Mingara Orchid Club Inc. meets on the 2nd Monday of each month in the "Multi-purpose Room" of Mingara Recreation Club - 12-14 Mingara Dr, Tumbi Umbi NSW 2261. Just ask reception to point you in the right direction.
Meetings start at 7:00PM with benching of Orchids from 6:00PM All members, regardless of their level of experience and expertise, are invited to bring along their plants and bench them for judging during the monthly meetings. Benching classes include Open, Novice and Junior. A list of benching classes can be found here. Judging of these plants is done during the meeting.
Opening Meetings open with a welcome to our members, guests and visitors, along with apologies from those who could not attend, before ensuring the minutes from the previous meeting were received, and ask if there is any business arising from those minutes. Any correspondence received or sent and the Treasurer’s Report are tabled for acceptance.
General Reports With housekeeping done, any General Reports\updates are given; that includes details of upcoming events like our Fairs & Shows, other shows, planned bus trips, etc.
Ask Arnold. This information session involves members and guests bringing in their troubled plants and asking for help from one or members of the club, and often include hands on involvement e.g. Dividing, repotting and mounting plants, or they could focus on fertilisers, pests & diseases, etc.
Ian & Phil's Favourites. Ian & Phil, two of our most experienced members, present some of their prized plants, describing their origins, environments and stories on how they obtained them.
Supper Break. After the information sessions we have a short supper break allowing attendees to have a coffee or tea, take photos of the benched plants or just mingle and chat.
Guest\Special Presentation. This spot is reserved for any guest speakers we have invited for the night. They present on a wide range of subjects from their own orchid tours and trips, to a wide variety of orchid genera and their culture. From time to time the guest speaker has orchids for sale. It could also be used by a member to present on a specific subject like growing mediums, feeding or pests\diseases, naming conventions or focus on anything that is significant to the club e.g. presenting the new website or arrangements for the next Fair & Show.
Closure The meeting concludes with announcing the results for the night's benching with feedback from the judges on the winning plants.
The last item is the drawing of the Lucky Exhibitor where all members who benched their plants go into the draw. The lucky door prize winner, of a Fruit Box supplied by our sponsor Cresthaven Fresh Fruit Market, and our raffle winners are drawn.
