The Oregon Orchid Society has been privileged to host numerous speakers with varied backgrounds. Here's a partial list of past speakers:

Bill Thoms
Bill Thoms has been growing orchids along with his wife, Doris Dukes, for over 35 years in the Central Florida region. They have won more AOS awards for culture than most anyone else in the world. Their 62 awards have been in over 20 genera, mostly in the Bulbophyllum alliance. Their highest award was a 95 point Certificate of Cultural Excellence (CCE) for Cirr. rothschildianum 'A-doribil' FCC/AOS.

One of their Miltoniopsis was the first orchid to receive a CCE for a score above 90 points. This was an especially impressive feat considering the difficulty of growing Miltoniopsis in Tampa, Florida. In recent years they have received four FCCs as well as every other award given by the AOS. His FCCs include Cirrhopetalums, Paphiopedilums and Phragmipediums. His cultural awards and his non-cultural awards total over 200 in number. He has even received an award of distinction - a very high honor for a hybridizer.

Bill spoke on how to grow specimen-sized orchids. His mantra of "more water longer" has stuck with many of us.

Patricia A. Harding
Patricia Harding holds degrees in botany and medicine. Her expertise in orchid taxonomy has led to her publication of several books including "The Debatable Epidendrums" and "Huntleyas and Related Orchids". Her research created the Prosthecia genus among many other commonly accepted genera. Her extensive travels and research has given the orchid world an entirely new perspective on many orchid genera. She is also an accredited judge of the American Orchid Society.

Her most recent talk discussed the difference between the judging of Cattleyas in South America and the US.

Ernie Gemeinhart
Indoor grower Ernie Gemeinhart of Enlighened Orchids is an expert in growing orchids under lights. While his specialty is paphiopedilums, his is an avid grower of many orchid species and hybrids. A native of Pittsburgh, Ernie has dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Marine Biology and Aquaculture from the Florida Institute of Technology. His graduate studies were at the George Washington University and National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC in the area of ichthyological physiology and evolutionary biology. His vast experience in growing orchids, along with his educational experience, has given him insight into the biological requirements of orchids.

His discussion on growing orchids under lights was very insightful for indoor growers and greenhouse growers alike.

Luanne Rolley
Luanne Rolley is a chemist for Hewlett Packard and an award winning orchid grower with her husband, Tom Etheridge. Luanne's talk was a fascinating exposition on the science of color in relation to orchids and orchid judging.

Marcia Romick
A probationary level student in the Pacific NW Judging District, Marcia Romick is an orchid grower of nearly 20 years. She presented an intriguing presentation of her recent trip to the Cali, Columbia International Orchid Show. This included a survey of many local growers to that region of Columbia based on her trips to their greenhouses.

Eric Christensen
A world renowned research taxonomist and orchid-lover, Dr. Eric Christensen has given much to the orchid world. His field work has extended throughout vast areas of South America and he has worked closely with David Bennett of Lima, Peru to produce an inventory of Peruvian orchids. This study has produced over 100 new species discoveries. He is a prolific author with over 300 publications to his credit. He is known for aiming to bridge the gap between taxonomy and horticulture and is a strong advocate for conservation - including ex situ conservation.

Gene Crocker
20 years the Vice President of Carter and Holmes Orchids of Newberry, SC, Gene Crocker has more experience in the field of orchid hybridization than most orchid growers alive today. His inspiring life story of being taken under the auspices of Bill Carter and his orchid hybridizing program that he started in the 1950's was the springboard for his discussion on the hybridization of Cattleyas. He spoke to us on the details of the hybridizing process as well as the parentage of well-known Cattleya hybrids.

Gene has professional training as a Textile Chemist and Meteorologist, but orchids have been his central passion for over 50 years. His first successful Cattleya hybrid (Cattleyas are his favorite, but he grows many other genera) was in 1961. He is the coiner of the phrase "mericlone" - which he coined in 1964.

Andrea Niessen
Andrea came all the way from Columbia to share with our society. She is the owner of Orquídeas del Valle, a provider of high-quality South American plants including a wide variety of Pleurothallids. Her talk to the Oregon Orchid Society offered a look at the Pleurothallis alliance and the different climes in which they grow in Columbia.

David Morris
David has served as the president of the Oregon Orchid Society and is an AOS accredited judge of many years. In fact, David was one of the youngest judges in AOS history. His enthusiasm for orchid growing is hard to miss and his knowledge on the subject is vast. His business, Clackamas Orchids, specializes in a wide variety of species orchids including Draculas and other Pleurothallids.

Rick Burian
Orchid enthusiast Rick Burian is a long-time member of the Oregon Orchid Society and a contributor to Orchids magazine. His extensive travels have taken him to every continent on which orchids grow (which, by the way, is every continent except Antarctica). While his greenhouse is stocked with many epiphytes, he has an extensive knowledge of terrestrial orchids around the world and a keen emphasis on preservation of native orchids in the wild. Rick is a member and active participant in the Native Orchid Conference, an international conference on native orchid conservation and habitat restoration. If you are interested in where to find native Oregon orchids growing naturally, Rick is a great resource.

Jason Fischer
Jason Fischer, of Orchids Limited in Minnesota (aka orchidweb.com), is a highly regarded grower of high-quality orchids. His business has kept a vast catalog since 1978. His discussion with our society was on an Eastern approach to growing Japanese orchids.

Jason has lived and taught English in Japan. Once he returned back to work with his father’s orchid business he decided to bring native Japanese orchids into the business. These are a fascinating group of orchids, and have been highly admired for centuries. Jason is a lively speaker and provided an engaging and fun presentation for all.

Tom Etheridge
AOS accredited judge, Tom Etheridge is highly involved with the Pacific Northwest Judging Center. He is a frequent contributor to Orchids magazine on judging matters. He primarily grows Odontoglossums but has experience in growing many genera.
 

Theresa Hill
Hillsview Gardens owner Theresa Hill grows award-winning Miltoniopsis, Masdevallias and complex Paphiopedilums. She has received over 100 AOS awards including two FCCs, a Gold Certificate Display, multiple Awards of Quality and a bronze award at the 16th annual World Orchid Conference in Vancouver, BC. She is also a long time member of the Oregon Orchid Society.

Merle Reinikka
Merle is the author of A History of the Orchid, a comprehensive overview of the people that shaped the orchid hobby and industry as we know it today. Over a period of years he carefully sorted through archival materials, cross-referenced bibliographies and studied early herbals, journals, periodicals, pamphlets and papers at the Botanical Museum of Harvard University to produce the book that is a must-have for orchidists. He is also a former editor for the AOS Orchids magazine.

Ivan Portilla
Ivan is the owner of Ecuagenera, grower and exporter of South American orchids. Located in Cuenca, Ecuador at 8,200 feet above sea level, their growing operation includes one of the largest selections of orchids available - including many cool-growing species. Their reserves consist of two huge tracts of high mountain jungle, one somewhat lower in elevation than the other - offering two distinctly different growing habitats. Their efforts with in situ orchid conservation has also blossomed into an eco-tourist business.