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Welcome to 2002, The Year of the Rose By Art Emmons |
We are truly excited about the events and exposure our great hobby will receive this year. Very soon, you should start seeing or hearing about a variety of articles and programs that have been several years in the making. National magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, Fine Gardening and Home and Garden will soon publish well written and beautifully pictured articles detailing this special celebration of the rose and the joys of growing our National Flower as a hobby.
The Home and Garden Television Channel (HGTV) on cable networks is promising a year-long promotion and feature on rose growing. And, several of our hobby friends from around the country have been filmed playing in their gardens to contribute to these productions.
Rose catalogs from almost every vendor are featuring the YOTR celebration on their covers and insets. Distinguished newspapers like The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times have already drafted feature articles which will soon appear in their papers. And, I hope many of you caught the first announcement of The Year of the Rose in 2002 at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day.
And many of you will participate or hear about the many rose growing seminars that will be conducted at Home Depot stores around New England on April 27th. Again, this is another promotional opportunity in celebration of 2002 YOTR!
Many of you have asked what 2002 Year of the Rose is and what it’s about. In the simplest terms, through the hard development work of Marilyn Wellan, (ARS Vice-president) and a vast variety of rose people; an initiative was created to throw a year-long celebration of our hobby. It may have started slowly but in the last year the momentum became tremendous, cumulating in the fantastic articles and promotions already mentioned. Congress has passed a resolution making this official and there will be many more events as the year progresses.
For us and our local societies there are no boundaries or “templates” we must follow. Each of our societies is encouraged to do as much or as little as we want. However, I cannot stress enough how sad it will be if we waste the publicity and awareness that will present itself in the future months. If you haven’t done so yet, make sure your society has at least one program this year that will be highlight and make use of the 2002 YOTR celebration. Consider having a special class in your rose show. Invite a local dignitary (your Governor?) to open your rose show.
For the Yankee District we have two great events planned for this year. Our annual late winter convention in Providence on March 22-24 will begin this year’s rose growing season and it is always a great time. Also, we will have a very special Yankee District rose show on September 7th in Harwich, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. More information on both events can be found elsewhere in this newsletter.
For 2002 Year of the Rose—get involved in the local public rose garden to take advantage of this promotion—or maybe even get your city or town designated an Official 2002 YOTR City! Every society president and district leader has received seemingly endless information from The American Rose Society. Make sure your society is poised to grow and prosper in the Year of the Rose!
If you have any questions about 2002 YOTR, do not hesitate to contact me, (Art Emmons).
Rose Window January 2002 Table of Contents