2026 Convention – Celebrating the Society’s 75th Anniversary
Chicagoland Celebrates 75 Years of The Gesneriad Society
June 28 to July 4, 2026
Celebrating the Society’s 75th Anniversary
As The Gesneriad Society Celebrates its 75th Anniversary, we should all take time to reflect on what the Society means to us and, more importantly, what it means to those whose lives we have touched.
As with a diamond (the gem associated with this special anniversary) that requires shaping, cutting, and polishing to a mirror finish, the society had and still has many hands working together to ensure that the brilliance of this stone doesn’t fade. From a society that could barely meet its expenses in the early 1980s, it has developed into one that maintains several special funds (totaling over $300,000) from which it distributes grants for gesneriad education, research, exploration, and student enrichment through convention attendance. The diamond-in-the-rough that Elvin McDonald revealed to the world in 1951 with the formation of The American Gloxinia Society has become, over these 75 years, a brilliant, multi-faceted gem, sharing its knowledge, financial resources, and general good will with gesneriad lovers around the world.
We hope that you will be able to join us in Chicagoland for this year’s convention, from
June 28 to July 4, where you will experience the growth and future of this unique society.