Good evening all,
At long last, after 40 years of growing orchids and multiple foiled plans to enter the program due to career demands, I was finally extended the privilege of joining the training program as a student with the Dallas Judging Center a couple of weeks ago.
Despite countless experiences clerking at shows and AOS judgings, I think the one thing that most excites me about this next step in my orchid journey is all the learning that is yet to come. It is not just about adjusting my perspective from that of grower and hybridizer to that of a judge- but also the required discipline in monthly homework assignments that will teach much from a more scientific perspective and give me a much broader depth of understanding than I already possess. It is at once strange and exciting to really come to terms with the fact that after 40 years of practical experience in a hobby, there is still so much more to learn with so many future moments for that same fascination and curiosity that we all feel when we buy our first plant.
I would also like to thank this forum for your part in my success on this path so far. For most of the past decade I have not been active with a local orchid society, and so the Corypetalum Chronicles posted here plus recommendations for my nomination from two active members of this forum were especially important in my application process.
And hopefully my first day of student judging was a good omen. It certainly started off with a most wonderful challenge- a beautiful Pleurothallid that required a lot of research to track down the current name, plus a rare cultural award nomination, and yours truly counting almost 100 tiny little blossoms and buds of a flower that opens so very little that the difference between bud and flower requires a magnifying glass.
It was a wonderful and special first day, and I look forward to many such days yet to come.
Best,
Tom.
At long last, after 40 years of growing orchids and multiple foiled plans to enter the program due to career demands, I was finally extended the privilege of joining the training program as a student with the Dallas Judging Center a couple of weeks ago.
Despite countless experiences clerking at shows and AOS judgings, I think the one thing that most excites me about this next step in my orchid journey is all the learning that is yet to come. It is not just about adjusting my perspective from that of grower and hybridizer to that of a judge- but also the required discipline in monthly homework assignments that will teach much from a more scientific perspective and give me a much broader depth of understanding than I already possess. It is at once strange and exciting to really come to terms with the fact that after 40 years of practical experience in a hobby, there is still so much more to learn with so many future moments for that same fascination and curiosity that we all feel when we buy our first plant.
I would also like to thank this forum for your part in my success on this path so far. For most of the past decade I have not been active with a local orchid society, and so the Corypetalum Chronicles posted here plus recommendations for my nomination from two active members of this forum were especially important in my application process.
And hopefully my first day of student judging was a good omen. It certainly started off with a most wonderful challenge- a beautiful Pleurothallid that required a lot of research to track down the current name, plus a rare cultural award nomination, and yours truly counting almost 100 tiny little blossoms and buds of a flower that opens so very little that the difference between bud and flower requires a magnifying glass.
It was a wonderful and special first day, and I look forward to many such days yet to come.
Best,
Tom.
