Board of Directors

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 Officers 2024 – 2026

President – Judy Loeffler, pres@vaos.org

Vice President – Programs – Vicki Fisher, programs@vaos.org

Immediate Past President – Joanna Shaw, pastpres@vaos.org  

Vice President – Social Affairs – Denise Langman, social@vaos.org

Vice President – Show Displays – Kristin Shaw, disp@vaos.org

Treasurer, Ian Kennedy, tres@vaos.org

Recording Secretary, Michele Baker, rsec@vaos.org

Communications Director,  Stephanie Luberger, csec@vaos.org

Newsletter Editor Carol Wood (Interim), csec@vaos.org

Membership Chair Ian & Karen Kennedy, memb@vaos.org

Annual Show Chairs Carol Wood & Judy Loeffler showchair@vaos.org

Directors at Large   Janet Keown, Bruce Weaver, Jay Loeffler

Director Of Training and Education – Mentor Coordinator   Rick Belisle, mentor@vaos.org

 Volunteers

Jay Loeffler, Webmaster   website@vaos.org

Natasha Romero, Raffle Table

Joanna Shaw, Kristin Shaw & Cynthia Vance, Plant Table

Gregg Fisher, Technology

DIRECTORS – The VAOS Directors are elected by the members to serve two to four year terms.  Directors at Large are appointed by the President and approved by the members and have no set term limits.

President  – The President, as the chief executive officer, has general and active management of the business of the Corporation and is subject to the directions of the Board of Directors. The President  shall preside at all meetings of the Society and of the Board of Directors, shall  develop the annual budget for Board  approval,  shall approve all bills before payment and shall be the ex-officio member of all committees  except for the nominating committee.

Vice President for Programs  –  The Vice President for Programs shall act as the President in the President’s absence or inability to serve as the president. This VP is responsible for arranging for speakers for the monthly meeting/program, coordinating speaker travel arrangements and equipment needs for presentations.  This VP may also assist and/or back-up other volunteers at the monthly meeting, including the technology, raffle, and plant table awards persons.  For auctions and plant sales, this VP will recruit plants, arrange for set-up and signage, solicit and assist the auctioneer before and during the event. This VP may plan and coordinate other special programs and perform other duties as may be delegated to this office by the President.

Vice President for Society Displays   –  The Vice President for Society Displays is in charge of all aspects of the VAOS orchid display for the annual show and shall design and assemble the VAOS display and recruit the display team members for all orchid shows in which the Society participates.

Vice President for Social Affairs –  The Vice President for Social Affairs shall plan and coordinate special events for the Society including field trips, bus trips, holiday parties, greenhouse tours and other social activities as well as  planning, coordinating and providing refreshments at the monthly meeting with assistance from member volunteers.

Recording Secretary  – The Recording Secretary has custody of and shall maintain the corporate records, except for the financial records. The Secretary shall record and distribute the minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors  to the Board of Directors and  minutes of the monthly meetings for distribution in the newsletter.

Communications Director   –   The Communications Director shall handle all communications from the Board to the membership, including editing and distributing the Newsletter and sending out email announcements from the board to the membership.   This person may also do Newsletter Production (lay out) or guide the person (volunteer or contracted) who does Newsletter Production.  This Director may disseminate information concerning the activities of the Society to the news media, internet, local organizations and other orchid societies. All communications will be approved by the President prior to dissemination. 

Treasurer  – The Treasurer has custody of all corporate funds and financial records and shall keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements. The Treasurer shall direct the actual care and custody and processes related to all funds and securities of the society in such financial instruments as the Board of Directors shall select. The Treasurer shall render account of these in each regular monthly Newsletter, Board of Directors meetings and at the annual meeting. The Treasurer submits our tax form to the IRS and ensures our 501(c) (3) tax exempt status is up to date.  The Treasurer shall perform other duties as prescribed by the Board of Directors.

 Membership Director   –  The Membership Director is responsible for developing ideas and programs to promote membership.   This Director maintains current membership information, updates board monthly of the membership roster, collects and records dues, prepares member nametags, publishes the annual membership directory and welcomes members at the meetings with assistance from member volunteers. The Membership Chair may attend the Growers Clinic to recruit new members and distribute information pamphlets about the Society throughout the community.

Immediate Past President  –  The duties of the first immediate Past President of the Corporation, who has not been elected to another position on the Board of Directors, shall be assigned by the President.  If the first immediate Past President is unavailable, then another Past President may serve.

Directors At Large  – The duties of the Directors At Large shall be assigned by the President. Directors At Large will normally serve in key positions such as Show Chair, Director of Education and Outreach or other key functions.

 COMMITTEES

The Board of Directors shall approve annually the appointment of volunteers and chairs of committees that play a critical role at meetings and other activities of the Society. They may include:

  • Annual Show Chair(s)
  • AOS Representative
  • Education and Outreach Chair
  • Mentor Program Chair
  • Newsletter Editor
  • Nominating Committee
  • Plant Table Volunteer
  • Raffle Table Volunteer
  • Technology Volunteer
  • Webmaster

Other positions, committees and ad hoc working groups may be created as deemed necessary by the Board.  Committee chairs will appoint members to their committee. Each committee shall operate under the direction of the Committee Chair. The Board of Directors shall approve the committee members, define the budget and initiatives of the committees.

Committee Functions  

 Show Chair  –  The Show Chair(s) directs all aspects of the annual orchid show in February.     They design show layout, choose vendors, assign committee chairs for each show function, promote and manage the show and report show income and expenditures to the Board of Directors.

AOS Representative  –  The AOS Representative serves as the interface between the Society and the American Orchid Society (AOS), promoting AOS programs, resources and membership benefits.

Education and Outreach Chair  –  This Chair oversees the  Growers Clinic and other special events, workshops and programs focused on member education with assistance from member volunteers. This promotes orchid culture training and education to assist beginner growers and to encourage long term membership retention.  This Chair also may give orchid culture presentations to the broader community as a service and to draw in new  members.

Mentor Program  –  The Mentor Program Volunteer coordinates and promotes the program, recruits and assigns new mentors and mentees, and monitors and reports on the progress and success of the program.   This chair may attend the Growers Clinic to assess potential mentees that with support can become successful growers who remain in the Society.

Newsletter Editor  – The Newsletter Editor is responsible for soliciting input, writing, editing, production and publishing the Society’s newsletter to the members in accordance with a publication schedule set by the Board of Directors.

Nominating Committee Chair  –  This Chair, appointed by the President and supported by two member volunteers, is responsible for recruiting candidates to fill vacating board positions.

Plant Table Volunteer  –  This Volunteer(s) shall coordinate the set up of the plant table at monthly meetings, select volunteer judges, record awards, maintain supplies and coordinate photography and plant descriptions for the awarded plants.

Raffle Table Volunteer   –  This Volunteer(s) shall solicit and bring plants, sell raffle tickets during the monthly meeting, hold the raffle at the close of the meeting, and give proceeds to the Treasurer.

Technology Volunteer  –  This Volunteer(s) shall be responsible for equipment, lighting and set up configuration for the monthly meetings including the speaker’s equipment for presentations.

Webmaster   –  The Webmaster chairs the Website Committee, is responsible for keeping the VAOS website current by posting information about the VAOS, society events, other upcoming events of general interest, orchid cultural information and links to sites of interest.

 Mailing AddressVenice Area Orchid Society, P.O. Box 443, Venice, FL 34284-0443