Need info on starting an Orchid Society, please

[Candice]

Does anyone have information on how to start an orchid society....???

I live in Alabama currently and there aren't any societies or clubs here .....I am hoping maybe I could start one and find some interested orchid lovers to join....

Anyone have any ideas?
How did your orchid society start?
Do you have info on its history?

Thanks!!!

Candice

[Phantasm]

Here's info from the AOS on their website:

American Orchid Society - Affiliations

click on "roadmap" which opens a PDF file with information.

The trick is finding other interested orchid growers in your area.

[Candice]

Thank you!
I have been on the AOS site many a times, but could never really find what I was lookin for!

Thanks to you, now I have!

Candice

[dave b]

Do you have any botanical gardens / conservatories / arboretums near by? Our Dayton,Oh society and nearby Cincy, Oh societies are held at local arboretums. They assist us in advertising, giving us place to meet, etc. They may be able to help pull like minded folks together to get started. They host societies for many types of plants (bonsai, hosta,...etc) and can usually help a lot. Some will let you meet for free, others cost so much per year to use their facilities.

Perhaps you could post fliers around town at locations that sell orchids (garden centers, grocery stores, floral shops) Convince them that if their customers get involved in a society, they will be much more likely to return as frequent orchid buying customers. For example, there is a florist shop around the corner from me, that happily hands out fliers for our show to its customers.

I do not have the early history of our societies beginnings. Ill have to investigate.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[Candice]

Thanks dave!
Great Ideas! I will diffintely look into all of them! We don't have many stores thats sell orchids. We only have Walmart, Lowes, and than Home Depot! But maybe a smaller florist has been missed and i can call on them to find out!

Thanks so much for info!
I will keep you posted on my progress and hopefully soon with some answers!