Karlene and Mark Sanborn, owners of Prairie Orchids, Kansas City

The Fort Worth Orchid Society show last weekend was a grand success, thanks to the hard work of Sam Wiley and his orchid society members.  Of course, many others pitched in to make it a team effort. The society auction brought in enough to put the show in the black, and it was my chance to hone my skills as an auctioneer.

Ronnie and Jerry Brandenburg, long-time members of Greater North Texas Orchid Society

I While at the show I also had a chance to reconnect with two good friends, Karlene and Mark Sanborn, members of the Kansas City Orchid Society and owners of Prairie Orchids. Karlene and Mark are regular vendors for the shows in Dallas and Fort Worth.  Here they are at their vendor table with some beautiful plants.

As always, the orchid vendors had enough interesting species for sale that I was able to replenish the many I seem to lose over the year.  Can’t wait until the next show in Oklahoma City next May.

The conservation drawing was won by Allen Koch of Oklahoma City Orchid Society and he selected a Phalaenopsis print as his prize.  I was able to raise over $600 for conservation. This amount came about due to:

• a conservation donation from the Fort Worth society
• the drawing proceeds
• art item sales

A very precocious third-grader, Brinley Wylie’, drew an orchid picture and donated it to be sold  for the “habitat conservation fund raising effort”. In less than five minutes her drawing brought in $5 from Ronnie and Jerry Brandenburg of Dallas. This is an example of a third-grader, trying to do something to protect the natural world.  What will the world look like when she’s grown up?  I hope we can manage to leave something worthwhile for Brinley and the coming generations.