Hosta Convention Planning Guide

HOSTA CONVENTION

PLANNING GUIDE

Published by the MIDWEST REGIONAL HOSTA SOCIETY

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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 3 ADMINISTRATION (what to think about first, including BUDGET .................................................... 4-6 AUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 7-8 BARBEQUE OR PICNIC .............................................................................................................................. 9 BUSES ...................................................................................................................................................... 10 CONVENTION BOOKLET ..................................................................................................................... 11 CONVENTION FACILITY ..................................................................................................................... 12 FOOD ............................................................................................................................................................... 12 GARDEN TOURS .................................................................................................................................... 13 HOTEL ............................................................................................................................................................. 14 PUBLICITY ..................................................................................................................................................... 15 REGISTRATION ......................................................................................................................................... 16 VENDING ........................................................................................................................................... 17-18 HOSTASHOW-Always consult with AHS VP Awards & Honors for most current rules Cut-Leaf Show MRHS Policy for Reimbursement of Leaf Show expenses............................................................. 19 (Division I) ....................................................................................................................................... 20 Classification and Placement ............................................................................................ 21 Judging ................................................................................................................................. 21 Tabulation ............................................................................................................................ 22 Ribbons and Entry Tags .................................................................................................... 23 Hosta Show (Divisions II through V) .............................................................................................. 23 II, Design .............................................................................................................................. 24 III, Educational Displays, and Individual Hostas in Containers ....................................... 24 IV, Container-Grown Hosta Displays .................................................................................. 25 V, Trough/Container Gardens ........................................................................................... 25 VII Specialty Division “Midwest Preview” ................................................................. 25-26 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................................... 25 A. Letter to potential Auction Donors .................................................................................... 25 B. Potential Donor List ........................................................................................................... 26 C. Donated Auction Plants Worksheet ................................................................................... 27 D. Auction Plant Rating Guidelines ......................................................................................... 28 E. Silent Auction Bidding Sheet ............................................................................................. 29 F. Auction Donor Thank-you Letter ....................................................................................... 30 G. Bus Coordination Chart ....................................................................................................... 31 H. Bus Captains' Responsibilities ....................................................................................... 32-33 I. Registration Sheet ............................................................................................................... 34 J. Convention Schedule ...................................................................................................... 35-41 K. Diagram of Vending Rooms .............................................................................................. 42 L. Hosta Show Schedule and Rules ................................................................................... 43-46 M. Diagram of Hosta Show Room ........................................................................................... 47 N. Tally Sheet for Hosta Show ................................................................................................ 48 O. Hosta Show Entry Tag ....................................................................................................... 49

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INTRODUCTION The American Hosta Society holds an annual national convention. The AHS published a 120-page Convention Planning Guide, written in 1989, by Jim Wilkins and Gil Jones, and revised by Kevin Walek in 1995, and re-vised again by Claudia Walker in 1998. The AHS convention usually lasts for 4-5 days. Shorter hosta conventions are becoming more popular in recent years. Several of the “Regions” into which the AHS is divided now present conventions lasting 1½, 2, or 2½ days, sponsored by local hosta societies. Exam-ples are "First Look" in New Jersey; "Hosta College" in March in Piqua, Ohio, put on by the Great Lakes Re-gion for enthusiasts in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and other nearby states; the Dixie Convention, serv-ing the Dixie Region, and sponsored by local societies in that area; Hosta Visions, which has been put on for several years by the Potomac Hosta Club; and the Midwest Regional Hosta Society convention, sponsored each year by one of the local societies located in the nine Midwestern states located west of Indiana. In addition to regional conventions, several local societies now offer smaller get-togethers which include a Hosta Show and garden tours, along with hospitality. It is our intent to offer advice for those thinking of putting on one of these "shorter" conventions or get-togethers. We do not wish to present the following suggestions as "everything you need to know to plan a hos-ta convention;" such would be extreme arrogance. Rather, it is our goal to present topics about which the con-vention planner should be aware, and give some thought. Our aim will be accomplished if, a few times while reading over these pages, the convention planner says to herself, "Oh, I hadn't thought of that." ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Tom Micheletti, Scott Hildebrandt, and Carolyn Hamilton for your suggestions. Thanks to Joanne Johnson for your encouragement, and your proofreading! Irwin Johnson

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ADMINISTRATION As you start to think about putting on a hosta convention, one, or two or three (preferably) years ahead of time, you and the other leaders of your hosta group need to think about three needs: people, experience, and money. PEOPLE You will need eight to ten volunteers who will do a lot of work, including months ahead of the convention, and fifteen to twenty during the days of the convention itself. First, you will need a Convention Chairperson, or, preferably, two or three Co-Chairpersons. Designation of two Co-Chairpersons who live together will, in the best of all worlds, enhance communication and spread the work. Then, as you look at the Table of Contents, you might think of delegating to one or two other persons each the categories of (1) Auction, (2) Barbeque or Picnic, (3) Buses, (4) Convention Plants, [5] Hospitality (including a Hospitality Room at the convention site, and garden hospitality such as cookies, coffee, and lemonade), [6] Hotel, [6] Publicity, [7] T-shirts and (8) Vending. We were fortunate, in putting on the Midwest Regional Hosta Society convention in July Of 2002 in Madison, Wisconsin, in having pairs of volunteers for Auction, Barbeque, and Vending. Our husband and wife team of Jan and Chuck Finke, worked particularly long and hard on our Auction. When queried about the possible need for more help, they declined, citing the slowness of communication among 4-5 people in com-parison to the speed of communication between two persons who communicate well. EXPERIENCE Your society's leaders need to have experienced one or more conventions. As you assess the feasibility of hosting a convention 2-3 years before the fact, in seeking the 10-12 “major” volunteers, seek commitment to attend one or more regional or “small” conventions. Attendance at a national convention would also be quite desirable, and a way to see the “big picture” of hosta conventions. MONEY Your local society will be responsible for the costs of the convention. Some of the costs will be incurred be-fore the event, such as deposit for facilities, bus rental, purchase of convention plants, and purchase of food and drink for hospitality, so you will need some backing from your local treasury before the event: perhaps $3,000-4,000. (If you have 2-3 years to plan your event, think of several well-publicized plant sales.) If your society is putting on your convention for itself, you may plan on auction income; if you are considering putting on a Regional Convention, check well beforehand to see who gets the auction income. (It may be established practice that the local society puts on the convention, including the auction, but the Regional Society gets the auction income.) Now it’s time to think about your first tentative budget. Take a big breath and look inside yourselves; you and the other planners. The budget figures will change many times, but you will be wondering from now until the convention is over if your estimates will hold up, and if, in fact, income will equal or exceed expenses. In-come will need to equal or exceed expenses, unless your society is willing and able to subsidize the conven-tion. Does your society have $5,000 in the bank? Then, in addition to paying some bills and deposits before the convention, that is your cushion for inaccurate estimates or bad luck. BUDGET First, how many people do you think will come to your convention. Is there any history of this convention? If not, this is one reason for you to make contact with your counterparts in other local societies. Who has had a convention similar to the one you are planning? This is the first of many reasons for you to get to know your hosta colleagues in other local and regional societies. Besides knowledge and advice, those other societies may well be the source of expert, experienced help. We in the Wisconsin Hosta Society had relatively few members who had attended national or regional conventions prior to our 2002 convention. We got desperately needed and very, very welcome help from members of the Green and Gold Hosta Society in Green Bay, the Southeast Wisconsin Hosta Society in Milwaukee, the Northern Wisconsin Hosta Society in northwest Wis-

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consin, the Mississippi Valley Hosta Society in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa, the Northern Illinois Hos-ta Society, the Dubuque Hosta Society in Iowa, and the Russ O'Harra Hosta Society in Des Moines. Soliciting help from members of other societies is acceptable, and even encouraged. You are not alone! A list of local societies within the Midwest Region can be found on the website, www.midwesthostasociety.org. Estimate income conservatively, and estimate expenses generously, to avoid worry. We set a record for at-tendance of 227 in Madison in 2002, and barely broke even. I shudder to think where we would have ended up if we had drawn our usual 150-160 participants, (at $100 a head!) So, our advice to budget carefully comes from wishful thinking, not our own experience. We were lucky! Then, make some estimates of expenses. Your estimates of numbers of participants and your need to estimate food and facility costs is going to lead you almost immediately to look for potential convention facilities or hotels. You need to consider space needs, numbers and sizes of rooms needed, and costs of food. Check out the hotels which are big enough to host your convention. Meet with hotel Sales Managers. Carry in your head several estimates of numbers of participants: the number you expect, 90% of that number, and 120% of the original number, that you are optimistically hoping for. Are you going to have to pay for the rooms you will need for Hosta Show, Auction, and plant vending? Or is the hotel going to give you those spaces in return for your guarantee of a certain number of hotel rooms for participants to stay in? (see below) You will incur some charges no matter how many people attend. But sev-eral other important categories of charges can be considered "per person" charges, such as meals, convention plants, hospitality beverages and snacks, convention plants, and registration packet gifts. Start adding these up and you will be starting your budget: $25 for a Saturday banquet dinner, $9 for coffee and donuts Saturday morning, $12 for a buffet lunch Saturday, $5 for a hosta, $6 per person for sodas and snacks, and $4 for paper and a ball point pen for the registration packet — you're at $61 per person already — $17 per person for a barbeque dinner Friday evening, including renting a tent, tables, and chairs — you're at $78 and the only large expense still to be included is buses. What size buses are available? What will each bus cost, rented from 7:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.? How many convention participants will fit on two buses? Three buses? Three buses and a smaller 15-passenger van? What will the buses cost for 140 people? 160? 175? You've started to make your budget. You're close to knowing how much you have to charge for the participants' registration fee. Are you thinking of a convention center, or are you seeking a hotel that will provide, for no charge or very small charge, needed rooms if you can guarantee a certain number of participants? ("Guarantee" is an interest-ing concept; who will be guaranteeing? Your local hosta society, or the Chairpersons' credit card?) What number and size of rooms will you need? Room for a Hosta Show? (see Hosta Show) Room for vending hos-tas, companion plants, and yard art? A secure room in which to store donated auction plants from the time of participants' arrival until the time of the auction? A banquet room large enough to seat all participants? An auction room, also large enough to seat all participants? (Can these be the same room?) A room for a speech, a presentation, or a Judges' Clinic during the judging of the Hosta Show? A room, or hall space, for convention registration, including space for conven-tion gifts, convention plants, and sales of such items as t-shirts? Ho-tels may provide rooms free, or at small charge, in return for a guaranteed number of rooms to be rented by participants. Who will sign the guarantee? You will, the convention chairpersons. How many meals do you plan to provide? (Be prepared for your first shock: hotel or convention center catered food is expensive!) In-formation on the choices of food items will send you back to your convention planning committee to make de-cisions based on estimates of all convention expenses and income. Are you going to have a meal not provided by the hotel? Are you thinking of a Friday night barbeque or picnic at a local nursery or park? Will that nursery pay for the meal, the tent, and the furniture rental if you let them sell plants to your participants? If not, you need to budget these costs. Hosta conventions have garden tours, of private and public gardens near the convention center, with bus trans-portation provided by the hosta society. Seek comparative costs, and recommendations by previous host

