Tis' the season to be jolly.

The November meeting was a little cramped for time because we had to share the room with a poling place and it took them a while to close up and let us in. Since we got a later than expected start the anticipated Show and tell competition was postponed.

We will have the competition this month. There will be a competition for most beautiful and most bazaar. This will be a usual show and tell program and not a show. There will be a vote taken from the audience and the pots will not be judged. These plants do not have to be perfect or in clean pots, but we ask that they be healthy and free of bugs. Also please make sure that your plant will not make a mess on the floor. If you want to pull it out of the yard make sure that is in some sort of container so that it will contain the mess.

My understanding is that the prizes will be donated plants.

This is the first month that the newsletter is being sent to some of our members via e-mail The newsletter is also posted on the internet, so I can add a link to that page for anyone that has difficulty downloading the newsletter. For everyone that would opt for getting the newsletter online the club would save postage and printing costs, which amount to 57 cents a month now or $6.84 a year. Besides saving money the newsletter would arrive quicker. In all the confusion at last month's meeting I did not put out the list for anyone with an e-mail address. I will have that list available at the November meeting. We are not going to force anyone to get the newsletter online, but if you would be willing to give it a try, be ready to sign up at the meeting.

With her mom in a nursing home and her dad doing pretty good, Betsy McCrory can no longer keep up the nursery. The plants are in excellent condition and should be sold to people who will appreciate them. The first sale will be November 30th and December 1st only to bromeliad society members in the state and US if them come. Hours will be Saturday 8-4pm and Sunday 9-4pm. All major credit cars will be accepted.

The whole collection will be for sale including the plants in the yard. Every weekend through December the nursery will be opened to the public and hopefully all of the plants will be sold. The super cargo van is also up for sale along with lattice backgrounds used for shows, blank plant tags, wood and other items.

Sunday November 17 the Florida West Coast Bromeliad Society visited Michael's nursery. Although the weather was a little cool and blustery, everyone who attended had a good time. We want to thank the Kiehl's for hosting the event.

Some more information has surfaced on Neo. "Sara's Sunset". Gyula Nemeth talked to Herb Hill and Herb claims that both he and Gary Hendrix made the cross. Herb also said that most of his cross went to Wally Berg and that is where I think that my plant came from originally. So perhaps both Herb Hill and Gary Hendrix should be give credit as the hybridizer. Also Helga found a listing in a 2000 Cargo Report offering the plant for sale. So I also e-mailed Dennis Cathcart and he suggested that the source might have been Gary Hendrix, but he was not sure. I e-mailed this information to Derek Butcher in Australia. He wrote back that he hopes that all current hybridists will take the time to register their efforts because it is a lot easier than trying to find the history later. Even with this history he cannot use the information as the actual hybridizer, but he will list it in my file notes under 'Sara's Sunset'.

Derek is also working on a Hybridists award to be given at every WBC. This could increase the participation in the registery program as well as recognizing the best in bromeliad hybrids.