Here is Something Big to Cheer Your Day!
I am delighted to announce that the Fall 2020 Edition of the Daylily Pioneer is available for your reading pleasure. On behalf of the entire membership, I would like to thank our new ADS Region One Newsletter Editor Sabrina Sumsion for all her hard work in putting together this beautiful edition. Enjoy!

2021 ADS Region One Regional Meeting Canceled
Because of the uncertainties of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the damage caused by the August 14th derecho windstorm in Iowa, it has been decided that the 2021 ADS Region One Summer Meeting, which was to be hosted by the Central Iowa Daylily Society (CIDS), is canceled. We are sorry that we will not be able to meet at this venue but look forward to future, post-vaccine Regionals. Discussions between Region One officers and clubs has resulted in changes in our future meeting schedules, as shown below:

CIDS is grateful to the DSM for giving up its 2022 slot, so that the Marshalltown-based club can host in 2022. Derecho-damaged gardens will have time for repair and will allow CIDS to host a Regional with full attendance. 2022 seems a long time down the road, but preparations are already underway. Phil Fass reports that the meeting will take place on either July 8-10 or July 15-16, 2022, and that Curt Hanson has already been secured as guest speaker. Keep an eye on this website for future updates!

Attention, Region One Garden Judges and Anyone Wishing to Become One!
Are you tired of hunkering down at home during this coronavirus pandemic? Are you running out of fun things to do? Yes? Then you should definitely consider becoming a daylily Garden Judge! What does a garden judge do? According to the ADS website, "garden judges learn to look at the 'whole plant' in evaluating what makes a great garden plant. Some of the areas judges are trained to evaluate are: foliage, plant vigor, scape height, bud placement, overall beauty and distinction of the bloom and plant, resistance to disease, form, and bloom substance. As a garden judge, you are encouraged to grow a representative sampling of all forms and types of daylilies so that you can better train your eyes to recognize outstanding plant performance as well as gain knowledge of the various forms of daylilies". Working towards becoming a Garden Judge might be just up your alley!

To become a new ADS Garden Judge, click here and scroll down to the section titled "What are the steps I need to follow to become a garden judge?". You will quickly discover that you must have been an ADS member for at least 12 months to begin training and have been an ADS member in good standing for 24 continuous months to become a Garden Judge. Then, you must successfully complete Workshop I (classroom) and Workshop 2 (garden). To complete the first step, ADS periodically offers Garden Judges Workshop 1 (GJW1) online and publicizes when it is available. Training materials and documentation for Workshop I can be found here.

How about the availability of Garden Judges Workshop 2 (GJW2)? Thanks to Mary Baker, who has served as ADS Region One Garden Judges Liaison during 2011-2020, ADS Region One will be offering GJW2 at three different locations during daylily bloom season in July 2021. Restroom facilities will be provided. We ask that you follow COVID-19 protocols for social distancing and wear masks.

Garden Judges Workshop 2 is scheduled on the following dates in the following gardens:

• The Central Iowa Daylily Society (CIDS) will offer GJW2 on Sunday July 11 at 9 a.m. in Parkersburg, Iowa at Prairie Wind Gardens. Please contact the Chair and Lead Instructor Phil Fass at pfass@cfu.net if you plan to attend.
  

• The Nebraska Daylily Society (NDS) will offer GJW2 on Sunday July 11 at 9 a.m. in Omaha, Nebraska at Mary Baker’s Garden. Please contact the Chair and Lead Instructor Mary Baker at maryskbaker@gmail.com or call Mary at 402-933-1496 if you plan to attend. Cold bottled water will be provided. Mary will host an open garden from noon until 2 p.m. following GJW2. 
  

• The Daylily Society of Minnesota (DSM) will offer GJW2 on Sunday, July 31 at 10 a.m. in Woodbury, Minnesota, at Steve Horan’s garden. Chair is Kris Henning, and the Lead Instructor is Steve Horan. Please contact Kris Henning at kristiehenning@gmail.com if you plan to attend.
  

Cost is $5 to take GJW2 for credit and $3 to audit GJW2. Go to the ADS Membership Portal Online Store for a free download of the latest edition (currently 2019) of "Judging Daylilies in the Garden" and read it prior to attending GJW2. Additional training materials and documentation for Workshop 2 can be found here.