http://www.midwesthostasociety.org/�

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groups, from several bus companies in your area. The bus company you choose will want a deposit. Don't skip the step of seeking recommendations from groups that previously employed the bus companies you are considering. Some hosta convention goers will remember with a shudder the tour bus with overflowing toilet holding tank! Your local Chamber of Commerce can help. Your Hosta Show will incur relatively minor costs for award ribbons and entry tags. You may choose to give to each convention participant a “gift plant.” Given about a two-year lead time, a tis-sue-culture lab may be able to sell you unique hostas in 2¼ inch pots. We were served well by Q & Z Nursery in Rochelle, Illinois, with H ‘Ice Age Trail’ a streaked seedling of H. ‘Big Daddy.’ When more people regis-tered than Q & Z had plants, they supplied 20-30 H. ‘Sugar Daddy’ a variegated seedling of H. ‘Big Daddy.’ Many couples were quite happy to get two different plants! Other companies that could provide this service include, but are certainly not limited to, Shady Oaks Nursery in Waseca, Minnesota and Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan. Are you planning to have a speaker after the banquet? Another speaker while the Hosta Show is being judged Friday afternoon? Are members of your local society willing to speak for nothing? Or do you need to pay for one or two speakers? Note that on a "per person" basis, a speaker’s fee is not a really big deal: $300 divided by 150 attendees is only $2 each. Final categories of expenses are garden tour expenses, hospitality, and convention gifts. You may choose to provide $50-100 per garden for refreshments such as coffee, cookies, lemonade, etc. You may choose to pro-vide a sign or flag identifying each tour garden. You may choose to present a plaque or engraved stone to the owners of each tour garden as a memento. You may wish to establish a "Hospitality Room" at the convention hotel. Check with the hotel to see if you can bring in your own liquid refreshments and snacks, or if you need to buy them from the hotel. Your Chamber of Commerce and the host hotel may provide items for convention gifts, to be provided to each participant at time of registration. You may be lucky enough to find a local socie-ty volunteer to seek and find items free of charge, or you may choose to buy one or more gift items. You will have two or three sources of income: registration fees, vendors' commissions, and fund-raisers such as t-shirts. Registration fees for a two-day or two-and-a-half-day convention seem to be varying from $80 to $100 over the past couple of years. Vendors have often been asked to pay a commission on their sales; we asked, and received, ten percent of sales from the vendors at our Madison convention. Total sales were over $11,000, so we received $1,100 vendors' commission, (see Vending) Some conventions charge 15% commission, but require no deposit. Others re-quire a deposit of $25-50 per table and ask for a smaller commission. In the Midwest Regional Hosta Society, convention auction proceeds go to the Midwest Regional Society. We were hosting the convention for the Midwest Regional Hosta Society, so our auction proceeds (which turned out to be about $9,500) were previously earmarked for the Regional Society. As we all know, plant auctions bring in a lot of money. If you are putting on this hosta event for your own local hosta society, you can esti-mate auction income, and perhaps lower the registration fee, or start to think about the horticultural good deeds you can fund in your area.

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AUCTION PROCEDURES By Jan and Chuck Finke, Grafton, Wisconsin

“AHS Virus & Nematode Policies are to be followed” 1. Four to six months prior to the convention, contact nurseries/vendors via snail mail for plant donations (see

sample, Appendix A). Sources of potential donors are: a. Last year's convention donor list (see sample, Appendix B) b. The Hosta Journal c. Local yellow pages d. Perennial Plant Growers membership list (ask a local nursery if you can borrow their copy) e. Plant auction lists (national/regional) 2. Make phone calls to local nurseries/vendors as soon as weather warms prior to the convention to solicit

plant donations. Local nurseries are your best source of plants. Offering to pick up plants encourages do-nations as does allowing donors to distribute catalogs/price lists.

3. Ask all convention registrants, before and after registration, to bring plants to donate to the auction. Re-mind them to transplant their gift plants at least a month before the event, in potting mix rather than clods of clay, so they have time and the necessary conditions to be in good condition for the auction.

4. Contact auctioneers at least a month prior to the convention. Try to get 3-5 different people who have auc-tioneer experience. (Some of your vendors may be experienced auctioneers.)

5. Recruit volunteers to help with the auction (local society or regional members). a. 3-4 to accept/register plant donations b. 2-3 spotters for the suction floor c. 2-3 to move plants from the display area to the auction site d. 4-5 recorders of bids and bidders (best at a table near the auctioneers) e. 2-3 cashiers, each with a cash box (best at a table near the exit) 6. Plant Tags: Each plant needs to be identified by plant name and donor. Tags should be large enough so

convention attendees can easily read them. Staple tags to stakes (old vinyl blind slats work well) and sta-ple stakes to pots so they cannot be removed (exchanged) or lost. Prepare 300-350 tags.

7. Plant Numbers: Each plant needs an individual number. These can be assigned as plants are received. Self-adhesive price stickers (available at office supple stores) work well.

8. Master List of Plants: This list of every donated plant/item should include columns for the following (see Appendix C)

a. Buyer number — the registration number of the successful bidder b. Selling price — the price for which the plant is sold at the auction c. Item number — the number assigned to the plant when received d. Plant name e. Donor name f. Rating — based on listing in current Hosta Finder (see Appendix D for rating guidelines) g. Description — number of divisions, originator stock, etc.

It is extremely helpful if this sheet can be set up as a computer generated program (i.e., Excel) so that as plants are received they can be given a number and all additional information can be entered into the com-puter. Having a laptop available at the convention drop-off site is also helpful so that plants can be added to this Master List as they are received. You will need to run a printout of the Final listing in the immedi-ate hours before the suction. This printout should then be duplicated and one copy given to each conven-tion registrant.

9. Silent Auction: Some of the more common plants and/or plants of which you have duplicates can be pulled out for the silent auction, held the evening before the garden tours and voice auction. You will need a printed auction sheet (see Appendix E) for each plant (generally 10-30 plants). We suggest that you close the silent auction by 9:30 or 10:00 p.m., so you can get successful bidders to pick up and pay for their plants before they go to bed or to the hospitality room. A cash box will be needed for this event.

10. Plastic Drop Cloths: Plastic sheeting that can be used to cover tables, floors, etc. is a must. Most conven-

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tion sites are carpeted and you will be charged a cleaning fee if the floor get dirty or wet (and they will). 11. Signs: Signs are needed locating sites for donation drop-off, silent auction, and the main voice auction. 12. Bid Numbers: Use each convention attendees' registration number as his/her bid number. Number the

plant auction sheets that you duplicate so there is one numbered sheet for each person. The numbers should be large and on the back of each list so they can be used as bid cards. The lists can be handed out at the entrance to the auction site. Also needed is a 3" X 5" (or 4" X 6") index card for each registrant. A card is prepared ahead of time with each bidder's number. As each plant is sold, the plant number and selling price is recorded on the bidder's card. These cards then serve as a billing sheet for each registrant at the end of the auction. (This rather elaborate procedure will help prevent individuals from "winning" a plant, calling out someone else's num-ber, and receiving the plant.)

13. Follow-up: Send a thank-you letter to each donor of plants (or other items) that makes note of the total amount raised by his/her donations (see Appendix F).

For the last several years, the Midwest Regional has used locally-developed software to manage much of the actual auction process. Steps included are the plant check-in, labeling, auction lists, bid recording, bidder invoicing, and records of donor results. The software is based on Microsoft Ac-cess. Documentation and the software (Auction Control System) are available upon request.

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BARBEQUE OR PICNIC By Diane Scharkey, Oregon, Wisconsin and Nell Cummings, Marshall, Wisconsin

In the Midwest Region, we have been having Friday evening barbeques for some time. This is, of course, op-tional. Some conventions have a Friday night sit-down meal, similar to but not quite as elaborate as the Satur-day Banquet. Others leave the attendees on their own at local restaurants. TENT, FURNITURE, AND PORTABLE TOILET I rented the tent (30 X 60 feet) for $ 425.00. It was to seat 180 people. Being big with an especially high ceil-ing made a pretty setting and the nice white color was also attractive. The chairs (160 at $.80) seemed high but was also the rate at the other two places I got a quote from. The ta-bles definitely were not attractive but the paper tablecloths covered nicely. I had 24 tables at $7.50 each, for a total of $180. We rented a “Porta Potty” for $65.00 (when I told him it was delivered late, he said don't pay for it and so I subtracted it from the bill). My only problem was I picked the cheapest quote of the three, and this guy is a contractor and I guess was busy and just does not do paper work ahead of time. He had me very nervous as I kept calling wanting something in writing and wanted to pay something down so I would know for sure I was going to have everything. I never did get anything beforehand but he turned out to be a great help. FOOD, ETC. It was pretty simple. When you live in the area, you know who are the best caterers, from personal experience or the experience of friends. I collected menus from about 5 or 6 places, called them, and settled on a couple that I thought would do a good job. After that, I went to the places and talked to them, and called a few people for references. [Editor's note: we had wonderful roast pig! ITJ] We made lists of the additional items that would be needed, including: (1) Tablecloths and tape to help hold them if it was windy; (2) Ice; (3) Soft drinks, lemonade (powder and frozen); (4) Tubs, for icing drinks; (5) Coolers for storage; (6) Ladles for serving lemonade; (7) Plastic cups; ( (8) Salt and pepper; (9) Pail and dish cloths to clean up; (10) Trays to carry food for people who have trouble walking; and (11) some additional plates and napkins. If I had it to do over again, I would have two places for people to get something to drink, and plan for more drinks (even just ice water) if the weather is hot. People did not want to wait until they got their trays of food to get something cold to drink. Also, even though it was very hot, we did have requests for hot coffee. The total cost of the barbeque was almost exactly $10 per person.

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BUS TOUR COORDINATION By Brad Nelson, Madison, Wisconsin

A recent change seems to be making this section obsolete. More and more conventions are being held without the costs associated with buses. Self-drive, car pooling, GPS devices and the like are becoming the way to go. This will increase the importance of accurate directions to convention gardens including maps and GPS coor-dinates. However, if you are still in the bus tour mode, this guidance is for you: Early - months before Receive names and locations of tour gardens Receive number of buses to be scheduled Get to know the bus company representative; introduce yourself and exchange phone #s Ask bus company representative for any advice on setting up routes Receive approximate desired departure and return times (relative to the convention hotel or convention

hall) Determine loading and unloading location at convention hall or hotel Receive or determine duration of visit (# of minutes) at each tour garden (duration at different gardens may

vary, of course) Determine driving times (at a reasonable "bus" speed) from various tour loca-tions to other tour locations;

do this by driving various routes yourself Try different combinations (on paper) of routes for each bus to:

- minimize overlap of buses at each garden (unless a garden is big enough to handle overlapping groups, such as a public garden or park)

- minimize doubling back or duplicitous inefficient bus routes - allow enough time for loading and unloading buses at each garden - meet desired departure and return times Run trial schedule by officers for comment/approval

[Tell bus company starting and ending times of bus tour; determine cost per bus. Arrange for small bus or van if number of registrants is over (bus capacity times number of buses)]

Day of Tour Get to know your bus captains (appointed by Convention Chairpersons?) (See Appendix H, Bus Captains'

Responsibilities) Give a schedule to each bus captain for his/her bus route and stops Get a phone # for bus company dispatcher (get from a bus driver) Get names and/or cell phone numbers from drivers, if available (or can use dispatcher above) Help see that the buses get loaded and departed on time [The total cost of four buses and a large van was $7.44 per person.]

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CONVENTION BOOKLET [We are indebted to Shirley and Paul Youngdale, of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, who put together our 14-page convention booklet.] Our theme for the convention was "Hostas on the Ice Age Trail," which refers to the southern limit of the last glacier. Our convention plant is named H. 'Ice Age Trail.' Our convention booklet cover has a map of Wisconsin with the Ice Age Trail marked on the map. The second page of the booklet contains a convention schedule, followed by a page listing the officers of the Midwest Regional Hosta Society, the officers of the Wisconsin Hosta Society, and a list of the various conven-tion chairpersons. The next two pages contain a description of the geological and political history of the Ice Age Trail, followed by notes concerning convention plant, vendors, t-shirts for sale, and a short biography of the banquet key-note speaker. Four pages gave background on each of the tour gardens which participants visited Saturday morning. One page identified all of our vendors, with addresses and telephone numbers. The final four pages consisted of a map and directions to the ten optional tour gardens which participants could visit on Sunday.

