October 2025 President’s Message

Greetings Gates! 

Fall is here and it’s already starting to get nice and cool… especially at night. I am sure many of you agree that this cooler weather makes working outside with your plants a lot easier. 

Last month Gates had a table at the inaugural Heritage Club Fair held by the Redlands Historical Society. Past president Phuc Huynh and Chris Sedmack were on hand t answer community members’ questions and show off our club. Despite us being in the area for decades, many people had no idea there was a cactus club! It was a wonderful opportunity to grow our membership and spread the love of cacti and succulents.

Our annual Cactus Club Cook Off and BBQ was held this past weekend. A big thank you to Judy Horne for once again hosting the event at her lovely home. Members not only enjoyed hamburgers and hotdogs, but also had the opportunity to explore Judy’s impressive cacti and succulent collections and landscaping. We had 4 entries for the cook off: Barry Urman, 1st place with his nopales salsa; Lindsey Carmillo, 2nd place with her nopales quiche; Robert Krause, 3rd place with his prickly pear cookies; and Miriam Mills with her nopales quesadilla.

Thank you to all that came, brought delicious sides, and once again made this bbq a successful event!

Our speaker for October is Jan Emming. The categories for this month’s mini-show are the same for both cactus and succulent: monstrose, crested, and variegated (any genus). As it is October, we will be continuing our tradition of the “dead plant” category. So crack open the tombs, dust off the corpses of your beloved plants-that-have-passed, and showcase the most creepy of your carcasses!

All my best,
Jeffrey Loew