OHA 105th Convention - Sudbury, July 2011

Just over 430 registrants including District 13 volunteers gathered at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Sudbury, Ontario for the 105th annual O.H.A. Convention which was held July 15-17, 2011. The weather cooperated and delivered a weekend of glorious sunny, sultry days. The city put its best foot forward with wonderful floral displays and welcoming signs which were visible at Bell Park and on the digital Jumbotron that was located on the top of the Rainbow Centre Mall that housed various shops, the Radisson and the cinema theatres where the seminars were presented.

This year's convention was hosted by District 13 which is comprised of 14 societies that span the geographical area between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury including French River and Manitoulin Island. Some 70 District 13 volunteers sporting warm orange t-shirts bearing the theme A Growing Experience and a seedling graphic, a dedicated O.H.A. Board and Executive and countless organizations and citizens of Sudbury worked earnestly and passionately together over the past two years to craft a truly unique program that would showcase the O.H.A. in action.

The theme - A Growing Experience-From the Ground Up - reflected District 13's desire to share with gardeners of widely varying skills and knowledge some initiatives that have originated from the ground up-from grassroots members who have led us to experience growing pains, the stretching of our imaginations, and the subsequent growth and rejuvenation in our societies. By fostering a sense of awareness and discovery and encouraging advocacy and interaction, we hoped to cultivate a sense of openness to all possibilities and allow ourselves to truly bloom where we are planted.

The Convention kicked off on Thursday, July 14th at 9 pm when some 60-70 people gathered outside the front lobby of the Radisson. Armed with "Get out of Jail Free" cards, trowels and surplus plants, this merry band of gardeners marched through the streets of downtown Sudbury to an area near the Market Square to do a bit of guerrilla gardening. Within a very short period of time, they weeded, planted trees along an unsightly chain link fence and transformed a bare patch of land into a prospective garden.

OHA President Vickie Wiemer blessed the garden and her husband, Rupert banged in a painted wooden sign bearing the message "OHA Gardeners---Please Water Me" into the ground. It was quite a proud moment to see and hear such an intergenerational affair-people of all ages including youth-working and laughing together as they " vandalized with nature". MCTV reporters were on hand to videotape the entire event and it was aired on television on Sunday for all to see.

Opening Ceremonies held on Friday, July 15th were announced by Mary Rossiter of Sault Ste. Marie who served as Town Crier. Piper, David Kennedy led the parade of flag bearers, special guests, Past Presidents, Directors, Youth Camp delegates, and Officers of the OHA into the session. Dr. Roger Nash, Sudbury's Poet Laureate read two stirring poems including one specially penned for this year's Convention. Dr. Stephen Monet spoke about "Sudbury's Regreening Story" and was followed by Helen Scutt of OMAFRA who presented "Growing Your Membership, Cultivating Diversity".

A total of eleven interesting power point presentations on a variety of topics were held at the Rainbow Cinemas to offer good acoustics and comfortable seating. Four different bus tours left the hotel on both Friday and Saturday afternoons. For those who craved hands-on learning opportunities, the Convention provided two workshops--one on initiating community greening projects and the other on seed saving, courtesy of the Evergreen Foundation and Seeds of Diversity Canada. Floral enthusiasts had four judging updates to choose from and two Computer Labs were manned for those who sought information or solutions to particular problems.

Competitions in the various categories for both adults and youth were set up and on display in the Notre Dame and Grand Paris rooms which were located next to one another. A meeting for OHA Judges was held on late Friday afternoon; the Youth Leaders' Meeting was scheduled on late Saturday afternoon.

Friday evening's dinner was full of fun and frolic! We were treated to a short visit from the Sud-berry Bear who brought greetings on behalf of the Sudbury Blueberry Festival and posed for photos. Markus Schwabe, host of CBC's Morning North program, acted as Master of Ceremonies. He introduced the three entertainment acts as they appeared and announced the winners of the Silent Auction which was organized by District 13. We were treated to lively swing music from the Hilltoppers Band that got people up and dancing including OHA President Vickie Wiemer and her husband, Rupert. This was followed by some nifty footwork displayed by the Manitoulin Saturday Night dancers and some wonderful tunes sung by M.C.Crooner. By the end of the evening, District 13 was proud to announce that they had realized a profit of just over $3900!