The trend away from buses visiting the tour gar-dens and toward self-drive touring creates a re-quirement for accurate directions to all conven-tion attractions. Consider maps, GPS coordi-nates, and the possibility of QR codes for smart phone use. This code ill take you to Google Maps and show (or tell) you how to find the con-vention hotel for the 2013 Midwest Regional. Try it!

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CONVENTION FACILITY Meet with and seek the advice of your local Chamber of Commerce. Are there hotels large enough to handle your convention? Is there a convention center in your city? What are the approximate costs of a convention in the two settings? If you are not going to contract with a convention center, go directly to the “HOTEL” sec-tion of this booklet. When the Convention Center has given you costs of the various rooms you will need for your convention, meet with your hosta society Board of Directors or Convention Planning Committee and decide whether you want to pursue this option. Renting space in a Convention Center is expensive! We decided to use the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, a beautiful new structure designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the late 1930's and constructed by the City of Madison, after more than fifty years of political infighting, in the 1990's. It was very nice, and provided food as well as rooms for our activities. We rented one very large room, in which we held the Hosta Show and the Auction, as well as a lunch for the 35 judges and decks Friday and a no-host cocktail party just before the banquet, four small vending rooms, one small room for the Judges' Clinic, another small room for a speaker during the judging of the Hosta Show, and a large dining room in which were held Saturday's breakfast, lunch, and banquet. Cost of the rooms was about $5,000, or about $22 pier person. We provided the Judges' luncheon Friday, and three meals Saturday, for a total of about $9,200, or $41 per per-son. Early on, we were told by the representative of the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors' Center, as well as by the Sales Manager of the Hilton Hotel adjoining the Convention Center, that Madison was "an expensive city." That advice was correct. See "Hotel" for a contrasting experience. When we chose the menus for each meal, we were fortunate in that I was accompanied by my wife, Joanne, and Jan and Chuck Finke. My enthusiasm for high-cost entrees and desserts was countered by the three "cooler heads."

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GARDEN TOURS SELECTION It has been recommended elsewhere that selection of tour gardens be done by a committee composed of expe-rienced society members sensitive to the delicacy of the choices and the potential for hurt feelings, and that the Convention Chairperson's or Co-Chairpersons' garden not be selected. (The convention leader or leaders will have plenty to do without final preparations of their own garden!) FLAGS OR MARKERS A nice touch, but not absolutely necessary, is provision of flags outside of the tour gardens. These can by used in later years for your society's garden tours. Our resident artist, Bonnie Evenson of Baraboo, Wisconsin, de-signed attractive cloth flags, and wrought iron stands were created and provided by Richard Voeltz of Jeffer-son, Wisconsin. REFRESHMENTS We subsidized the cost of refreshments in the tour gardens: coffee or a cool drink, and cookies. COMMEMORATIVE STONES Another not-absolutely-necessary but nice touch was the provision, after the convention, of commemorative, engraved stones for the owners of the private gardens on tour. I was able to purchase pieces of bluestone about 12 by 18 inches at our local quarry for about $3 each, and have them engraved by a cemetery monument com-pany for $75 each: "2002 Midwest Hosta Tour." SUNDAY OPTIONAL TOUR GARDENS Owners of two of the private gardens on the Saturday tour agreed to open their gardens again Sunday morning. We were able to persuade six other members and two friends-of-members to open their gardens also. [This is one possible means to avoid hurt feelings by members whose gardens were not chosen for the Saturday tour.]

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HOTEL We were fortunate in securing space in the Hilton Madison Monona Terrace, which is adjacent to, and con-nected by a skywalk to, the Monona Terrace Convention Center. The hotel has beautiful views, of Lake Monona on the south, and the Wisconsin Capitol Building on the north. The hotel originally reserved, and we guaranteed payment for, twenty rooms for Thursday night of the convention week, fifty for Friday, and fifty for Saturday. Our hotel was expensive ($129 per night, plus a parking fee, plus tax). We were nervous about the difference between this rate and the $75-90 rates at hotels in previous convention cities in our region. We provided names and phone numbers of alternative hotels and motels. Some participants stayed in these cheap-er lodgings, quite a few stayed with friends and relatives in Madison, and, of course, many of our own mem-bers stayed at their own homes in Madison and near by. Since I was nervous about having enough rooms, a month before our event I was able to have the hotel set aside ten more rooms for Friday and Saturday. That turned out to be enough, but two weeks before our event, all Madison hotels were completely booked for that weekend. The hotel arranged for a "Hospitality Room" for our participants Friday and Saturday evenings. We originally planned to pay for this service, but a series of hotel snafus led hotel staff to decide to provide the room free. We were allowed to bring in soft drinks and beer and snacks (I understand this is not always allowed), and the hotel generously provided ice. Planners of some events decide against providing beer, worried about problems of cost, tipsiness, and hangovers. We of course knew we were dealing with hostaphiles, known for their level heads and good judgment. Co-Chairpersons of hosta conventions are advised to seek and find one or two volunteers to buy, deliver, carry, service and spruce up, ice, rebuy and redeliver, ice again, and clean up after all the fun and hospitality. Read-ers are already familiar with the Chairperson's Rule: "If you can't find a volunteer for it, you do it." Marsha Conner, Chairperson of the Midwest Regional Hosta Society convention in Peoria in 2001, shared with me her experience with convention hotel. The Holiday Inn City Center provided rooms for the convention at-tendees at discounted convention room rental charges, and also provided large, clean rooms for the Hosta Show and Vendors, at no charge. Marsha's Central Illinois Hosta Society paid $50 for a room for the Judges' Clinic. The Peoria experience seems more typical than ours in Madison. Another option if you are concerned about getting a fair deal is to contact an agent whose business it is to ar-range for conventions. It is possible to have this done for you at no charge because the agent gets his/her cut from the hotel.

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PUBLICITY About a year ahead of your event, make arrangements with the American Hosta Society for an advertisement in The Hosta Journal, looking for publication in their issue in early or late winter of your (summertime) event. A full-page ad in The Hosta Journal cost $150, at the time this was written. About the same time, ask editors of local hosta society newsletters if they will publish an announcement of your convention. You will of course provide the copy. We had wonderful cooperation by editors in our region (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin), as well as editors in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. For an up-to-date list of hosta society news-letter editors, contact your own editor. They have access to a list via the AHS website, or see the most recent issue of The Hosta Journal for the name and address of the "Newsletter Coordinator." These prior notices were arranged by our Registration Co-Chairperson. We were fortunate in that Don Evenson served as Publicity Chairperson. He contacted tourist magazines in Wisconsin, and local newspapers and radio stations, advertising, among other things, that our live auction and our Hosta Show was open to the public Saturday afternoon. We had "strangers" looking, and bidding.

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REGISTRATION By Joanne Johnson, Elm Grove, Wisconsin

Get a 2" binder, using dividers for registration forms, scanned checks (if you have access to a scanner), bills, lists of volunteers, schedule of events (including chairpersons and contact information). Open a checking account in local society's name. I used brown 5 x 7 envelopes to keep checks in until I had enough to go to bank. Each registration as it came in was numbered in the order that I received it. This number went on their check, at the top of their registra-tion form, and on the brown envelope (along with their name) that was 2 hole punched and kept in the binder. I used this as a table of contents of registrants as well as storing the checks until I could bank them. I have a scanner, so scanned the checks as they came in. I wrote "VOID" on each check after it was scanned. The checks were helpful in looking up addresses that were hard to read, finding telephone numbers, decipher-ing names that were unclear, and in one case helped to ease someone's mind that they had not paid. Registration forms distributed 3 to 4 months before convention included: Name of convention hotel, address, and telephone number, Convention rate for hotel, Attendee 1, Attendee 2, Address, E-mail address, list of all activities that registration fee includes, Check-list of activities to be attended (use for count of meals and an estimate for hosta show, speakers, etc.) (see form. Appendix H), Special dietary needs, and transportation needs, How to make out check and where to send it. Put registration number on form in order that it was received. Put registration number on memo line of check. Then scan check if possible, writing "VOID" on the scanned check. I scanned about 3 checks to a page (or you could scan the check to the back of the registration slip). Line up registration volunteers about 6 weeks before convention. Mail to volunteers days and times about a week before, along with who they will be working with. Keep list in binder. Keep list of events with chairs, dates, and times in binder and posted at registration table. Run spread sheet with number of registrant, name, city, and state. Use this for name tags and the list of con-vention attendees, to be handed out at convention registration time.

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VENDING By Chuck Steele, Cedarburg, Wisconsin

“AHS Virus & Nematode Policies are to be followed” Six months Before Event Advertise for vendors in convention ad in The Hosta Journal Send questionnaire to vendors Phone known vendors, and other well-known vendors who might be interested Ask previous convention vendor chairpersons: who were vendors? were there any problems? (slow pay?

no pay?) Ask each possible vendor how much space they need (two 8' X 2.5' tables?) (Some will ask for many tables;

state that they may be limited to two) Ask what they will be selling: hostas, companion plants, accents or yard art?

Require deposit ($25 per table?) (This will comfort you and each vendor: you will know they are coming, and they will know they are expected and confirmed.)

Return a letter or postcard verifying space reserved and receipt of deposit, and reviewing arrival dates and times, dock location, and set-up time Pre-arrange room(s): plan creative table/space layout (some vendors may not use tables) (create individual areas, not rows — use right angles) (see Appendix I)

Check with Building Supervisor Rules and regulations Who cleans floor? Confirm times for opening vending rooms, and locking them when vending room is closed. Who will have key? Will broom or vacuum be available? Arrange for multiple carts, for set-up and for tear-down. You decide which vendor goes where. First come,

first served? Pre-assignment based on product sold? “Floor” rather than “table” items? Day of Event Signage on Delivery Door Greet vendors and ask if they would like help. Help unload vehicles. (Two or three volunteers would be helpful.) Help wheel carts to room or rooms. Help unload carts. During Vending Hours Be present as much as possible. Have a small cart with you Always be certain rooms are locked and unlocked at the right times; know who is in charge Make certain areas are always clean. Converse with vendors and let them know you are there to help End of Sale Have several carts at hand Help load carts and take to vehicles Review your expectations for payment [Ten percent of total sales, and you return deposit checks]. Put this

in writing, on a colored sheet of paper. Check rooms after everyone has left What Would We do Differently Another Time? Have wall sign for each vendor Return deposit check at end of sale, with "expectation sheet" Send a follow-up letter prior to the convention — about three weeks before the event — with review of

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dates, times, and requirements. Remember, these vendors have a business to run, and they're doing your organization a favor by being there. They are sharing their money with you!

