Would officers and members be interested in an online RHA zoom meeting?
It seems like a good year for it.
I’d like to do a zoom meeting too 
I’d be interested! I’m a novice when it comes to rose breeding so listening to some of the more experienced members sounds valuable!
Maybe a zoom business meeting and set up some workshops as well for less-experienced members?
I like the idea of a virtual conference! It would take some planning…but could be a real success. What sort of workshops would be of most interest?
A few of topics that interest me would be:
-methods or criteria for evaluation roses (ranking, nature, gut instinct, etc.)
-women hybridizers (historical or modern)
-accessing more species roses
-various tracking and record keeping tools
-the evolution of rose forms
-test gardens and trialing, from small at home to large and corporate
Sarah, women hybridizers sounds interesting. The only historical one I can think of is the Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon. There must be a lots more though?
The most famous and successful women hybridizers are those several from the generations in the House of Meilland.
There are also those that left their mark on rose history, like Anne Cocker, Gladys Fischer, and Josephine Brownell.
Isabella Preston working for Ag Canada in the early 1900’s should be recognized as well. It wasn’t until the late 1800’s that making controlled crosses in roses and the profession of rose breeding became more commonplace. Others before generally raised open pollinated seed to find something unique/different.
Dee Bennett, Betty Jacobs, Annette Dobbs, Laurie Chaffin, Dorothy Whisler, Dorothy Bailey, Judy Bell, Joan Monteith, Joan Richardson, Judith Belsham Singer, to name a very few…
Don’t forget Dr. Felicitas Svejda
I would definitely be interested in any beginner workshops/info, as I’ve only been hybridizing with limited success in my condo’s garden for the last two seasons. 
Excited to see what can be offered. Great idea!
Sounds like a great idea!
I would be interested in multiple things:
-selecting for disease resistance, both parent plants and seedlings
-thoughts on balancing/prioritizing goals and specifically ways to proceed through seedling selection
over several generations of seedlings
-breeding for cold hardiness
-working in species or hybrids into a breeding program
-any tips learned for increasing germination
Duane