Speaker's Day is an annual event hosted by the Central Iowa Orchid Society. The year, 2025, will be our 36th annual Speaker's Day and will be held on Saturday, July 19th.
The registration fee for the event is $30.00 per person in advance or $35.00 per person at the door. The cost covers all the speakers as well as a continental breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon dessert bar. With your paid admission you also get a ticket for the door prize drawings held following the last presentation. You can purchase additional door prize tickets at the door.
Also, each speaker will have plants for sale throughout the day. The plants they bring are usually specialty or collectors plants and may not be in bud or bloom. It's a good opportunity to purchase high-quality plants that are generally not available locally.
Pre-orders for plants are possible and must be arranged directly with the speakers in advance. If you want to pre-order plants but not attend the event we will be open from 7:30 am to 9:00 am for *pre-order pickups only*. Speaker's Day is a private, ticketed event - it is not a public sale and show. If you want to shop for plants at the event we ask that you register. Thank you for your understanding.
The registration form and additional details can be found here:
https://c-we.com/cios/ciosspk.htm
2025 Speakers:
Frank Cervera, Monster Island Orchids, NY
Frank is a biologist who has been studying the ecology, biology and taxonomy of the genus Phragmipedium throughout natural populations for the past 25 years. His journey with Phragmipedium started in the 1980s when one of his ecology professors introduced him to orchids, which led him to buy a plant of Phrag. longifolium. After many years of trying to get a sense of which Phragmipedium species were which, and why he was killing so many plants, Frank decided to take the matter into his own hands. His 25-year sojourn to the jungles of Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil studying the genus Phragmipedium, the taxonomy, ecology and culture has given him unique access to the source material. Along the way, he has met some of the most well-known names and personalities in the Phragmipedium community. He has been to some of the most famous, and infamous, orchid nurseries in South America at critical times in the history of the genus and asked them to retell their stories. Frank has had the unique opportunity of going straight to the source and examining plants and flowers through extensive field research. He currently works in the financial services industry and resides, along with his family and his orchids, in New York (email
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Frank's topics will be "Phragmipedium Culture; What Can Mother Nature Teach Us?" and "The Phragmipedium of Brazil; A Journey to a Strange World".
Eric Sauer, River Valley Orchids, OH
Eric has been growing orchids for over 30 years under the greenhouse name of River Valley Orchids and specializes in South American Species with a focus on Brassia, Maxillaria and Phragmipedium. He has spoken internationally and across the United States. Eric has had culture chapters published by Guido Braem in his book on Paphiopedilum and in his book on Phragmipedium. He also has a feature article on Maxillaria in Orchid Digest and several of his Maxillaria photos published in Eric Christenson's book on Maxillaria. Eric has received over 100 awards from the American Orchid Society and has four orchids named after him including two species from Ecuador. He is the current president of the Miami Valley Orchid Society and the president of the Mid America Orchid Congress. Eric also serves as one of the award photographers for the Cincinnati Judging Center. Eric's real job is as a registered landscape architect serving as the planning manager for Five Rivers MetroParks in Dayton, Ohio.
Eric's topics will be "Expanding Your Orchid Collection - Yes You Can Know What You Are Gonna Get" and "A few Favorite South American Genera".
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