Rent skirts, or cloth drapes, for each vending table. This creates much storage room Vending Times We sold Thursday from 4:00 to 10:00 p.m., Friday from 8:30 to noon and from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., and Satur-day from 4:00 (the end of the voice auction) to 7:00 p.m. (when the participants went to sit down for the ban-quet). The vendors sold $11,000 worth of plants and art; we made $1,100

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HOSTA SHOW Revised 3/22/06

Process for MRHS Reimbursement of Convention Leaf Show Expenses MRHS will pay for leaf show entry cards & award ribbons. A dollar limit of $400 for these items applies. Ex-traordinary items (such as additional vases) would require prior approval by the board. Other ancillary costs related to the leaf show are to be borne by the local society. MRHS will reimburse the local society for covered expenses that they have already paid for. The local society must submit a request for reimbursement (with attached detailed invoices approved by the show chair) for the board’s approval at their meeting during the convention. Reimbursement will be made ONLY for expenses covered by paid invoices. Following board approval, a check would be issued payable to the local society. A required attachment to the request for reimbursement is an inventory of leftover materials (entry cards, rib-bons, vases, etc.) that will be forwarded to the successor local society. A reimbursement check will not be is-sued without the inventory. Past practice has been for the successor local society to pick up the vases at the conclusion of the convention. It is anticipated that this practice will continue in order to avoid shipping charges. Additionally, the leftover inventory of entry cards and ribbons should be transported in this manner. Cut-Leaf Show (Division I) In order for your Hosta Show to be accredited by the American Hosta Society, the rules of the AHS must be followed; the AHS Hosta Show Chair should be contacted for up-to-date rules and classification lists. The AHS also has a person designated as Chair for Judges' Training; this person can tell you whether you need to offer Judges' Clinics I, II, and II, or just one of those. Please note that a Judges' Clinic should be scheduled at a time when persons judging your show can attend it, that is, not at the time of actual judging of the show. You will need some experienced people for all parts of the Hosta Show, particularly Division I, what we used to call the "Cut-Leaf Show." If you are thinking that some day you and your local hosta society want to put on a convention, start going to conventions, several of you, and taking part in the Hosta Shows. Exhibit leaves in the shows, sign up for Judges' Clinics, and become Judges. Volunteer to clerk shows — you'll learn lots, and it’s interesting and fun! Do you have any AHS Judges in your society? Any Master Judges? It takes a long time to become a Master Judge, but several of you can get started, and be ready to help when if s your society's turn for a convention. You can find help in other local hosta societies in your state or your area. You are looking for lots of people to help, but first, you will need a Hosta Show Chairperson, or Co-Chairpersons, four or five Master Judges, and eight or ten other judges. In addition you will need eight to ten clerks (these can be local society members who need not be experts), three people to help with Classification (at least one should have had experience with this task), three people to help with Placement (again, not necessarily experts), three people to help with Tabulation (at least one with experience at this task), three State Garden Club Federation judges to judge the Design Section, Division II. It will be helpful to have two or three people to run errands, fetch water, and be generally helpful during the leaf preparation period(s) and during judging of the show. You will need a number of things before participants show up to start to prepare leaves and displays for the Hosta Show: Cut-leaf display bottles, large, medium, and small, at least 150 of each

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Water pitchers Cotton swabs and cotton balls Entry tags and rubber bands Separating sticks or ribbons to separate sections and classes Signs and sign holders designating sections and classes Award ribbons Don't panic now! You are going to attend several hosta shows before you have to prepare for one. You will exhibit, you will clerk, you will help, and you will learn what is needed. If your society doesn't own display bottles, another society may lend you theirs, or your region may have a set that you will be able to use. The reason you will be seeking an experienced Hosta Show Chairperson, is that they will know what things are needed, and where to get them. The American Hosta Society has two very important officers who will help you. The AHS Hosta Show Chair-person at this time is Debbie Bockneck (740) 983-1564, [email protected]. She will approve your Hosta Show Schedule (at least six months before the event) and will provide Hosta Show Entry Tags (which you will pay her for). You will certainly want to read carefully several Hosta Show Schedules before you prepare one. The AHS Classification and Nomenclature Chairperson at this time is W. George Schmid, (770) 939-8922, [email protected]. Make contact with him in the late winter of the year you will be having a Hosta Show. George prepares an up-to-date list of all registered hostas, and will send you a copy about a month be-fore your event. You will make two Xerox copies of that, and have three for your Classification Team. All registered hostas are listed, with section and class identified. If it’ s not in this book, a hosta leaf or plant may not be exhibited or receive an award. These and all other officers of the American Hosta Society are listed in the Online Hosta Journal, http://www.americanhostasociety.org/AHSMembers/journal/test/Masthead.html. CLASSIFICATION AND PLACEMENT For cut-leaf exhibitions, hostas are divided into twelve sections, each of which is in turn divided into eleven classes, (see Appendix J, Show Schedule). A small show may draw 210 entries, while a large one, The Na-tional Convention of the American Hosta Society, has over 1,000 leaves and other exhibits entered. This takes space. In our Hosta Show in Madison in July of 2002, we used half of the large "Community Terrace Room;" the whole room is about 200 feet long and 40 feet wide. We had twenty-four tables set up, each 96 inches by 30 inches, (see Appendix K, chart of Community Terrace Room, Monona Center), We used twenty tables for Di-vision I, which is the cut-leaf portion of the show. We put tables back-to-back. There were exactly 400 leaves entered in Division I. We were able to put Section I (giant leaves) on two tables, and Section II (large leaves) on two tables, but many more mid-size leaves were entered. We used four tables for Section III (medium leaves) and four more tables for Section IV (small leaves). The remaining six sections, VII through XII, fit on six tables. We set up signs designating each section and each class within each section. We divided the tables with green plant stakes to separate classes, and bright ribbons to separate sections. We had about 25 entries in Division II, Design, and these were spread out on eight tables. We used the four remaining tables (in the middle of the diagram, for Divisions III, and V, Container-Grown Hostas, and Con-tainer-Grown Displays. (We had no entries in Division IV.) Most of the first two paragraphs on this page are aimed at helping the host society plan the physical set-up for

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the Hosta Show room. Before the show is judged, exhibits must be prepared, entered and checked for correct classification, and placed upon the tables. This is relatively simple, although preparation is rather time-consuming; most shows schedule 4-5 hours for this, either part of an evening and the next morning, or only the morning of the day of the judging. Each exhibitor checks in with the Show Registration Chairperson, and gets an Individual Tally Sheet (see Appendices L and M). The host society may choose to limit the number of en-tries per person in Division I; 20 is a limit frequently chosen. Preparation and classification take place outside the Hosta Show Display Room. The exhibitors clean the leaves, arrange them in display bottles, fill out an en-try tag (see Appendix N) for each entry, attach the entry tag to the display bottle with a rubber band, and enter the name of each entry on their tally sheet. At every hosta show, there are newcomers exhibiting leaves for the first time. These newcomers will be nervous and unsure, and will be eternally grateful if you provide one or two experienced exhibitors to get them started. The exhibitor takes each completed entry to the Classification Chairperson and her team, who check that the entry tag designation of section and class corresponds to the List of Registered Hostas sent to the host society by Dr. Schmid. At this point the entry is under the control of the Hosta Show, and the individual exhibitor may not see or touch her or his entries until they have been judged. The Classification team marks each approved entry tag with a check mark, and, over the course of the morn-ing, the Placement volunteers carry (carefully!) each approved display bottle to the tables, and place each one in the named section and class. JUDGING Our long-time Hosta Show Judging expert in the Midwest has been Elayne Gilhousen, of Richfield, Minneso-ta, (612) 869-1156. She sent mailings to all qualified judges in our area, kept track of their responses, and se-lected judging teams for me. (Each team has a Master Judge, by AHS regulations.) Some changes have been made recently in AHS organization; contacting either Elayne or Debbie Bockneck (see page 23) will let you know who will do this mailing and selection of judges. More than one team of judges is recommended. For 400 leaves, we had six teams for the cut-leaf portion of the show, as well as Divisions III and IV. Each team is composed of a Master Judge and two other judges (Student, Provisional, or Senior judges). Each team needs one or two clerks; I recommend two, in order to make their tasks much easier. Task include: recording awards by stapling ribbons on award-winning leaves and punching holes in the entry cards designating awards, moving and even lifting and turning hostas for closer observation (judges may not touch display bottles), making notes as directed, assembling blue ribbon winners within a class for judging of best-of-class, assembling best-of-class winners for judging of best-of-section, and moving best-of-section winners to the head table for later judging of best-in-show and best unregistered

seedling or sport. The Hosta Show room must be locked during judging, so that only Show Chairs, Judging Chair, judges, clerks are allowed inside. I made an exception, to allow a volunteer to serve ice water to the judging teams. The locking allows quiet, as much as can be provided when some 30 people — many of whom are friends — are working together on an interesting task! In recent years, a very positive change has taken place: in the closed room in which the Hosta Show is judged are gathered all the very best reference books dealing with hostas. One or two volunteers help judges look up cultivars to gain accurate information about leaf size, color pattern, and margin sizes. Recommended sources are The Genus Hosta. by W. George Schmid, The Hosta Handbook, by Mark Zilis, and The Genus Hosta: List of Registered Cultivars. by the American Hosta Society. Judges are able to use accurate standards to judge

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leaves. See page 28 for a reference to the special judges needed to judge Division II, Design. TABULATION Hosta Show entry tags are perforated; after judging, clerks tear off the bottom portions of tags and deliver to the Tabulation Committee. Tags for all leaves which have not won a blue ribbon are delivered first. Then, after decisions are made as to best-of-class, best-of-section, best-of-show, and best unregistered seedling or sport, the rest of the bottom portions of the tags of blue ribbon winners are delivered to the Committee. Using the many tags, and the Hosta Show Tally Sheets (see Appendices L and M), members of the Tabulation Committee laboriously look at every entry tag and transfer the award won (first, second, third, fourth place, or 'no award") to each of the various exhibitor's Tally Sheet. This takes time. If entry tag-ends are delivered quickly by the clerks for all but blue ribbon winners, it is possible for experienced tabulators to finish the job with 30 minutes of the end of judging. The last function of the Tabulation Committee is to see which of the exhibitors won the most blue ribbons in Division I, the Cut-Leaf portion of the show. This person is awarded the Convention's ribbon for "Sweepstakes Winner." (We were fortunate to have as Chairperson Carolyn Ham-ilton, and as Tabulation Committee members Terri and Ron Simmering, all of Bettendorf, Iowa — the smooth-est job I've ever witnessed.) RIBBONS AND AWARDS For years, organizers of Hosta Shows on the local, regional, and national level, have been purchasing award ribbons from Olympic Enterprises, 3605 Mahoning Road, N. E., Canton, Ohio 44705 (330) 454-4811. Repre-sentatives of this company are very helpful. If you order the ribbons 3-4 months in advance, you will have de-livery well in advance of your convention, and remove one source of middle-of-the-night worry. Organizers order liberal numbers of ribbons, and pass the unused ribbons on to the Hosta Show Chairperson for next year's event. Contact last year's Hosta Show Chairperson, and ask for the unused ribbons, and count them. Estimate needed numbers,** subtract the numbers on hand, and order the difference. In addition to first, second, third, and fourth place ribbons, you will need best-of-class ribbons (there are a total of 132 classes — you won't have entries in every single class, and there may be many left over from the previ-ous year), at least twelve best-of-section ribbons, and the big, fancy ribbons for best of show (a registered hos-ta leaf), best unregistered seedling or sport, and Sweepstakes Award. ** Make a generous estimate of total number of expected entries into Division I. I suggest that you order 25% of that number of blue ribbons, 20% red second place ribbons, 20% yellow third place ribbons, and 20% white fourth place ribbons. (This will be more than enough, and you will be able to pass on many ribbons to next year's Chairperson.) HOSTA SHOW, DIVISION II, DESIGN Judges of the American Hosta Society are not trained to judge floral-leaf displays. All over the country, we rely on judges trained and nominated by the various state "Garden Club Federations." Each of these state or-ganizations are members of the National Council of State Garden Clubs, Inc. To identify the President of your state's Federation, ask any member of any local Garden Club, or call your County Horticultural Agent. Our Wisconsin President, Mrs. Julie Schoenicke, identified three qualified judges, including herself, who came to Madison and judged our Design section. We paid them mileage, and provided them with lunch.

