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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
I would like to start with a thank you to all of the members of the Pikes Peak Bonsai Society who have worked hard this past year to make our club so productive and prolific. I also have to thank the board of directors, without whose advice and skills I could not have achieved as much as I did in the past year. On behalf of myself and the other members of the board of directors I thank all of you for your continued support in reelecting us for a second term. With the change to a 2-year term of office, I expect that we will be able to achieve even more than we did in our first term. This past year has seen our club move in some exciting new directions. The formation of a show committee helped to make our annual show even more successful. Our continued participation at the Spencers Garden Center event was also well received. The PPBS booth was well attended throughout the event; and there were over 25 people in attendance at my lecture/demonstration. Robert Baran, our Vice-President, gave a lecture at the Earth Day/Arbor Day celebration at the Carnegie Garden Library and helped students at CC with a multi-media project incorporating bonsai. We continued to reinforce our relationship with Phelan Gardens by holding our annual meeting there, including a small display and demonstration. In the future we plan to continue these events and more in our efforts to bring bonsai to an ever-larger audience. The redesign of the club's logo and the development and purchase of signage will help to enhance the club's image. Our website and yearbook were both as good as ever in 2009 and are both valuable resources to club members. In addition, our monthly newsletter is second to none, thanks to our secretary Steve Alford. With much anticipation, I look forward to the upcoming year's programs. We have started holding separate board meetings so we will not have to discuss as much business at our regular meetings. This will provide us with more time for hands-on activities and information sharing. By the end of 2010, each member can, if they wish, create their own bonsai pot and finished display stand, as well as a bonsai tree that they styled in a club workshop. With this sort of programming every member should be able to participate in our annual show. In the coming year I also plan to continue to forge new relationships with local garden clubs and other bonsai clubs. While at the Rocky Mt. Bonsai Society's annual show, Larry Jackel and I discussed bringing our clubs closer together. We agreed that each of our clubs annual shows should contain a small collection of trees representing the other club. With much excitement, he also mentioned the upcoming IBC convention to be held in Denver in 2012. I assured him that, regardless of who is in charge of this club at that time, we would be more than happy to participate and help in any way that we can. In the 4 years that I have been a member, I have watched this club more than double in size; and I have seen attendance and member participation increase in a similar fashion. In 2010 I plan to continue to bring you first-rate programs that will inspire you, that will enhance your knowledge and enjoyment of bonsai and increase the size of your bonsai collections. I can't wait to see where this rewarding hobby will take me, and all of us, in the coming year. Sincerely, David T. Conlin |