MRHS President's Message

Fall, 2026

Greetings fellow hostaphiles. As I write this message on the first day of autumn, I quietly wonder where this year has gone. But what a year it has been as we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Midwest Regional Hosta Society. Our summer convention in Madison was quite the success with 190 attendees. There we awarded the DeEtta Montgomery Outstanding Service Award (the highest honor bestowed by the MRHS) to long-time MRHS board member Mary Vertz and long-time MRHS volunteer Terry Vertz. Look for their acceptance speech later in this newsletter.
Next February we will host the annual Winter Symposium in the Milwaukee area. Those that attended last February helped participate in an important survey. You told us what you liked, areas where we could improve, speakers you would like to hear in the future, and speaker topics you'd like to see addressed. You spoke, and we listened. Last year we held the Friday evening hostatality event in the hotel lobby bar area. The consensus was you prefer a more private setting, so we have reserved the Presidential Suite for next year. You also wanted a more relaxed Saturday schedule with one less speaker, allowing more time for interaction. We will have 5 speakers in February, and we have reduced the registration fee accordingly. (Yes, we do compensate our speakers, comp their registration fee and cover their hotel room cost). You told us you wanted to hear Nick Ternes and Josh Spece as speakers. No problem. You told us you wanted to hear presentations dealing with dry shade, lesser-known shade plants and new hostas. Again, no problem. You told us the Embassy Suites was a big upgrade from our prior location in terms of accommodations, meeting room and luncheon buffet so we have again booked the Embassy Suites in Brookfield for 2027. Pastor Rob James is already busy securing some intriguing donations for the popular silent auction. Included in this newsletter is more info on the Winter Symposium as well as the registration form. The registration fee has been reduced to $64 for MRHS members. That simply allows us to (hopefully) breakeven on the event. Please don't wait until the last minute to register. Please help your President avoid those sleepless nights in January and February by registering early. And one lucky attendee will have their registration fee comped, courtesy this year of the Russ O'Hara Hosta Society.
In my remarks at the annual members meeting at the Madison convention, I mentioned (as always) that what our society really needs is your active participation in society events. Our trusty treasurer Mona Keehn reported that the MRHS has a strong financial position. In fact, all who attended the summer convention were given a complimentary one-year extension on MRHS membership or given a complimentary new membership for 2026. (If you are receiving this newsletter for the first time, welcome aboard!) Our challenge as a vibrant and thriving society is to support our two annual events - the summer convention and the winter symposium. The lifeline of our society remains with these two in-person events that stimulate new friendships and sustain long-term friendships. I'll remind you once again. "What first brought us together was a plant, but what keeps us coming back is the people."

Hosta'ly

Rob Mortko
MRHS President

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