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The host society of a hosta convention chooses the Design classes (see the third page of Appendix J for our choices). In our region, it has been the typical practice that classes are designated, and communicated to po-tential entrants at least three months before the event, that relate to historical or geographic features of the state or area within which the host society is located. A number of members of the Wisconsin Hosta Society put our heads together, brainstormed 9-10 ideas, and winnowed those down to five: Ice Age Trail, America's Dairy-land, Frank Lloyd Wright, Circus, and Little House in the Big Woods. The story of Bonnie Evenson of Baraboo, Wisconsin, is an example of growing through participation. Bonnie attended several national and regional conventions, looked at Design Section displays, tried her own hand at exhibiting designs, evaluated her designs, her results, and looked carefully at several prize-winning designs. In 2001 she had a bit more success, and this past year she earned three blue ribbons and Best of Show in the De-sign Section. Some design competitions are well thought out and well-organized, but few exhibitors enter. On the other hand, it is possible to have more entries that you have table space to set them! Therefore, we ask, on the con-vention registration form, attendees to call and "pre-register" for the Design competition. De Etta Montgom-ery, of Davenport, Iowa, was responsible for the outstanding success of our Design Section competition. She personally telephoned many members of the Midwest Region and encouraged them to enter the competition and have fun. Her calls worked: we had twenty-five entries; some past regional conventions have had only 8-10. The Design Section has become a big favorite of our Midwest members. DIVISIONS III AND V There are two parts to Division III: Educational Displays, and Container-Grown Hostas. Not every show has educational displays; they need to be encouraged all over our North American hosta world. A fast-growing component is Container-Grown Hosta. We only had about six entries, but this was an increase. With careful care and grooming, potted hostas look nice. This category is a nice way for an exhibitor to share a large speci-men of a rare hosta. Janet and Walter Hoover's H. 'Praying Hands' was a knockout! Division IV, at the time of our convention, consisted of floor displays of container-grown hostas and drew quite a few entries in Indianapolis and Ann Arbor in 1997 and 1999. Hostas, other plants, and other decorative effects are arranged in floor areas of 5' by 5', 5' by 10', 10' by 10', and unlimited. In recent years this division has drawn very few entries. In the fall of 2002, this division was eliminated. Division V, Trough/Contained Gardens Arranged for Effect, on the other hand, seems to be growing. Four classes are included: (1) concrete composite; (2) ceramic, terra cotta, bronze and other metals; (3) baskets; and (4) natural materials, such as stone or wood. The little gardens are not limited to hostas, but 'hostas must be a strong focal point of the entry." (see Appendix J, page 4) Many gardeners seem to be starting trough gardens, and we're glad that many are sharing their (predominately) hosta troughs with us. DIVISION VII, SPECIALTY DIVISION: MIDWEST PREVIEW Seedling and Sport Plant Show 1. Exhibitors must be members of the American Hosta Society, the Midwest Regional Hosta Society, or a lo-

cal society 2. A maximum of five plants per exhibitor is allowed. Exhibitors must indicate on convention registration

form the number of plants they are entering. 3. A maximum of 75 plants will be exhibited and judged. Convention chairs have the right to reduce the

number of entries per exhibitor if total entries exceed 75 plants. PLEASE ENTER ONLY PLANTS OF DISTINCTION

4. For each plant, a minimum of two divisions, all of an identical type, shall be entered. Bloom scapes may

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be removed, or left on, at the discretion of the exhibitor. 5. Seedlings and sports shall be judged separately. 6. All plants should be exhibited in black plastic pots, (standard nursery trade), pot size to be determined by

the exhibitor. Plants are not judged like plants in a Hosta Show. If there are a few blemishes, that is "OK". Perfection is not the criteria, but rather "Distinction". Only potting soil is allowed in pot. No taping, stak-ing, or other means of support is allowed.

7. Plants appearing to exhibit nematodes, viruses, or other diseases or pests will not be allowed in the exhibi-tion room; decisions on this matter will be by the Show Co-Chairs.

8. Only unregistered, unnamed seedlings and sports are eligible for this division. 9. Judges will select “Best Seedling” and “Best Sport” from plants awarded blue ribbons. 10. Special ribbons will be awarded to “Peoples Choice” for the Seedling and Sport that receive the most votes

from registered convention attendees. These ballots will be collected prior to the oral critiques and are lim-ited to one per person voting.

11. Blue, red, yellow, and white ribbons will be awarded in each class if entries so merit. 12. The judging panel will orally critique 12 to 15 plants at 3:00 P.M. on Friday for all attendees. 13. Plants receiving blue ribbons will be displayed (space permitting) in the Ballroom for the rest of the con-

vention. 14. Plants not receiving blue ribbons should be claimed at 4:00 P.M. Friday during the tear down and moving. 15. Entries in the "Midwest Preview " must have been grown by the exhibitor, be established in their contain-

ers, and from seed/seedling grown by the entrant or sports discovered by the entrant. 16. Since each plant in this division is a unique entry, the judges are to evaluate each plant on the above point

system. Please note the number of points awarded for distinction. CLASSES Seedling Description Sport Class 1 Green [all shades] Class 1 Class 2 Blue [all shades] Class 2 Class 3 Yellow [all shades] Class 3 Class 4 Variegated with lighter margin [all shades] Class 4 Class 5 Variegated with lighter center [all shades] Class 5 Class 6 Splashed or irregular variegation Class 6 POINT SCORING FOR THIS DIVISION IS: DIVISION VII - MIDWEST PREVIEW Distinction 35 points Color and Pattern 20 points Form 15 points Substance 15 points Condition and Grooming 10 points Clump size [includes number of divisions] 5 points TOTAL 100 points Hosta Show Divisions were renumbered by the American Hosta Society. The De-sign competition is now Division V, and Division III was divided into two separate divisions. Always check current rules, and work carefully with the AHS Hosta Show Chair as you develop your show schedule!

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APPENDIX A: LETTER TO POTENTIAL AUCTION DONORS

MIDWEST REGIONAL HOSTA SOCIETY

March 22, 2002

Dear Plantsman:

The Midwest Regional Hosta Society's annual convention is being hosted by the Wisconsin Hosta Society, in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 11-14, 2002. One of the highlights of the convention is a plant auction. Funds raised through this auction serve as the primary source of revenue for the re-gion and help finance plant research. The region relies on donated plant material for this auction.

Donors of plant material will have an opportunity to provide brochures or catalogues that will be made available to members. We anticipate the attendance of several hundred "hostaholics"; a great opportunity to advertise your nursery. Hostas obviously are the sought-after plant but any plant ma-terial, especially for the shade garden, would be most welcome.

Will you consider donating plant material to our auction? If you plan to attend the convention, you can bring donated plants with you to Madison. Plants could also be sent to us or, if you live within a reasonable distance of our home in Grafton, Wisconsin, dropped off in advance of the convention dates. Dry rooted plant material should be sent several weeks prior to the convention so that we can pot it and give it a chance to re-establish itself. We appreciate your consideration of this request. Please let us know by e-mail or "snail mail" if you will be providing some auction plants.

If you would like information on a vendor booth at the convention for selling your products, please contact Mr. Chuck Steele at the address below.

Thanks for your help and interest.

Chuck & Jan Finke, Co-chairmen 2002 Plant Auction Committee 1460 Highway Grafton, Wl 53024 Chuck Steele, Chairman E-mail: Greenheadllc&.aol.com Vendor Sales Phone: 262/377-6218 450 Horns Corners Rd.

Cedarburg, Wl 53012 Email: eele4@corecomm. Net Phone: 262/377-3552

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APPENDIX B: POTENTIAL DONOR LIST

APPENDIX B: POTENTIAL DONOR LIST Name Address Phone

Acorn Hollow Hostas 11735 Ingatton, West Chicago IL 60185 (630) 293-7735

Conner Nursery 6605 N. Smith Rd., Edwards IL 61528 (309) 673-0101

Dry Creek Farms 1070 Dry Creek Ln., Marion IA 52302 (319) 377-6939

Enchanted Valley Gardens 9123 N.Territorial Rd., Evansville Wl 53536 (608) 882-4200

Fiskars, Inc. 780 Carolina St., Sauk City Wl 53583

The Flower Factory 4062 County Truck A, Stoughton Wl 53589 (608) 873-8329 Flying Frog Farm Indianola, IA

Green Hill Farm P.O. Box 16306, Chapel Hill NC 27516 ((919)309-0649

Hosta Gardens 13685 Watertown Plank Rd., Elm Grove Wl 53122 (262)786-1758

Hosta House 401 Lincoln Dr., Twin Lakes, Wl 53181 (262) 206-9568

The Hosta Leaf 3016 115th St., Colesburg IA 52035 (563) 856-3595

The Hosta Patch 23720 Hearthside Dr., Deer Park IL 60110 (847) 540-8051

Jack & Ken's Plants W59 N910 Sheboygan Rd., Cedarburg Wl 53012 (262)375-0617

Lee Gardens 25986 Sauder Rd., Tremont IL 61568 (309) 925-5262

Monches Farm 5890 Monches Rd., Colgate Wl 53017 (262) 966-2787

Powell's Gardens 9468 U.S. Hwy. 70 East, Princeton NC 27569 (919)936^421

Q & Z Nursery 11409 East Flagg Rd, Rochelle IL 61068 (800) 528-2909

Savory's Gardens 5300 Whiting Ave., Edina MN 55435 (952)941-8755

Shady Acres Perennial Nurse-ry

5725 S. Martin Rd., New Berlin Wl 53146 (262)679-1610

Song Sparrow Perennial Farm 13101 E. Rye Rd., Avalon Wl 53505 (608) 883-2221

W. & E. Radtke W168 N12276 Century Ln.,Germantown Wl 53022 (262)253-1412

Arnold, Beth 1276 N. Lakeview Cr., East Peoria IL 61611 (309) 694-0509

Baskor, Gene & Marcia 11888 Wolf Creek Pike, Brookville OH 45309 (937)833-5137

Cadoret, Ruth 4308 Hillcrest Cr, Madison Wl 53705 (608) 233-4504

Caliendo, Eve 424 16th St., Baraboo Wl 53913 (608) 356-3545

Dean, Don 5175 157m Lane NW, Ramsey MN 55303 (763)421-2475

Deeds, Mike & Rhonda 902 Sheffield Ave., Waterloo IA 50702 (319)233-5354

Dye, Kay 409 W. Pinto Dr., Edelstein IL 61526 (309) 243-5980

Evenson, Don & Bonnie 401 11th St., Baraboo Wl 53913 (608) 356-4648

Farber, Ken & Janet 266 Rice Creek Blvd., Fridley MN 55432 (763)574-1947

Finke, Chuck & Jan 1460 Hwy. C. Grafton Wl 53024 (262)377-6218

Garles, Gary 2373 Kale Blvd., Fairfield IA 52556 (641)472-7129

Gibbs, Kathryn 5306 Ferndale St., Springfield VA22151 (703) 354-8250

Giihousen, Elayne 6738 15th Ave. S., Richfield MN 55423 (612)869-1156

Hanner, Mark & Becky 10414 N. Oak Rd., Otisville Ml 48463 (810)631-4292

Hoover, Walter 501 N. Main, Loyal Wl (715)255-8961

Johnson, Greg 3127 200th St., Marshalltown IA 50158 (641)752-4492

Miller, Mary 2785 Whippoorwill Dr., Green Bay Wl 54304 (920) 499-6641

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APPENDIX C: DONATED AUCTION PLANTS WORKSHEET

Midwest Regional Hosta Society 2008 Convention

Plant Auction

*1 Rarest 2 Rare 3 Limited Availability 4 Several Sources 5 Widely Distributed

Buyer Price Item # Plant Name Donor Rating* Description

Buyer Price Item # Plant Name Donor Rating* Description

Page 28

APPENDIX D: AUCTION PLANT RATING GUIDELINES

RATING GUIDELINES

This rarity rating is based on how many nurseries offer the plant in the most current Hosta Finder.

Rating 1 0-2 listings




Rating 5 31+ listings

APPENDIX D: AUCTION PLANT RATING GUIDELINES

RATING GUIDELINES

This rarity rating is based on how many nurseries offer the plant in the most current Hosta Finder.





Rating 5 31+ listings

Page 29

APPENDIX E: SILENT AUCTION BIDDING SHEET

APPENDIX E: SILENT AUCTION BIDDING SHEET

Page 30

Thanks again for your time, effort and generosity. Hostafully

yours,

Jan & Chuck Finke 2002 Plant Auction Co-chairs

APPENDIX F: AUCTION DONOR THANK YOU LETTER

MIDWEST REGIONAL HOSTA SOCIETY July 17, 2002

Name(s) Street City/State/Zip

Dear :

APPENDIX F: AUCTION DONOR THANK YOU LETTER

MIDWEST REGIONAL HOSTA SOCIETY July 17, 2002

Name(s) Street City/State/Zip

Dear :

On behalf of the Midwest Regional Hosta Society, we want to thank you again for donating plant mate-rial for our auction that was held on July 13, 2002. This auction serves as the region's principal source of income. Because of your generosity and that of other donors we raised over $9500.00. Every pot of plant material that you donated was identified with a tag listing you as the donor. Hopefully, you will receive some feedback from the purchases via mail, phone, e-mail or a visit.

