southwest Florida Orchid Society

BACKGROUND

The Southwest Florida Orchid Society was formed by a group of orchid enthusiasts in 1953.  It was led by Dr. A Louis Girardin and his wife Virginia, along with Ruth Farrar, who became the first president. 

The club has come a long way from home meeting places to a meeting place adjacent to Lee Memorial, where it became one of the largest orchid societies in Florida, along with being one of the oldest.  Then moving to the Eco Center and now residing at the Faith United Methodist Church. 

While residing at the Eco Center and with membership waning, new leaders took steps to promote the society to encourage growth and attract new members.  For example, booths were set up at different venues where a few quality orchids were given away in a free raffle.  The traditional Christmas party where the club supplemented a great part of the costs was held instead at the meeting venue with a pot luck type of dinner.  The club supplied the meat and drinks, and everyone still received a beautiful plant.  The resulting savings in this new arrangement allowed the club to sponsor an annual pot luck picnic at Lakes Park and provide the makings of a wonderful barbeque.  The savings also allowed the club to subsidize two bus trips a year to the Tamiami and Redland Orchid Festivals.  Currently, we partner with the Naples clubs, which has allowed us to continue these fun trips at an extremely low cost to the riders.

The club is now proud of its reputation for giving back to its members more than any other plant society.  For a $25 membership we have a yearly picnic where we play bingo for orchids, two reasonably priced bus trips, and a Christmas party where members receive a plant and also play bingo for orchids.

Today, continuing the past practice of getting info out to the community and increasing these efforts, the current board has enabled growth to continue.  Our membership has risen and now we regularly see more than 70 people at a meeting.  Recently, we have partnered with Edison and Ford Winter Estates, where they held their first Orchid Symposium, which was a big success.  The club added over 70 new members, the vendors were very pleased, and many people were introduced to The Edison and Ford Winter Estates who had previously never been there.