'Gilty' Pleasures: Collecting World Orchid Conference Medals

摘要

FOR MANY YEARS, I ENTERTAINED the idea of collecting medals from all of the World Orchid Conferences and giving them to the American Orchid Society for permanent display. Since the AOS was responsible for the inception of the WOCs, it seemed that having them on display at the headquarters in Delray Beach, Florida, would offer both an educational trip down memory lane as well as being of historical value. Makoto Hanajima, from Mishama, Japan, is responsible for planting the seed. I served with him onthe World Orchid Conference Committee when it was one of the standing committees of the AOS. After the 12th WOC in Tokyo, Japan, in 1987, Hanajima gave everyone on the committee a gold medal from that event.