The convention was attended by more than 225 people and the auction plants received many wonderful comments which "speaks well" of your horticultural skills.

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APPENDIX G: BUS COORDINATION CHART

7:30 8 9 10 11 12

APPENDIX G: BUS COORDINATION CHART

7:30 8 9 10 11 12

Page 32

APPENDIX H: BUS CAPTAIN'S RESPONSIBILITIES One of the most important, and clearly most visible, jobs at a hosta convention is that of Bus Captain. A con-genial, strong bus captain can make a convention a long-remembered positive experience. The captain's sense of humor will add to attendees' enjoyment.

With four or more buses wandering the countryside, visiting gardens, and perhaps even getting lost or breaking down, it is vital that each attendee remember which bus he or she is traveling on. It may help if each bus is clearly la-beled, and if each captain makes a point of helping the bus passengers remember the name (or color) of the bus. A brightly colored sign with a hosta name can be placed in the front window of the bus. While 'Patriot,' 'June,' and 'Francee' may be easy to remember, maybe your bus could be called ‘Outhouse Delight!’

As soon as you receive your convention handbook, please familiarize yourself with the overall convention schedule and the write-ups for each convention garden. This simple action will enable you to answer most of the questions that attendees will ask. If you live in the convention city, tour the gardens ahead of time. Often, on the Saturday a week before the garden tour, a “dress rehearsal” tour will be held, so that the garden owners may see the other gardens on tour, and so that the bus captains may get impressions that they can pass on as the bus is near-ing each garden. If you are coining from out of town, perhaps you could call each garden owner and ask them to tell you what they like best about their garden, so that you can share this with the passengers just before they pull up to each garden.

Before leaving the hotel, introduce yourself to your bus driver, and ask about his or her familiarity with streets and high-ways on the day's scheduled route. Generally, but not always, drivers will know major routes through and around cities. All bus drivers have been given the same itineraries as the bus captains, so they may familiarize themselves with the routes. A top-notch bus company has its drivers drive the routes beforehand.

Before starting to load your bus, reserve the first two rows of seats behind the driver, and the first row on the right side. The first row on the right is for you and your partner. Hold the two rows behind the driver for physically challenged attendees. We assume that handicapped passengers will be provided with a special vehicle; these two rows are for persons who move slowly. This will speed up loading and unloading.

No matter how familiar your driver is with the day's route, he or she will probably need some “back seat driving” to remind them of street names, turns, and directions when close to each destination. Also, keep in mind that, if both the bus captain and driver have not been to a particular garden before, it is highly probable that one of the local registrants has, and is on your bus. If you somewhat uneasy about directions to all the gardens, ask, on the bus P. A. system, if anyone would be willing to be a “backup back seat” driver.

Before leaving the hotel, ask the driver to show you how the P. A. system operates. When using the amplifier, stand at your seat on in the aisle, face the passengers, and remain behind the driver to avoid obstructing his or her view of the rear-view mirror, the road, and traffic from the sides. This is the law, of course.

As the bus leaves the hotel, count the number of people on board. Before you leave each garden, make sure you have the same number of people on board, and the same familiar faces. You may ask whether any passengers have just joined you. If there are several buses on tour, people may wish to change buses. Although you should dis-courage this, you don't want to create a scene, but you do need to know how many persons have joined you. Generally, the bus drivers will also count the number of passengers as they board after each stop.

As you start the day's tours, use the P. A. system to introduce yourself, your co-captain if you have one, and the bus driver by name. Inform passengers if you have used an identifying sign for your bus. Let them know that you will use a signal to let them know when it is time to re-board the bus after a stop. A police whistle may be too shrill, a calliope sound-alike may be too soft, and an air-horn may be too obnoxious; use your own judg-ment.

APPENDIX H: BUS CAPTAIN'S RESPONSIBILITIES One of the most important, and clearly most visible, jobs at a hosta convention is that of Bus Captain. A con-genial, strong bus captain can make a convention a long-remembered positive experience. The captain's sense of humor will add to attendees' enjoyment.

With four or more buses wandering the countryside, visiting gardens, and perhaps even getting lost or breaking down, it is vital that each attendee remember which bus he or she is traveling on. It may help if each bus is clearly la-beled, and if each captain makes a point of helping the bus passengers remember the name (or color) of the bus. A brightly colored sign with a hosta name can be placed in the front window of the bus. While 'Patriot,' 'June,' and 'Francee' may be easy to remember, maybe your bus could be called ‘Outhouse Delight!’

As soon as you receive your convention handbook, please familiarize yourself with the overall convention schedule and the write-ups for each convention garden. This simple action will enable you to answer most of the questions that attendees will ask. If you live in the convention city, tour the gardens ahead of time. Often, on the Saturday a week before the garden tour, a “dress rehearsal” tour will be held, so that the garden owners may see the other gardens on tour, and so that the bus captains may get impressions that they can pass on as the bus is near-ing each garden. If you are coining from out of town, perhaps you could call each garden owner and ask them to tell you what they like best about their garden, so that you can share this with the passengers just before they pull up to each garden.

Before leaving the hotel, introduce yourself to your bus driver, and ask about his or her familiarity with streets and high-ways on the day's scheduled route. Generally, but not always, drivers will know major routes through and around cities. All bus drivers have been given the same itineraries as the bus captains, so they may familiarize themselves with the routes. A top-notch bus company has its drivers drive the routes beforehand.

Before starting to load your bus, reserve the first two rows of seats behind the driver, and the first row on the right side. The first row on the right is for you and your partner. Hold the two rows behind the driver for physically challenged attendees. We assume that handicapped passengers will be provided with a special vehicle; these two rows are for persons who move slowly. This will speed up loading and unloading.

No matter how familiar your driver is with the day's route, he or she will probably need some “back seat driving” to remind them of street names, turns, and directions when close to each destination. Also, keep in mind that, if both the bus captain and driver have not been to a particular garden before, it is highly probable that one of the local registrants has, and is on your bus. If you somewhat uneasy about directions to all the gardens, ask, on the bus P. A. system, if anyone would be willing to be a “backup back seat” driver.

Before leaving the hotel, ask the driver to show you how the P. A. system operates. When using the amplifier, stand at your seat on in the aisle, face the passengers, and remain behind the driver to avoid obstructing his or her view of the rear-view mirror, the road, and traffic from the sides. This is the law, of course.

As the bus leaves the hotel, count the number of people on board. Before you leave each garden, make sure you have the same number of people on board, and the same familiar faces. You may ask whether any passengers have just joined you. If there are several buses on tour, people may wish to change buses. Although you should dis-courage this, you don't want to create a scene, but you do need to know how many persons have joined you. Generally, the bus drivers will also count the number of passengers as they board after each stop.

As you start the day's tours, use the P. A. system to introduce yourself, your co-captain if you have one, and the bus driver by name. Inform passengers if you have used an identifying sign for your bus. Let them know that you will use a signal to let them know when it is time to re-board the bus after a stop. A police whistle may be too shrill, a calliope sound-alike may be too soft, and an air-horn may be too obnoxious; use your own judg-ment.

Page 33

It is a good idea, as the day begins, to review with the passengers the day's activities, gardens to be toured, plans for lunch or snacks, when the bus will be returning to the hotel. Remind them that the garden owners have opened their gardens, but not their homes. I f necessary, passengers should use the restroom facilities on the buses.

Ask the bus driver not to leave until all bus captains at that stop have signaled each other that everything is as it should be, or that someone is missing. The most important things about a bus tour are that everyone is happy, and that we leave no one stranded!

Medical emergencies will be handled by bus drivers trained in CPR. In addition buses should be equipped with two-way radios, or can contact 911 or local police directly. There should be a back-up vehicle located at each garden to be used in the event that anyone needs to be taken from a garden to a hospital, or back to the hotel.

Page 34

APPENDIX I: REGISTRATION FORM

Page 35

APPENDIX J: CONVENTION SCHEDULES

MIDWEST REGIONAL HOSTA CONVENTION July 13-15, 2006 at Sheraton Four Points Hotel, Brown Deer, Wisconsin

Note that you can show up early Friday morning, and have time to enter leaves in the hosta show, attend a judges’ clinic, look at the results of the hosta show, have dinner and participate in the hosta auction Friday, and go on the garden tours and attend the banquet Saturday. Two nights in the hotel, and you will have been to a complete hosta convention!

Schedule of Events

Activity Time Location

THURSDAY July 13, 2006 Registration 2:00 PM - 8:00 PM Promenade Vendor Set Up 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Crystal Room Leaf Show Table Set Up 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Salons IV-VI Receive Auction Plants 2:00 PM - 9:00 PM Skylight Room Vendors Open 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM Crystal Room Cut Leaf Registration Preparation 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM Promenade North Dinner Check Schedule Board 8900 Bistro Hostatality 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Rooms 619/620

FRIDAY July 14, 2006 Registration 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Promenade Vendors Open 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Crystal Room Receive Auction Plants 9:00 AM -12:00 AM Skylight Room Cut Leaf Registration Preparation 7:00 AM - 10:30 AM Promenade Judges Lunch and Instructions 11 :00 AM - 11 :30 AM Salons I - 81 Judging 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM Salons III - V Leaf Show Open to All 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Salons III- V Move Leaf Show 4:00 PM - 4:30 PM Promenade Judges Clin-ic I 3:30 - 4:30 PM Room 619 Cocktail Hour 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 900 Bar Friday Fish and Chicken Buffet 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Salons I - V Auction 7:30 PM - To End Salons I - V Vendors Open For One Hour After Auction Crystal Room Hostatality 10:00 PM - 11:30 PM Rooms 619/620

SATURDAY July 15, 2006 Breakfast 6:00 AM - 7:00 AM Salons I - V Garden Tours 7:15 AM - 2:45 PM Load In Parking Area Late Registration AM Front Desk Leaf Show Open to Public 1 :30 PM - 3:00 PM Promenade Vendors Open 1 :30 PM - 4:00 PM Crystal Room Vacate and Tear Down 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Promenade and Crystal Room Cocktails and Snacks 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM Promenade Business Meeting 7:00 PM - 7:01 PM Salons I - V Banquet and Speaker 7:01 PM - 9:00 PM Salons I - V Hostatality (After Banquet) Until 11:30 PM Rooms 619/620

SUNDAY July 16, 2006 Breakfast (On Your Own) 7:00 AM 8900 Bistro Optional Tours 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM Various

Show Moves to Promenade Blues and Higher Move Remainder discarded or please pick them up, Red, White, Yellow entries, between 4:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Page 36

2007 Convention Schedule

THURSDAY, JULY 12 12:00-4:00 p.m. Vendor set up Moline, E. Moline, Scott 4:00-6:00 p.m. Hosta Show set up Bettendorf 2:00-8:00 p.m. Registration Hallway 4:00-9:00 p.m. Auction plants received Davenport 4:00-9:00 p.m. Preparation and receipt of Hosta Show Boardroom, Bettendorf and Midwest Preview entries 4:00-? Vendor sales Moline, E. Moline, Scott 6:00-12:00 a.m. Hostatality Dinner on your own Area Restaurants

