to students at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.  See the Scholarships page for more info.  The winners for the 2020-2021 academic year are (from left) Colin Conway, Paige Hamada, and Matthew Dye.  Congratulations to the winners!

Hilo Orchid Show cancelled.  Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the 2020 Hilo Orchid Show has been cancelled.

On June 1, the Board of Trustees voted to cancel the show.  Earlier, we had hoped that the show could be postponed to August or September, but the Board feels that there is still too much uncertainty about the COVID-19 situation, and there is also not enough time to adequately prepare for a show that we would be proud of.
We know that many people will be disappointed not to have a show this year. 

Video presentation.  Larry Kuekes created a new video presentation about the amazing ways that orchids trick their pollinators, with his trademark song and video clips to enliven things.  Click on the picture to see the video.
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Video presentation.  Since our April meeting was cancelled, we're offering as a substitute this video presentation by Larry Kuekes.  Click on the picture to see the video.  Larry talks about orchid labels, orchid names, and those dreaded Latin names, with a few song and video clips to lighten things up.

2020 Hilo Orchid Show Theme.  Show chair Karl Mendonca announced that the 2020 show theme is "Orchid Ohana: Blending Beauty and Aloha".  This theme captures the special place that orchids have on this island, and we hope it will inspire exhibitors to create even more beautiful displays.  Cindy Caldicott unveiled the show art, above, to be used on T-shirts and posters.  
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2020 Officers and Trustees.  Board members for 2020 were sworn in at the holiday party and auction on Dec. 15.  From left: Lillian Paiva, Tom Mirenda, Ingrid Mendoza, Dana Culleney, Joe Bush, Ben Oliveros, Lise Dowd, Larry Kuekes, Dorothy Imagire.  Not pictured: Karl Mendonca, Shelly Nowaki.

Mountain View Library.  Larry Kuekes gave a talk at the Mountain View Library on Nov. 12 called "The Right Way and the Wrong Way to Grow Orchids" at the Mountain VIew Library on Nov. 12, about how to grow orchids better by understanding how they grow in nature.
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Photo Contest Winner.  HOS members chose this photo of Rlc. George King "Serendipity' as the winner of our 2019 photo contest.  Photographer Rick Kelley won 2 tickets to our holiday party and auction.
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Fall Nursery Tour.  This is a busload of happy orchid growers at the end of our nursery tour on Oct. 13, 2019.  We visited Kalapana Tropicals, Newman's Nursery, and Carmela Orchids.  Thanks to Jerome Siebenrock, front left, for organizing the tour.  Thanks to Janice Williams, front right, for this photo.
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Online Meetings

Since we cannot meet as a group due to corona virus restrictions, we're trying something new.  we are holding online Zoom meetings as a substitute for our physical meetings, and they are working well.  The Zoom application can be used on either a computer or a smart phone.  HOS members will get an email with an invitation to the Zoom meeting shortly before each meeting.

$8000 Donated to Volcano Relief

Many orchid growers and many of our friends were affected by the lava flows in Puna.  Our Board of Trustees voted to donate the proceeds of the Silent Auction at the 2018 orchid show to volcano disaster relief.  We raised $8000, which was donated as follows:

• $3000 was given to Hope Services, which has provided housing assistance for those displaced by the eruption.
• $3000 was given to Food Basket, Inc., which has provided food, water, and other emergency supplies.
• $2000 was given to Hawaii Island Humane Society, which has rescued pets from the lava zone and provided shelter for them until they can be reunited with owners or adopted.  

See our Community page here for a list of Silent Auction donors who made this possible.
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Mini Displays Make a Big Hit

Karen Kimmerle's mini-display made such a hit at our 2016 show that it was featured on the cover of Orchids magazine.  You can create your own great mini-display for the next orchid show with just a few orchids.  Your space is limited to 16 inches, but results are limited only by your imagination.