For those of you who are already ADS Garden Judges, you may want to attend one of the above opportunities. GJW2 taken during years three through five will count toward renewal of your term. Please click 2020 ADS Region One Garden Judges roster to see when your Garden Judge term expires (note this is the 2020 roster; the 2021 roster is not yet available from ADS). Garden Judges, please consider taking GJW2 in summer 2021 if you are in years three through five of your current Garden Judge term (because we are looking at the 2020 GJ roster, taking GJW2 will count for renewal credit if your term expires in 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023). 

All Garden Judges with terms expiring in 2020 received an automatic one-year extension of their Garden Judge terms. So if your Garden Judge term expires in 2020, you must take GJW2 in 2021 to renew unless you already took GJW2 during 2018 (year 3 of your term) or 2019 (year 4 of your term).

ADS Region One Garden Judges who are in year five of their first five-year term (or in any year of a subsequent term) are welcome to assist with Garden Judges Workshop 2 instruction to become a new Garden Judge Instructor. Please contact the Chair of the GJW2 you plan to attend if you want to become a new Garden Judge Instructor. Please click How to Become a Garden Judge Instructor and scroll down to the fifth section "Why and How to Become a Garden Judge Instructor" for more information about becoming a new ADS Garden Judge Instructor.

Please note that ADS Region One members attending the 2021 ADS National Convention in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, can also:

• Take Garden Judges Workshop 1 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 20, during the 2021 ADS National Convention to become a new Garden Judge (click 2021 ADS National Convention schedule to see the full schedule).
  
  
• Take Garden Judges Workshop 2 from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday, May 20, during the 2021 ADS National Convention to renew if your current Garden Judge term expires in 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023 or to become a new Garden Judge (click 2021 ADS National Convention schedule to view the full schedule).

All Garden Judges must vote the 2021 ADS Awards & Honors ballot (see the 2021 Awards & Honors Ballot when available in 2021 for voting instructions).

Our thanks go to Mary Baker, Phil Fass, Kris Henning and Steve Horan for their willingness to offer GJW2 in 2021 and to Mary for her kind permission to post material from her Region One Blogspot (https://region1daylily.blogspot.com. If you have any questions, please contact Mary (maryskbaker@gmail.com) or incoming Region One Garden Judges Liaison Phil Fass (pfass@cfu.net). As further information becomes available about these workshops, it will be posted on this website and the Region One Blogspot.

2020 Region One Pop Poll Winners Are Announced
Region One Publicity Director Steve Horan is pleased to announce our 2020 Pop Poll Winners. As fully reported in the Fall 2020 Edition of the Daylily Pioneer, 32 members voted online or via the mail, casting votes for 160 cultivars. The top five places were:

1. 'Avianna Grace' (David and ValJean Hansen, 2016) 11 votes
2. 'Kathy Larson' (Don Lovell, 2015) 9 votes
3. 'Pixie Chick' (Phyllis McIntosh, 2006) 8 votes
4. 'Vicky’s Radiance' (Paul Owen, 2010) 8 votes
5. 'I Lava You' (Sandy Holmes, 2009) 6 votes
6. 'Mountain Radiation' (Tom Keast, 2012) 6 votes
7. 'Riot Act' (Paul Owen, 2014) 6 votes

ADS Announces 2020 Cultivar Award Winners
The American Daylily Society announced its 2020 cultivar award winners during the fall Board of Directors meeting on October 24, 2020. Two Region One daylilies—both hybridized by Karol Emmerich of Springwood Gardens in Jordan, Minnesota—won Honorable Mention (HM) awards. Many congratulations, Karol! 

'Finish the Race'	'Via Dolorosa'

gary Schaben Passes Away
I regret to inform you that gary Schaben, daylily hybridizer and former ADS Region One Publicity Director (2000-2004), passed away on September 15th, 2020. A tribute to gary can be accessed on our Region One Blogspot.

