Keynote Address – Michael Tibbs - “Orchids of Africa”

Robert Dressler - “Recent Work on Sobralias and Lankester Garden”

Roy Tokunaga -  “Flared Cattleyas: Creating New Exciting Colors”

 

Biography: Roy Tokunaga earned a Bachelors in Education from the University of Hawaii in 1973, with a major in high school biology.  He never used that teaching certificate as he was immediately recruited by Ernest Iwanaga to set up an orchid lab, where he spent the next seven years primarily honing his skills at cloning and germinating orchids.  At about the same the time, Harry Akagi was growing bromeliads, and in 1981, together Harry and Roy established an orchid lab in Waimanalo, giving birth to H&R Nurseries.  Today, Roy is credited with 30-plus years of experience in hybridization with several thousand hybrids delivered.  Most of his work has been in the Dendrobium and Cattleya alliances.  He is a long time member of the Honolulu Orchid Society and an accredited American Orchid Society judge since 1990.  Roy confesses to having one vice, the game of golf.  Nora and Roy Tokunaga have two adult children, Lori and Kevin. Roy Tokunaga may be reached at H&R Nurseries, 41-240 Hihimanu Street, Waimanalo, HI 96795;   Phone: 808-259-9626 -- E-mail for Houston orders greenthumb808@aol.com  Pre-orders accepted;  Show special  Pre-orders will not be charged with packing and handling.

 Nina Rach - “Stanhopeas”

 

Biography: Nina Rach received her BS from the Cornell University College of Engineering, MS from The Graduate School at Duke University, and JD from the University of Houston Law Center. She wrote a lengthy research paper on plant patents and is a member of the Texas Bar. Nina has spent nearly her entire career in the oil and gas industry as an engineer, geoscientist, and journal editor. She began growing orchids around 1970 in Maplewood, NJ, not far from the greenhouses of Lager & Hurrell. She joined the North Jersey Orchid Society and developed the urge to explore the tropics through members’ travelogues at monthly meetings. She lived in Malawi and Tanzania in 1986-87. In graduate school, she was a member of the Triangle Orchid Society, began clerking at the Atlanta Judging Center, and became a student judge. After job-related moves to New Orleans and Houston, she joined the new Houston Supplemental Judging Center, became an accredited judge in 1994, and spent 5 years on AOS committees. She has spoken at two World Orchid Conferences and has given more than 100 orchid talks and presentations. She has been a member of the Houston Orchid Society for 20 years, served as president, and designed and maintained the society’s first website for 12 years. Nina is also a member of the Pleurothallid Alliance, SWROGA, and Orchid Digest. She and her husband Marc have two daughters, Caroline and Elizabeth. Autre Vie Orchids  nrach@autrevie.com http://stanhopea.autrevie.com http://sobralia.autrevie.com

Earl Bailey  -"Phragmipedium Hybridizing:  The Search for the Compact Phragmipedium."  (Presented by the Slipper Orchid Alliance)

 

Biography: Earl Bailey retired from the University of Alabama in 1991 as Professor of Aerospace Engineering, where his specialty was Airplane Flight Control.  He and wife Phyllis live on a farm on the Little Cahaba River south of Birmingham, AL . Together they formed ORCHIDbabies, LLC in 2002 after 8 years of orchid hobby growing in a 9 x 12 greenhouse.  They added another greenhouse, laboratory, and office in 2001, and specialize in Lady Slippers – both Phragmipediums and Paphiopedilums, offering a complete line of new Paph and Phrag species and hybrids.  Earl is the grower and runs their seed lab, and Phyllis runs the bookkeeping and website.  So far they have registered about fourteen new Phrag hybrids, and their customers have received two AOS awards. Their Phrag breeding program is focused on compact Phrags, and the Paph breeding program is on brachypetalum and parvisepalum hybrids.   Three years ago they added miniature orchids from all over the world to their inventory. ORCHIDbabies, LLC 1150 Baileywick Lane Brierfield, AL 35035 www.orchidbabies.com 205-665-5650

 Peter Furniss - “Orchid Shows and Judging Systems Around the World.”

 

Biography: Pete Furniss received his BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia in 1963; served in the U.S. Navy from 1963-1967; and then spent his career in the manufacturing of refrigeration and air conditioning products, first at Larkin Coils where his last position was President, and then at Computer Process Controls where he was Chairman of the Board.  He and his wife, Gail, currently live on a horse farm some 50 miles southwest of Atlanta, GA. He and Gail have been involved with orchids since the 1960s but their passion dates to the early 1980s.  He has served in various positions with the AOS including Treasurer, Executive Vice President, and President.  He was made an Honorary Vice President in 1999, was given the AOS Gold Medal of Achievement in 2002, and the AOS Ambassador Award in 2004. His service on the World Orchid Conference Trust began as Trustee in 1992; and he has been President twice – 1996 to 1999 and 2005 to current.   The Organizing Committee of the 17th World Orchid Conference presented him with a Gold Medal of Appreciation in Shah Alam, Malaysia, in 2002. From 1995-2007 he was an Honorary Advisor to the Asian Pacific Orchid Conference Main Committee and has served on the International Orchid Commission since 1993 with the past 6 years as a Vice Chairman. He has been a member of the Atlanta Orchid Society since 1981 and served as President in 1986; the Greater New York Orchid Society since 1991; and charter member of the International Phalaenopsis Alliance as well as the Pleurothallid Alliance.  The Furnisses have both been Accredited AOS judges for over 15 years in the Atlanta Judging Center.  They have received some 23 AOS awards, one of which was the 2007 Benjamin Kodama Sr. Dendrobium Award for the most outstanding example of the Dendrobium Alliance awarded during the previous year. Peter R Furniss                                                                                                                                 SWEETBAY FARM,LLC 320 Handy Rd, Newnan Ga 30263-4351                                                        sweetbayfarm@charter.net

_______________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Joe Parker - "Draculas for the Less Fortunate"

Biography: Dr. Joe Parker has a BS from Stanford and a PhD from Caltech in Mathematics, an education which left him totally unprepared to grow orchids. As a result, Joe was forced to earn a living in academia and the high tech world. He is currently Chief Technical Officer at Glimmerglass, an optical networking company.   Joe started growing orchids about 10 years ago, on a challenge from his wife, Kathy. Refusing to settle for less than the best, Joe grows Draculas, and only Draculas. He started growing in Los Gatos, and then expanded in Pacifica.  His collection is now over 300 Draculas, representing at least 100 species. Joe is also Vice President of the Pleurothallid Alliance, a worldwide organization devoted to not only Draculas, but also the lesser Pleurothallids (Masdevallias, Restrepias, etc.). Dr. Joe Parker 16475 Ferris Ave Los Gatos, CA 95032 joeparker@stanfordalumni.org

_______________________________________________________________________________

Lynn O’Shaughnessy - "Culture of the Pleurothallidinae - or How to Grow Weeds"

_______________________________________________________________________________

Bob Burkey - “Growing Odontoglossums in Hawaii”