FRIDAY, JULY 13 7:30-10:45 a.m. Preparation and receipt of Hosta Show Boardroom, Bettendorf and Midwest Preview entries 9:00-5:00 p.m. Registration Hallway 9:00-5:00 p.m. Auction plants received Davenport 8:00-5:00 p.m. Vendor sales Moline, E. Moline, Scott 11:00-11:30 a.m. Luncheon for Judges and Clerks Atrium 11:30-2:30 p.m. Judging Hosta Show and Midwest Preview Bettendorf 2:30-5:00 p.m. Hosta Show and Midwest Preview open for viewing Bettendorf 3:30-5:00 p.m. Hosta Show, Midwest Preview, and vendors Bettendorf, Moline, E. Moline, Scott open to public 3:30-? Judges Clinic II Boardroom 5:30-6:00 p.m. View Hosta Glade Vander Veer Botanical Park 6:00-8:00 p.m. Picnic Vander Veer Botanical Park 8:00-10:00 p.m. View Hosta Show Bettendorf 8:00 p.m.-? Vendors Moline, E. Moline, Scott 8:00-12:00 a.m. Hostatality

SATURDAY, JULY 14 6:00-6:45 a.m. Registration Hallway 6:00-7:00 a.m. Deluxe Continental Breakfast Ballroom 6:30-7:00 a.m. Load buses 7:00-12:00 p.m. Bus tour host gardens 12:00-1:00 p.m. Deli Buffet Lunch Ballroom 12:30-1:30 p.m. Hosta Show tear down Bettendorf 12:30-1:45 p.m. Vendors Moline, E. Moline, Scott 2:00-5:00 p.m. Auction Davenport, Rock Island 6:00-7:00 p.m. Social hour with cash bar Davenport, Rock Island 7:00-9:30 p.m. Awards banquet with featured speaker: Davenport, Rock Island 9:30-? Vendors (at their discretion) Moline, E. Moline, Scott 9:30-12:00 a.m. Hostatality

SUNDAY, JULY 15 8:00-5:00 p.m. Optional garden tours

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Convention Schedule July 10-13, 2008

Thursday, July 10 Time Location Set up vending 1pm-4pm Midway-O’Hare Vending open 4pm-10pm Midway-O’Hare Registration open 2pm-6pm Coat Room Set up Leaf Show Room 2pm-4pm Salon E Accept leaf show entries 6pm-8pm Salon E Accept Auction donations 2pm-8pm Oakbrook Hostatality Room 7pm-11pm Illinois-Indiana Meals on your own Friday, July 11 Time Location Breakfast and Lunch on your own Registration open 9am-5pm Coat Room Accept Auction donations 9am-4pm Oakbrook Accept leaf show entries 8am-11am Salon E Judges Instructions and Lunch 11am-11:30am Wisconsin Judge leaf show 11:30am-2:30pm Salon E Leaf Show open 2:30pm-3:30pm Salon E Hold Judges Clinics I 2:30pm-Completion Wisconsin Vending open 9am-5pm Midway-O’Hare Social Hour 5pm-6pm Salon Lobby Banquet 6pm-7:30pm Salon F Business Meeting 7:30pm-7:45pm Salon F Auction 7:45pm-End Salon F Hospitality Room after auction Midnight Illinois-Indiana Saturday, July 12 Time Location Breakfast at Hotel 6am-7am Salon F Registration table open 6:30-7am Coat Room Load buses 6:45am-7am West Entrance Tour Gardens 7am-Noon Lunch at hotel Noon Salon F Vending open Noon-2pm Midway-O’Hare Vending Room breakdown 2pm–3pm Midway-O’Hare Leaf Show open Noon-2pm Salon E Leaf Show breakdown 2pm-3pm Salon E Buses leave for Postlewaite & Van Ostrand & Barbeque 3pm & 3:30pm West Entrance Barbeque 6:30pm-8pm Rich’s Foxwillow Pines Buses return to Hotel when each bus is full, last bus leaves at 8pm Hospitality Room 9:30pm-Midnight Illinois-Indiana Sunday, July 13 Optional garden tours

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2009 CONVENTION SCHEDULE

Thursday, NOON - 5 PM Submit Hosta Show Entries June 11th NOON - 6 PM Registration Open NOON - 6 PM Drop Off Auction Donations NOON - 6 PM Raffle Ticket Sales NOON - 6 PM Vendor Sales 6 PM - 8 PM Cocktail Party w/Guest Speaker and Open Gardens 8 PM - 10 PM Hospitality Suite Friday, 7 AM -10:30 AM Submit Hosta Show Entries June 12th 8 AM - 11 AM Judges Clinic I 8 AM - 2 PM Drop Off Auction Donations 8 AM - 4 PM Registration Open 8 AM - 4 PM Vendor Sales 8 AM - 5 PM Raffle Ticket Sales 8:30 AM - 11:15 AM Educational Seminar 11 AM - NOON Judges Lunch NOON - 3 PM Hosta Show Judging 1 PM - 3:45 PM Educational Seminar 3 PM - 5 PM Hosta Show Open 3 PM – 4 PM President’s Meeting 4 PM – 5 PM MRHS Board Meeting 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Silent Auction Open 5 PM - 6 PM Cocktails (Cash Bar) 6 PM - 7 PM Dinner 7 PM - 10 PM Silent Auction Winners and Live Auction 9:30 PM -11:30 PM Hospitality Suite Saturday, 6 AM - 7 AM Breakfast June 13th 6 AM - 7 AM Registration Open 7 AM - 3 PM Garden Tours (First Bus Returns at 2 PM) 9 AM - 4 PM Vendor Sales 9 AM - 4 PM Hosta Show Open 2:30 PM - 4 PM Raffle Ticket Sales and Drawing 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Cocktails (Cash Bar) 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM Dinner w/Guest Speaker and Meeting 9:30 PM - 11:30 PM Hospitality Suite Sunday, 8 AM - 4 PM Optional Garden Tours June 14th

Page 39

2010 Schedule of Events Wednesday July 7, 2010 Afternoon Vendors Move In Thursday July 8, 2010 6am-10am Vendors Move In 10am-9pm Vendors Open 10am-9:30pm Leaf Prep for Hosta Show (NOTE NEW TIME!) 1pm-5pm Registration 1pm-5pm Drop off Auction Plants 1pm-5pm Raffle Ticket Sales 3pm-6pm Judges Clinic 1 6pm-7:30pm Thursday Evening Bash 7:30-? Dinner on Your Own 8pm-11pm Hospitality Suite Open Friday July 9, 2010 6am-7:15am Judges Breakfast 7:30am Hosta Show Judging Begins (NOTE NEW TIME!) 8am-4pm Drop off Auction Plants 8am-4pm Registration Open 8am-4pm Vendors Open 8am-5pm Raffle Ticket Sales 10:30am Hosta Show Judging Ends 10:30-4pm Hosta Show Open to Public 12noon-2pm Better Homes and Gardens Test Garden Tour, On Own 2pm-3pm President’s Meeting 3pm-4pm MRHS Board Meeting 4:30-5:30pm Happy Hour (Cash Bar) in Ballroom 5:30-6:30pm Banquet 6:30-6:45pm 2011 MRHS Convention Promotion 7pm Guest Speaker 7:30pm Auction, Will begin immediately following Guest Speaker 9:30pm- Hospitality Suite will open immediately following Auction Midnight Saturday July 10, 2010 6-6:45am Breakfast 6:45-7am Load Buses for Garden Tour (Last Bus leaves at 7:15am) 7am-3pm Vendors Open 1pm Garden Tour Buses Return to Hotel for Lunch and Freetime 2pm Teardown Hosta Leaf Show 2:30pm Raffle Ticket Sales End 3pm Raffle Results Posted 3pm Teardown Vendors 4pm Load Buses to Ames for Last Garden Tour and Picnic 5-5:15pm Arrive at Munson Garden 6:30 BBQ Picnic at Munson Garden 7:45 Buses leave as full for Des Moines 8:30-11pm Hospitality Suite Open 8:30-? Clean up Hotel Times and some activities are subject to change.

Page 40

2012 MRHS Convention Schedule Room assignments subject to change

Wednesday, July 11 7:00 floor prep for vending, auction, leaf show set-up

Thursday, July 12 8:30 am-Noon Vendor Setup Grand Ballroom A 9:00 am-Noon Leaf Show Setup Grand Ballroom B/C 1:00 - 5:00 pm Hosta Show Entries (Prep) Royale Ballroom B Noon - 6:00 pm Auction Plants Received Royale B Noon – 6:00 pm Raffle Set-up/Sales Hotel Lobby Noon – 9:00 pm Registration Hotel Lobby Noon – 5:30 pm Vendor Sales- open to public Grand Ballroom A 5:15 pm – Bus departs for Garden Picnic Outside Lobby 5:30 pm – Bus departs for Garden Picnic Outside Lobby 6:00 – 8:00 pm Garden Picnic (Optional) Camp Creek Farm 7:00 – 10:00 pm Hosta Show Entries Hallway 7:45 – Bus departs for Hotel 8:00 – Bus departs for Hotel 8:30 – 11:00 pm Vendor Sales - open to public Grand Ballroom A 9:00 – 11:00 pm Hostatality Hostatality Suite/ Pool side

Friday, July 13 Breakfast on your own (Hotel guests receive complimentary Continental Breakfast) 7:00 am – 10:30 am Hosta Show Entries Hallway 8:00 am – 10:00 am Registration Hotel Lobby 8:00 am – 11:00 am Judges Clinic I Royale Ballroom A 8:00 am – 2:00 pm Auction Plants Received Royale B 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Vendor Sales - open to public Grand Ballroom A 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Raffle Sales Hotel Lobby 11:15 am – 12:15 am Educational Seminar Royale A (Rob Mortko – Tissue Culture for Dummies) 11:00 am – Noon Judges Luncheon Hotel Breakfast Room Lunch on your own Noon – 3:00 pm Hosta Show Judging Grand Ballroom B/C 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Education Seminar Royale A (Don Dean – My Path to Hosta Gardening) 2:00 – 4:00 pm Auction Preview Royale B 2:15 pm – 3:15 pm Education Seminar Royale A (Robert Solberg – Growing Hostas: The Bigger the Better ) 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm Registration Hotel Lobby 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Hosta Show Open - open to public Grand Ballroom B/C 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm MRHS Board Meeting Breakfast Room 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Cocktails & Dinner Buffet Royale AB 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Banquet Royale AB 7:00 pm – 7:15 pm MRHS Business Meeting Royale AB 7:15 pm – 9:30 pm Auction - open to public Royale AB 9:30 pm – 11:00 pm Hostatality Hostatality Suite/ Pool side

Saturday, July 14 Breakfast on your own (Hotel guests receive complimentary Continental Breakfast) 6:00 am – 7:30 am Breakfast Royale AB or Breakfast Room 6:00 am – 7:30 am Registration Convention Lobby 8:00 am – 1:30 pm Garden Tours Buses Hotel Front Lobby 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Hosta Show - open to public Grand Ballroom B/C 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Hostatality Hostality Suite/ Pool side

Page 41

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm President’s Meeting Breakfast Room 4:00 pm Leaf Show tear down Grand Ballroom B/C 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Vendor Sales - open to public Grand Ballroom A 4:00 pm Vending tear down Grand Ballroom A 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Unpotting/cleaning North courtyard 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Raffle Sales Hotel Lobby 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm Raffle Drawing Hotel Lobby 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Cocktails & Banquet Royale AB 9:00 pm – 9:30 pm Convention wrap-up meeting Hotel Breakfast Room 9:30 pm – 11:00 pm Hostatality Hostatality Suite/ Pool side

Sunday, July 15

remove any remaining items from hotel Optional Tour Gardens Open – 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

