They say that time flies when you are having fun; I guess I must have had a ball this summer as we are coming to the close of another growing season and it just doesn't seem possible. We still have about another month, so, by all means, enjoy your roses before the cooler weather arrives.

In retrospect, I believe that, as a rose society, we have had a great year. Based upon feedback from those people who attended the District Convention, it was a very good convention. We can be very proud of our accomplishments in hosting the convention. Although attendance was below expectations, the convention was an unqualified success.

Our rose show at Glendale Mall had more participants this year. Although the show was small in comparison to prior years, the quality was very good judging by all of the oh's and ah's of people attending the show.

The spring garden tour hosted by Carol and Nick Tumbas and the summer picnic hosted by Humberto and Robin Deluca were well attended. The food offerings at each event were tremendous. In fact, I am beginning to wonder whether our members came to see the gardens and hear the programs or enjoy the food. Thanks to the hosts, you did a great job.

Although a lot of work, the booths at Orchard in Bloom and the State Fair were well worth the effort. Thanks to Jim Schultz for another great job. Not only did we pick up a few new members at each event, we also fulfilled our society's goal of educating the public about our beloved rose.

Our regular meetings in the class room and in member gardens featured programs on basic rose care. We had some excellent programs that served to educate our members, and the public too, on how to grow better roses and become rose ambassadors for the American Rose Society. All of the above events have one thing in common. None of the programs or activities would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the members or our rose society. While we could always use more help, I am certainly grateful for all of your assistance this year. Participation is not just a one way street. Yes, the rose society benefits immeasurably from the donation of you time, but, in my experience, the member, in doing so, always learns something new about roses. It is truly a winwin situation.
If space were available, I would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who did something for the rose society this past year. I can easily think of 40 to 50 individuals who contributed something to the rose society's success this year.

Please accept my sincere gratitude for a job well done. See you at the meeting in October.

Mark Nolen, President