4 quick notes:

1. Orchid people in Florida _will travel_. I've had people come
[specifically, not as a side-trip] to my nursery from as far away as
Gainesville [5 hours], Ocala [4+ hours], and Cocoa [4+ hours]; I routinely
see people at shows that have travelled 3 or more hours to attend.

2. There were vendors other than orchid growers at the FPOS show. There
was a supply vendor, Jim's Orchid Supplies; a vendor selling lovely orchid
jewelry and paintings; and a vendor selling wooden plantstands and
pot-hangers. Also, some of the growers had other merchandise, such as
orchid books, for sale at the show, in addition to their plants. All of
this is part of a good orchid show; I personally find it particularly
helpful to have a supply vendor present at a show [it boosts sales of
bareroot divisions tremendously, if customers can buy what they need to deal
with them right on the spot; also, they will usually lend, or certainly
sell, me whatever I forgot to pack that I _really_ need for my display, like
empty pots or a particular type of hanger G].

3. Perhaps it happened during the editing of the J-TOS newsletter, but I
certainly couldn't tell that plants were excluded from the "clearance sale"
from the notice that I read [and previously posted, so you can evaluate it
for yourself].

4. I, too, am not a member [or at least not an active member, I may have
joined for insurance purposes] of FPOS, and I was fortunate enough to have a
very good show there. Would it have been better without the AOS'
competition? I can't even imagine any way to know for sure. That being the
case, I think AOS should "err" on the side of respect for its affiliated
societies.

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids

http://www.jborchids.com
"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
hlink.net...
How far are you from Headquarters? I do think it begs the
question

Fort Pierce (where I am not a member, btw,) is about 90 minutes from AOS
HQ.
However, the post that Kathy put up may explain some of this away, if
indeed
they were not selling discounted plants during that time, but other mdse.

Diana