Page 42

APPENDIX K: DIAGRAM OF VENDING ROOMS

American Hosta Association Meet-ing Rooms K,L&M,N JuJy 11-1' 3,

2002

1 o e 11 o o,

K

L

M

APPENDIX K: DIAGRAM OF VENDING ROOMS

American Hosta Association Meet-ing Rooms K,L&M,N JuJy 11-1' 3,

2002

1 o e 11 o

o,

K

L

M

Page 43

APPENDIX L: HOSTA SHOW SCHEDULE AND RULES

GENERAL SHOW RULES Anyone who wishes to exhibit may do so. However, Section and higher awards are limited to AHS members. Any exhibitor who is not an AHS member and wins a section or higher award will be asked to become an AHS member. If the winner refuses member-ship, the Show Chair may either present the award to the next qualified entry or leave the award vacant. Entries will be received from 1:00 – 5:00 pm on Thursday, July 12, and from 7:00 to 10:30 am on Friday, July 13, 2012. No late en-tries will be accepted. Judging will begin at 12:00 Noon. All entries must remain in place until 4:00 pm, Sat., July 14. Entries must be removed by 4:30 pm. Entries remaining after 4:30 pm will be disposed of by the Staging Committee. Entry tags, ribbons, and awards may also be claimed from 4:00 to 4:30 pm. Entry tags must be properly completed by the exhibitor. Incorrect entry tag information will be corrected by the Classification Com-mittee and entries may be disqualified at the discretion of the Classification Committee. A line has been added for leaf length and width to be entered by the exhibitor at time of entry. During the time of judging, only the Show Chair, AHS Judges Chair, Judges and Clerks are permitted in the immediate judging area. Divisions I-Horticulture, II – Container Grown Hosta, III-Trough/Container Gardens Arranged For Effect, and IV – Educational Dis-plays, will be judged by panels of three to four AHS show judges including one master judge per panel. The AHS Point Scoring Sys-tem will be used to break a tie in judging major awards. Each panel of Judges will be the final authority of each class it judges. Division VI- Artistic Design will be judged by Federated Garden Club of America Show Judges. All decisions of the judges are final. Care will be taken, but no responsibility shall be incurred by any person, group, or organization for any accidents, damages, injuries, thefts, or omissions or commissions of any kind or nature from this show. All entries designated as registered cultivars and species shall either be listed in the current year’s AHS Hosta Show Classification List or shall have had registration data recorded in an official publication of The American Hosta Society by the date of the show in order to be considered registered for show purposes. For all show divisions, provided entries score the minimum points, each sub-class (or class if there are no sub-classes or section if there are no classes) is allowed the awarding of only one blue, one red, one yellow, and one white ribbon. In Division I, Sections I-V and Section XI, each registered cultivar or species constitutes a separate name sub-class. Each seedling or sport entry in Sections VI-X is a separate sub-class and is eligible for any ribbon. For Section XII, each unregistered named cultivar constitutes a separate name sub-class within each alphabetical letter class. Division I – Horticulture (Cut Leaf) Rules

Containers will be provided by Shades of Green Hosta Society of Southeast MN. Bloom scapes are not permitted in this division. Sections I-V (Registered Cultivars and Species), XI (Youth Exhibits) and XII (Unregistered Named Cultivars) require ONE leaf per entry. Sections VI-X require TWO leaves per entry. Sports shall be indicated in the entry tag as “Sport of (Name of Cul-tivar)”. Seedlings shall be indicated on the entry tag as “Seedling (Hybridizer’s Identification Number)”. An exhibitor may enter more than one horticultural specimen in a single class provided each entry is of a different variety. Mul-tiple entries of the same cultivar are not permitted. All entries must have been grown by the exhibitor. Persons placing entries in Section XI-Youth Exhibits must be 18 years of age or younger as of the date of the show. All leaves entered should be representative of the plant as a whole and should be taken from plants approaching maturity.

Division II Container Grown Hosta Rules Container-grown hostas must have been grown by the exhibitor and must be established in the containers in which they are grown.

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Only registered cultivars or hosta species may be exhibited in this division and only one hosta may be grown in each contain-er. Container and plant must be clean. The plant should be centered in the container. Inner containers or container liners are allowed but must not be visible. Only one type of ground cover material is allowed per exhibit. Ground covers may be any natural non-living material such as bark chips or stones, or an indigenous moss of one variety only. Division III – Trough/Container Gardens Arranged for Effect Rules Self-contained trough or container gardens of any size may be entered for judging as an arrangement. Multiple varieties of hosta and other plant material may be used. Hostas must be a strong focal point of the entry. No artificial plant material is allowed. Plants and container must be clean. Accessories are permitted. Individual plants need not be identified. However, if the exhibitor would like to identify the material, an identification ledger card to the side of the exhibit is acceptable. Division IV – Educational Displays Rules Educational displays must pertain to Hosta. Division V – Non-Competitive Exhibits Rules Entries in this division are not judged. The exhibit may be a single cut leaf, a hosta bloom scape, a container grown plant, or any other display deemed to be of interest to the show observers. However, the plant material must be hosta predominant, the exhibit must be tastefully presented, and the material must be in good condition. The Show Chair may refuse placement of any exhibit that does not meet these requirements. Division VI – Artistic Design Rules Hosta leaves must be the predominant foliage in the design. Some dried and/or treated plant materials and hosta blooms are permit-ted. No artificial flowers, fruit, or foliage may be used. Contrived flowers made form hosta leaves are permitted. An exhibitor may enter one entry per class. Plant material need not be grown by the exhibitor but the design work must be the work of the exhibitor. Staging for all classes will be skirted tables that are 30” deep by 30” wide and covered with white tablecloths. Background is beige-colored walls. Overlays and accessories are permitted but should not exceed dimensions set in the class rules. The Artistic Design committee reserves the right to move an entry to improve spacing if the exhibitor is unavailable to do so. Pre-registration is required. Exhibitors are requested to register their entries in advance with Cindy Tomashek, Design Chair. The Design Chair will provide additional class definitions, rules and requirements, and exhibition instructions upon registration. In each class, the designer is asked to interpret the class title.

SHOW DIVISIONS

DIVISION I – HORTICULTURE (Cufleaf) Section I Giant-Leaved Registered Cultivars and Species Section II Large-Leaved Registered Cultivars and Species Section III Medium-Leaved Registered Cultivars and Species Section IV Small-Leaved Registered Cultivars and Species Section V Miniature-Leaved Registered Cultivars and Species Section VI Giant-Leaved Unregistered Cultivars and Species Section VII Large-Leaved Unregistered Cultivars and Species Section VIII Medium-Leaved Unregistered Cultivars and Species Section IX Small-Leaved Unregistered Cultivars and Species Section X Miniature-Leaved Unregistered Cultivars and Species Section XI Youth Exhibits of Registered Cultivars and Species Displayed in Alphabetical Order Section XII Unregistered Named Hosta Cultivars Displayed in Alphabetical order

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Entries in Section I-X are to be displayed using the following Color Classes: Class 1 – Green (All Shades) Class 2 – Blue (All Shades) Class 3 – Yellow (All Shades) Class 4 - White Margined

Yellow, White, or Chartreuse Center Green to Blue Center

Class 5 – Yellow Margined

Yellow, White or Chartreuse Center Green to Blue Center

Class 6 – Green or Blue Margined

Yellow White or Chartreuse Center Green to Blue Center (distinct from margin color)

Class 7 – Streaked or Mottled Class 8 – Others (including early season variants) DIVISION II – TROUGH/CONTAINER GROWN HOSTA Section I Container Displays Not exceeding a Total Height or Width of 18 inches Section II Container Displays with Height or Width Greater than 18 inches DIVISION III – TROUGH/CONTAINER GARDENS ARRANGED FOR EFFECT Section I Concrete Composite Section II Ceramic, Terra Cotta, Bronze and Other Metals Section III Plastics and all man-made materials Section IV Natural Materials, Stone, Wood, Baskets, etc. DIVISION IV – EDUCATIONAL DISPLAYS DIVISION V – NON-COMPETITIVE EXHIBITS DIVISION VI – ARTISTIC DESIGN Class I Operation Hosta Class II A River Runs Through It Class III Bluff Country Beauty Class IV Heart in Hand Pre-registration is required for exhibition in this division. Contact the Design Chair for additional class definitions and require-ments, and exhibition instructions. SHOW AWARDS Best of Show – Horticulture – awarded to the best species or registered cultivar entry in Division I – Horticulture and is selected fro the section winners in Sections I-V and Section XI. (Please note that entries in Section XII – Unregistered Named Cultivars not eligi-ble to receive this award.) This award is a large triple streamer blue and white rosette ribbon and a prize. Best Seedling or Sport Award – Awarded to the best seedling or sport entry in Division 1 – Horticulture and is selected from the section winners in Sections VI-X. This award is a large triple streamer green and white rosette ribbon and prize. Best Artistic Design Award – Awarded to the best entry in Division VI – Artistic Design. This award is chosen from the Best of Class winners in the division. The award is a large triple streamer blue and white rosette ribbon and prize. Sweepstakes Award – Awarded to the exhibitor who wins the larges number of blue ribbons in Division I – Horticulture. (In case of a tie, count Best of Class, then Best of Section ribbons if necessary to break the tie.) Grand Awards – Awarded to the best entries in Division II – Container Grown Hosta, Division III – Trough/Container Gardens Arranged for Effect, Division IV – Educational Displays, and Division VI – Artistic Design. In order to win, entries must have

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scored 95 points. For Divisions II and III, Grand Awards will be chose from the Section Award winners. These awards are medium triple streamer purple rosette ribbons and prizes. Section Awards – Awarded to the Best of Section winners in divisions containing sections. All section award winners must have scored at least 95 points. These awards are medium single streamer purple ribbons. Class Awards – Awarded to Best of Class winners in divisions containing classes. All class award winners must have scored at least 95 points. These awards are single streamer ribbons. The following ribbon awards are awarded in accordance with rules set forth by AHS: First Place Blue Ribbons – Entries must score 90 or more points to receive this award. Second Place Red Ribbons – Entries must score 85 or more points to receive this award. Third Place Yellow Ribbons - Entries must score 80 or more points to receive this award. Fourth Place White Ribbons – Entries must score 75 or more points to receive this award. REGISTERED CULTIVARS AND SPECIES THROUGH/CONTAINER GARDENS DIVISION I, SECTIONS I-V AND SECTION XI ARRANGED FOR EFFECT – DIVISION III Form 15 Variety 20 Size 15 Condition 30 Color and Pattern 25 Arrangement 30 Texture 15 Container Relative to Arrangement 20 Substance 15 TOTAL POINTS 100 Contition and Grooming 15 TOTAL POINTS 100 EDUCATIONAL DISPLAYS UNREGISTERED NAMED HOSTA CULTIVARS DIVISION IV DIVISION 1, SECTION XII Educational Value 50 Form 15 Theme, Originality, Materials Used Size 15 Staging 50 Color and Pattern 25 Arrangement, Attractiveness, Neatness Texture 15 TOTAL POINTS 100 Substance 15 Condition and Grooming 15 TOTAL POINTS 100 UNREGISTERED SEEDLINGS AND SPORTS NON-COMPETITIVE EXHIBITS DIVISION I, SECTIONS VI-X DIVISION V Distinction 50 Not Judged – No Scale of Points Form and Size 10 Color and Pattern 10 ARTISTIC DESIGN Texture 10 DIVISION VI Substance 10 Condition and Grooming 10 Corformance 20 TOTAL POINTS 100 Design 42 Artistic Concept 12 CONTAINER GROWN HOSTA Expression 10 DIVISION II Distinction 16 TOTAL POINTS 100 Form 15 Size 15 Color and Pattern 25 Substance 10 Condition and Grooming 15 Container 10 TOTAL POINTS 100

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APPENDIX M: DIAGRAM OF HOSTA SHOW ROOM

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Exhibitor No. Name:

APPENDIX N: TALLY SHEET FOR HOSTA SHOW THE AMERICAN HOSTA SOCIETY

INDIVIDUAL TALLY SHEET

No. Div. Variety 1st 2nd 3rd H.M. Special Award

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

TOTALS

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APPENDIX O: HOSTA SHOW ENTRY TAG

Documents

Hosta Convention Planning Guide