Speaker – Donna Goodwin 
Topic – Culture of Vandaceous Orchids
Meeting starts 7:00 – Doors open at 6:30.
Venice Community Center
With a major in English while minoring in Political Science and Business, Donna Goodwin was ready for a career in…growing orchids? Well, not exactly. Her path to this career began with three years of management followed by three years of technical writing, and finally four years of program coordinating. Near the end of that period, she married her college sweetheart and was finally ready for a family. Her husband, Duane, had always had his career in landscaping or horticulture. He grew up with his father tinkering in orchid culture, and finally becoming commercial with his orchid endeavors after retiring. But, Duane’s father, John Goodwin, had made greenhouses that were a bit rudimentary requiring manual labor for heat or cold protection. Basically, that meant Duane was stapling on plastic for cold nights, and removing it when the days warmed up, and then back on for cold nights, and back off for warm days, etc. Duane never wanted to be a part of this kind of operation, ever.
But, when their first of two sons was born just months after his father dying of cancer, Duane had second thoughts. He and Donna bought out his brother and sister’s share of the estate and built a greenhouse that is state of the art to grow vanda orchids. They moved back to the old homestead, and Donna quickly learned how to grow vandas and run a retail greenhouse nursery. Their second son was born, and the greenhouse became a big playpen in which the boys could play and have fun.
A second and third greenhouse have since been added and Goodwin Orchids has grown into the premiere source in Central Florida for vandaceous orchids. Donna is so thankful and blessed that she has had a home-based business that allowed her to be home with her children during those crucial early years, and to have her children with her after school in the greenhouse or around the grounds. In her estimation, there could not be a more satisfying career that gives the grower the joy of the beauty of the flowers, and the customer the same joy. And we all know that caring for plants is the oldest occupation known to man.
In September, the Goodwins will have a Centennial celebration in honor of Duane’s great grandparents, grandparents and his parents. Yes, that is 100 years at the same location on the west side of Leesburg. Our children are 5th generation. Duane has now been to Thailand seven times to visit nurseries and continue to obtain the finest vandas in the world! We supply vandas to Universal Studios in Orlando, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC, and we have sold plants to the New York Botanical Garden and to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
Donna’s presentation will be on the culture of vandaceous orchids. She will bring plants for sale. Visit her website, www.GoodwinOrchids.com for a virtual visit to their nursery in Leesburg.