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Council Officers full addresses are sent to Members every year.
Ton Hannink, President, The Netherlands
"I was born in Olst in The Netherlands in 1947. I studied organic chemistry but now work in the pharmaceutical industry as a taskforce member for production automation.
In 1994 I sowed some seeds of Clematis 'Hagley Hybrid'. Most of the seedlings were almost the same colour but one plant was a completely different colour. After this discovery I became much more interested in clematis, in both collecting small flowered clematis and in clematis hybridization.
I am very interested in the true species and try to obtain them by importing seeds or plants from the countries where they originate. I try to interest people in small and medium flowered hybrids and species. Large flowered clematis have a bad name in several countries and it is important that people know that there are many other healthy hybrids and species.
During lectures I focus especially on these clematis.
I am interested in obtaining new hybrids by crossing small species with medium size hybrids. However the colour, shape and hardiness must be good. This is a must for my hobby."
Linda Beutler, Vice-President, USA
Linda Beutler is a fearless gardener who grows a great number of plants on a simple, flat 50 x 100 foot city lot in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. She was a professional florist for 18 years, and her first love in her own garden was growing flowers and foliage for cutting. That focus started changing 14 years ago, when Linda purchased her first clematis as a misnamed plant. Her personal collection now numbers over 275 separate species and cultivars, grown in many ways. In addition to clematis she collects hardy geraniums, old garden roses (over 90), alliums, hydrangeas, hardy fuchsias and she's never met a corydalis or thalictrum she didn't like.
Linda is a member of numerous gardening organizations (as most gardeners are) including the Ranunculaceae Society, American Hemerocallis Society, North American Lily Society, Pacific Northwest Peony Society, and Oregon State University Master Gardeners. She served eight years on the Board of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon (HPSO), and was the Director in charge of the famous HPSO plant sale for eight years, from 1993 through 2001. Linda is a founding member of both the Pacific Northwest Clematis Society (1999), and the Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection (2003). She volunteers at the collection weekly. She is newly appointed to the governing council of the International Clematis Society.
In addition to her floral career, Linda Beutler is the instructor of cut flower growing ("The Flower Arranger's Garden I & II"), as well as the herbaceous perennials class for the horticulture department at Clackamas Community College. She lectures nationally on several gardening topics, and is a garden writer for both local and national publications, including dig, Fine Gardening, Pacific Horticulture, and Birdwatcher's Digest. With Maurice Horn (co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery), Linda co-authored the chapter on growing clematis in North America for Dr. Mary Toomey's book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Clematis (Timber Press, 2001). Linda has now written her own book, Gardening with Clematis, which debuted for Timber Press in September 2004. It is the first major book about clematis written by a North American for North American gardeners since 1935. Boy, have things changed!
Roy Nunn, Vice-President, Great Britain, also Acting Treasurer
"Born at the end of 1944 in the middle of the Cambridgeshire Fens, which at the time was predominantly an arable and fruit growing area. Since my childhood I have had two main interests, music and gardening. After school I would spend many hours helping my father in the garden, mainly growing food crops for our consumption. I first became interested in clematis about 20 years ago, by way of a chance meeting at one of the Orchestral concerts at which I was playing. I was invited to stay with a family who lived on the shores of Loch Lomond Scotland. It was there that I first saw some of the small flowered species and hybrids, also a number of the New Zealand and American species growing happily outside in their rocky garden right on the shore of the Loch. After expressing interest, seedlings and cuttings were provided, for me to try in our garden, some of these plants are still with us today, having survived moving into three gardens.
We have over 100 clematis planted in the garden, amongst other plant varieties, and about the same number in pots, I have been propagating plants from seed and cuttings and assessing suitability for garden use. I also hybridise hellebores and lilies.
I have now retired from my job as Building Surveyor (Clerk of Works) at Trinity College, Cambridge, Great Britain and spend some of my time writing for Magazines, I.Cl.S. and the BCS about the merits of growing the small flowered clematis."
Ken Woolfenden, Editor, Great Britain
"Born in 1950, I graduated from Sussex University, England with a BSc in Applied Engineering. Almost by chance I applied for a job as a trainee computer programmer. I stayed in this fascinating industry, in various roles, until very recently when I opted for early retirement.
Fiona and I met whilst we were both working on the same computer implementation project. After getting married in 1984, I gave her a one-year membership to the International Clematis Society, and we haven't had a free moment since.
My involvement with, and knowledge of, clematis has grown through my relationship with Fiona and my other interests, particularly photography, which I learnt as a child from my parents.
Working with computers for many years, including using them for many presentations and proposals, has provided useful experience when it comes to the production side of our journal, 'Clematis International'. With PCs of today, even complex formatting is achievable, if you know how.
I created the I.Cl.S. Web Site in 1996, I was interested in this new and emerging 'Internet' technology and wanted to understand more about it, how it worked, what you could do with it, whether it could benefit the Society. The first site was a very simple affair, 7 pages, today we have over 400 pages. The site features a different clematis each month.
As well as photography, I'm interested in cooking, wine and travel. With a little imagination we've used our membership of the I.Cl.S. to extend our experiences in all these areas."
Fiona Woolfenden, Secretary, Great Britain
'My interest with Clematis started with a visit to Jim Fisk's Clematis Nursery in the mid 1980's. We bought three and never looked back. Now we have over 100 in our small garden either planted in the ground or in large pots. I prefer alpina types and late flowering varieties to the early large flowered varieties. I also have several herbaceous varieties, which I admire for their late colour and scent.
In 1989-90 I was the Secretary of the Great Britain and Ireland Branch of the I.Cl.S. and then became the Secretary of the British Clematis Society after its formation in 1991 until 1993. I was elected Secretary of the I.Cl.S. in 1994.
Ken and I work and live on the outskirts of north London. I've always enjoyed gardening including as a child earning holiday money by weeding! When I was young we had a very large garden, which was partly cultivated as a garden, and partly a fruit orchard. I remember the garden having peonies, roses and conifers but no Clematis!
Jon Gooch, Auditor, Great Britain
Jon was born in 1952 and studied Microbiology at college. His career includes food research for the British Government's Scientific Research Department, followed by some years as a pensions adviser with Norwich Union and later for a local independent company.
Some years ago he gave this up to join his wife, Ruth, and work full time in the family business, Thorncroft Clematis.
Thorncroft Clematis has introduced a number of new cultivars over the years. It also has an enviable reputation, having won 5 Gold Medals (as of January 2012) at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Jon Gooch has been appointed by the Council. Members will be asked to ratify this appointment at the next Constitutional General Meeting.
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