Southern Region ASHS
History of the Southern Region of ASHS and the Horticulture Section of SAAS
In 1899, the State Commissioners of Agriculture in several southern states founded “The Cotton States Association of the Commissioners of Agriculture”, which had horticulture involved in its very beginning. This is the founding organization that evolved into the modern-day Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS).
In 1920, SAAS (which at that time was called Association of Southern Agricultural Works, ASAW) formalized the affiliation with horticulture by founding the Horticulture Section. In 1936, the American Society for Horticultural Sciences approved the Southern States Section, which is now termed the Southern Region of ASHS. In 1937, SAAS accepted the affiliation between the Southern States Section of ASHS with the Horticulture Section of SAAS. Thus, the Southern Region jointly has been a part of both ASHS (with a founding date of 1936) and SAAS (with a founding date 1920). This rich history is detailed in publications by Andy Anderson, 1982, and Paul Seal, 1999 (available at srashs.org).
The Southern Region encompasses the 14 southern states of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Membership varies over the years from about 200 to 500 active members. Membership is composed of professors, research scientists, teachers and extension specialists from Universities, State, Federal and private research organizations, and industry. The Southern Region also contains a student section, the Association of Collegiate Branches, which is composed of student clubs from departments of horticulture and plant science across the region. The focus of the Southern Region is the Annual Meeting, which is held every February in conjunction with the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS).
The Annual Meeting consists of presentations of scientific papers, student papers and judging competition, commodity group meetings, and awards presentations.
Goals:
- Encourage and facilitate the mutual exchange of ideas and information concerning horticultural research, extension, education, and industry in the south.
- Promote stronger bonds among horticulturists throughout the southern regions.
- Encourage participation in the national society of the American Society for Horticultural Science.
Join us and become a part of the Tradition
Srashs.org
President
Sarah White
Department of Plant & Environmental Science
E-143 Poole Agri. Center
Clemson University
Clemson, SC 29634
Phone: 864-656-7433
[email protected]
President-Elect
Jed Fields
Environmental Horticulture
PO Box 110670
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0607
Phone: 352-392-1831
[email protected]
Secretary-Treasurer
Cheryl Boyer
Department Horticulture and Natural Resources
3601 Throckmorton PSC
1712 Claflin Road
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
Phone: 785-532-6170
[email protected]