The Spring 2020 Digital Issue of "The Daylily Pioneer" Is Now Available!
While the Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in cancelation of both the 2020 ADS National Convention and our Region One Summer Regional, nothing, it seems, has slowed the diligent work of our Editor Kathy Lamb in producing the Spring 2020 digital issue of "The Daylily Pioneer". It is now ready for viewing here. If you'd prefer a higher resolution pdf, please click here. On your behalf, I'd like to thank and congratulate Kathy for another super issue. I understand that Kathy is also sending it in the near future to all Region One members via Constant Contact. If you do not receive it, we might not have a current e-mail address for you. Members, if you need to update your e-mail address, please contact Kathy (kmlamb@earthlink.net). 

2020 ADS National Convention Cancelation
The 74th Annual ADS National Convention, which was to have taken place on May 24-27th in Savannah, GA, has been canceled because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. In a communication released by Scott Elliott, he stated that the Savannah convention will not be postponed until a later date due to many considerations.  The next convention remains in Hattiesburg, MS, in 2021, followed by Asheville in 2022.  There are no conventions scheduled after this date.

ADS Region One 2020 Summer Regional Canceled
On behalf of CVIDS President Nancy Rash, I am sorry to relay to you the sad news that the Region One Summer Meeting ("20/20: A Perfect Daylily Vision"), which was scheduled to take place at the Hotel Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids on July 10-12th, has been canceled. After discussion with the CVIDS Board and Region One President Val Hoefer, and having received feedback from the CVIDS membership, it was felt that, given the current uncertainty regarding the spread and potency of the coronavirus, the risk to meeting organizers and guests was too great to go ahead as scheduled. For more details, please access a letter from Meeting Chair Keith Riewerts to Nancy and CVIDS members.

A great deal of time has been spent planning and designing this summer meeting. Nancy thanks all who have participated and contributed to the meeting. It is extremely disappointing to cancel, but we will all be grateful for the next opportunity we have to be together. Your work on the 2020 Region One meeting is greatly appreciated.

2020 updates log:

December 30, 2020: I am saddened to report the passing of Robert "Bob" Faulkner (Natural Selection Daylilies, Dayton, OH) on December 26. A link to his obituary can be found in the 2021 Archives.

December 19: Uploaded the Fall 2020 Edition of the Daylily Pioneer. I'm sure that you'll enjoy it! Many thanks to our new Region One Editor Sabrina Sumsion!

December 12: Have you ever considered becoming a daylily Garden Judge? Take a look at the Home Page to see what opportunities exist for you to work towards this goal in 2021 at home and outside. We are delighted to announce that two cultivars of Karol Emmerich (Springwood Gardens, MN) have been awarded Honorable Mention (HM). Many congratulations, Karol!

December 7: Please click here to access the Region One officers and liaisons for 2021-2022.

December 4: Sad to say, the 2021 ADS Region One Regional Summer Meeting has been canceled. On the Home Page, you will find a revised schedule for Summer Meeting hosts for 2022-2024.

September 21: I regret to inform you that gary Schaben, daylily hybridizer and former American Daylily Society Region One Publicity Director (2000-2004), passed away on September 15th, 2020. A tribute to gary can be accessed on our Region One Blogspot.

May 19: I am delighted to inform you that the Spring 2020 digital issue of "The Pioneer Journal" is now available and can be accessed via the Home Page. Many thanks go to our Editor Kathy Lamb for another fine edition!

May 1: The 2020 AHS/ADS National Convention in Savannah, GA, has been canceled. For details, please view Home Page.

April 29: A new link has been added to several of our pages, namely "Events". The AHS/ADS Portal can now be accessed under the "Links" page.

April 2: Please view the Home Page regarding the decision to cancel the Region One 2020 Summer Meeting in Cedar Rapids in July.

February 9: Looking for the registration form for the 2020 ADS Convention in Savannah, GA? You need look no further, just click here!

February 1: Updated the contact information for Region One officers and liaisons.

January 23: Are you tired of looking out your window and seeing snow and ice? Have you had enough of snow shoveling yet? Yes, I realize that it's January in the Midwest but how about thinking "Summer" for a moment? Visit the Home Page to learn the latest about the Region One Summer Meeting that CVIDS is organizing for July 10-12th. I promise you that it'll surely take your mind off the cold and the Packers' loss for a while!

January 8, 2020: Happy New Decade to you and your family! Visit the Home Page to obtain information about the January 12-18th Live Auction on the ADS website!