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A Letter to Our Readers
The AIS Public Relations Committee brings you News & Notes. Our committee is very interested in the ideas and opinions of the AIS members. You may not realize how special you are; but, all of you have noteworthy life experiences that can help make a better Iris Society and attract new members. Most of the changes in AIS in the last 8 years have originated from feedback we have received from members like yourself. Indeed our younger members have said you would like to be in touch with AIS on a regular basis and this created News & Notes. You have seen that News & Notes can announce the awards as soon as they are released while the Bulletin will not have them for another 2-3 months.
But News & Notes is not just us telling you; but, you telling us. In the future we will have surveys and polls. And in a less structured way, we would also like to enlist you as reporters and critics. You can make a difference in the health and vitality of AIS. If you would like an example, check this link. Remember this is only an example and you may have many other types of ideas we would like to hear. We will try to respond to each email and would be delighted to hear hundreds of ideas!
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Welcome to the third issue of the AIS News & Notes. Please let us know what you would like to see here. And if you have notes you would like to add, or you would like to become a reporter, please let us know! You can contact either Bob Pries or Wayne Messer with your comments or interest. |
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| Reminder - Vote for Your Favorite Tall Bearded Irises Deadline September 1st
LAST CHANCE REMINDER - You can still vote the TB symposium ballot by e-mailing the numbers to your RVP before September 1st. The symposium is your chance to recommend good Irises to the general public. You can send a ballot with only one recommendation, but please send it. The more input, the better the results. If most members responded we could possibly detect trends of irises that grow better in certain regions and less in others. And remember your Affiliate gets a vote also. VOTE TODAY BEFORE SEPTEMBER 1st.
Ballots and instructions are available on this page. Your selections need to be to your RVP by September 1st, either by email or regular mail. Contact information for the RVPs can be found here.
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| More on the AIS 2013 Medal Awards
Hopefully you already learned about the 2013 AIS Medal Winners in our Special Edition of News & Notes. If not, you can find all the winners listed here. And the list includes links to the iris's description and pictures on the Iris Encyclopedia. The list includes the 2013 Honorable Mentions and Awards of Merit. Did you know you can also see the previous winners of these awards in the Iris Encyclopedia? It contains articles which describe the history of each medal, lists the winners, and has pictures of most of the winners. The complete list of these medal articles can be found here. A continuing series in the AIS blog World of Irises features each of the winning irises. So far you can see:
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| Regional Fall Meetings Are Great Opportunities To Learn
Every year, each of the AIS Regions has a Fall Meeting filled with talks by well-known irisarians (many of the talks are called Judges Training; but, we know they are more entertaining and educational than that), opportunities to see old friends and meet new ones, and a chance to acquire more irises (which we all need!) While some of the Regions have already held their Fall Meetings, there is still time to sign up for others. To help you locate meetings in your Region or nearby ones, here is a list of those still to come and links to their webpages. |
| Dykes Iris Monograph To Be For Sale
In 2013 we are celebrating the 100 th anniversary of the publication of the most important written work in the history of iris, William Rickatson Dykes' The Genus Iris. In 2012 an original edition of this work was auctioned by the Aril Society International at the American Iris Society Convention. Now we understand that another original edition will be offered on EBay in early September. To let you know when it is available, we will put the link as soon as we have it on the Dykes Iris Monograph page in the Iris Encyclopedia.
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| Irises - The Bulletin of the American Iris Society Available Soon
While we strive to provide timely information, sometimes the News & Notes schedule and other schedules don't quite sync up. One of the items we intend to include are notices of when Irises and other publications are available. This should help our members watching for delivery in the mail and our Emembers watching for it to be available online. What we can say right now - the next issue of Irises is at the printers. This time the AIS Facebook page and the AIS blog World of Irises will have notices when it has been mailed and when it is available online. |
 Help Us Celebrate Your Display Garden
Many Affiliates across the country maintain public iris displays at a botanic garden, library, or other public venue. Examples include the Sass Memorial Iris Garden and the Alice Hahn Goodman Iris Garden. We would like to create an illustrated directory of these sites across the country and around the world. Vacationing irisarians could then check to see what is happening in the region they will be visiting. Contact AIS Gardens chair Bob Pries and/or add them to this Iris Encyclopedia page. (To add to the Iris Encyclopedia page, you need to register or login if you have previously registered.) |
| Beardless Guest Iris Deadline for 2016 National Convention Sept. 15
Planning ahead for the 2016 AIS National Convention requires planting the BEARDLESS guest plants soon. AIS and Presby Memorial Iris Gardens will be hosting it in Newark, NJ. And they are accepting beardless guest plants from September 1 to 15, 2013. We understand the contacts are: Linda Sercus: linda.presby@comcast.net and George Boyce: glenara@aol.com. For possible updates on details, check Presby's home page. We have also created a page where we will add links to updated details (if any) which can be found here. |
| See Irises in Australia
At this time of year, to see irises you may need to travel. And to encourage you to do that, the Iris Society of Australia has their National Iris Convention 2013 from October 26th through 30th. Based at the The Waldorf Leura Garden Resort, it will have a number of tours and events. The complete itinerary is here. |
AIS Minutes from Spring 2013 Online
Each year the AIS Board of Directors meets at the Spring Convention and in a Fall Meeting. The minutes from their most recent meeting, the Spring 2013 Meeting in Dallas, are now on the AIS website here. Earlier minutes, back to 2005, are also available from this page. Did you know the AIS encourages members to attend and participate in these board meetings? The next one is in New Orleans November 1st and 2nd. |
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Become an Emember
 Have you considered becoming an American Iris Society emember? This is a way for you to show additional support for AIS. For just $15 a year, in addition to your regular membership charge, you have online access to Irises, including all the back issues, the Registration & Introductions database, and you help to support our online initiatives! Find out more here. And you will qualify for the AIS Voucher Program.
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The American Iris Society 
