MRHS President's Message
Spring, 2025
Greetings fellow hostaphiles. It is that long awaited time of year. At the time of this writing (late March) the forsythia is blooming, and the red-buds are just starting to show some color here in KC. And the magnolias appear to have escaped the inevitable deep freeze to put on a spectacular show this year. Spring is a time of rebirth, and this year brings a sense of gratitude as well.
A couple of weeks ago I was reminded that it was five years ago when we officially entered the global pandemic. Our society (like everyone else) hunkered down. We did our best to keep our society alive and connected with frequent Zoom presentations. I am thankful that we have emerged a few years later with a growing membership, and a sense of anticipation as we look forward to 2026 when the MRHS will celebrate our 50th anniversary.
I am grateful to our Board of Directors who selflessly guide our society. I thoroughly enjoy serving alongside each of these individuals whom I also call friends. I am thankful for another successful Winter Symposium. Rob James has re-energized our silent auction which has allowed us to breakeven on the event while keeping the registration fee at a very affordable level.
I am also thankful for the AHS and MRHS coming together to jointly sponsor this year's summer convention in Peoria. It will truly be a "Double Feature". The latest report says that only 25 more slots are available before registration will be a sellout. So don't delay if you're not already registered. As an added bonus, all of you who attend the summer convention will be given a complimentary one-year extension to your MRHS membership.
Speaking of the summer convention, our annual member meeting will include a couple of important agenda items. We will vote to amend our society bylaws to increase board member term limits from two to three consecutive terms. And we will have elections for four board positions. These are all detailed later in the newsletter.
I've said it before, and I will say it again. 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. What first brought us together was a plant, but what keeps us coming back is the people. See you in Peoria!
Hosta'ly
Rob Mortko
MRHS President
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