At the conclusion of the Silent Auction, a vanload of OHA representatives, Youth Leaders and District volunteers left for Camp Falcona, site of the Youth Camp. We had a short visit with the fifteen campers and their three Youth Leaders to welcome them and hear about their activities. Travelling along that bumpy camp road late at night was hair-raising but a lot of fun and a perfect way to complete Day One.

Saturday's Plenary session dealt briefly with OHA business and reports. Carol Dunk spoke enthusiastically about the Pollinator Patches initiated last year by the Conservation and Environment Committee and their progress to date. I spoke briefly about the trend of Guerrilla Gardening as well as the Paint the Picket Project.

District 13 issued a challenge to the OHA at last year's Convention held in Barrie. We distributed pickets to the 19 Districts, the OHA Board and Past Presidents and this year's Youth Camp participants and challenged them to work together. We wanted to produce a decorative fence that could be donated to a community organization such as a hospital or hospice in Sudbury as a thank you gift of sorts that would show our appreciation for Sudbury being such a generous and accommodating host. It would also serve as a permanent reminder to all citizens that the Ontario Horticultural Association exists to "Keep Ontario Beautiful."

Bob Wildfong, Executive Director of Seeds of Diversity Canada concluded the session by sharing his presentation "Seeds of Diversity Canada's Latest Initiatives" and encourageing all to get involved by saving seeds, adopting seed varieties and participating in Seedy Saturday events.

Saturday's Banquet was very moving, to say the least. John Sellers served as host and introduced Franco Mariotti who was our Banquet Speaker. Sponsored by the Richmond Hill Garden and Horticultural Society in memory of Gladys McLatchey, Franco moved us to laughter and then to tears as he presented his talk "Hope in a Changing World" in which he recounted the history of the Sudbury region and its decision to involve its citizenry to regreen its community. There wasn't a dry tablecloth in the room!

Metje Mabee presented the OHA awards with her usual flair. Sudbury's Dr. Stephen Monet and Linda Hugli, our Trillium Editor, were among the recipients who were recognized.

Trevor Fielder's awesome floral installation which was sponsored, in part, by Loblaw, was created during two Saturday floral judging updates and was on view during the Banquet. He graciously offered to allow the arrangements to be sold in a Live Auction which we spontaneously held at the end of the evening. To everyone's delight, the OHA raised $600 and members attending voted unanimously in favour of donating the funds to Sudbury's Maison Vale Inco Hospice.

The completed decorative fence featuring some 120+ pickets was on view during the Sunday Plenary that dealt with more OHA business, elections and various presentations to retiring Directors and the retiring President. Vickie was presented with a copy of "The Healing Landscape" from Suzanne Hanna on behalf of District 13. Sue Lusted, Director of District 9 invited everyone to attend the 2012 Convention in Niagara.

Gerry Lougheed Jr accepted the Picket Fence on behalf of Maison Vale Inco Hospice and commended the OHA for its generosity and contributions to communities across the province. His presentation "Harvesting in a Field of Dreams or a Hellish Wilderness" resulted in more laughter and a few tears and reminded us to be grateful for all we receive.

Youth delegates and leaders from District 13's Youth Camp held at Camp Falcona returned to the hotel and shared their memories of their visit. They presented painted rocks to Vickie Wiemer, Suzanne Hanna, and Theresa Cullum who helped organize the camp.

District 13 volunteers paraded in to the front of the room for the final wave of the OHA flag and thanked for all their hard work. Suzanne Hanna transferred the flag to Sue Lusted and declared the conclusion of the 2011 Convention.

Submitted by Suzanne Hanna

2011 Convention Competition Results

2011 Competition results will be in the Fall 2011 Trillium.