By Carolyn Christian
It is hard to believe that we are in the third month of the year already. In my President’s Message this month, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize many of the unsung heroes of the Orange County Wine Society. Most of you are familiar with our nine board members who oversee our events and programming, but there are also many others who work on events and committees, deserving recognition.
In preparation for the Wine Auction coming up next month, a group of dedicated volunteers under the direction of former president and board member Bill Redding, are working each week to pull over 1,000 lots of wine for you to bid on. That’s over 4,000 bottles of wine! Assisting in these efforts is Kevin Coy, who serves as our cellarmaster.
If you are reading this article, then you are experiencing The Wine Press, our monthly newsletter put together expertly by Greg and Cathy Risling. They are continuing a great tradition that began in the 1980s. Hats off to them for wrangling content and articles from the many individuals who contribute to each issue.
A shout out to our photographer Jim Burk, who attends events with his camera in tow. In addition to taking photos of our events, he also chairs the photography committee, which decides the monthly winner for the photo contest. If you haven’t entered any of your wine-related photos yet, you should really consider doing so.
The OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition Committee started work on the 2025 edition a few months ago, and they too put in many hours to make our competition one of the largest in the nation. Fran Gitsham oversees the competition crew, and my heartfelt thanks goes out to her and everyone on her team for the work they do almost year-round to maintain our flagship event.
Another group of warriors who puts in thousands of hours each year are the cataloguing crew under the direction of Teri and John Lane. Without them, we would not have a Commercial Wine Competition.
A few years ago, I started developing a marketing team to help promote our organization and it has grown significantly over the years. Our organization has so many members with years of experience in their respective fields. I call the team the “Marketing Mavens” and this group works behind the scenes drafting e-blasts and social media posts, creating marketing materials like brochures and postcards and developing new ways to promote the OCWS and all that we do. I send a special personal thank you to all of them for helping us promote our brand.
From the membership committee comes the new OCWS Friends Program. Headed by Alice Polser, this program will pair seasoned OCWS members with new members to help them feel more comfortable at events. I am really excited about the possibilities with this program. Look for more information over the next few months.
When I first joined the OCWS in 1986, our office was constantly buzzing with activity. Over the last several years, we have moved online for many of our functions and meetings. But one constant is our office and paid staff who keep the organization running smoothly. A big thank you to our staff: Lynda Edwards and Rochelle Randel, who keep us organized and handle the day-to-day operations; Charles English, who helps keep our finances in order and Wendy Taylor, who manages our website and online presence. A special thank you to Stacey Taylor, who has helped us with website upgrades and special projects over the past few years.
The Winemakers’ Group can be credited with starting the OCWS back in 1976. Thanks to Ed Reyes, who has been heading this group for the past few years. They carry on the great tradition of mentoring new winemakers and making some great wines. If you have any interest in making wine, check out their events and classes, or just reach out to them for information and assistance on making wine.
There are literally hundreds of volunteers and without them we would not exist. I have only mentioned a few here, but please know that I see and appreciate each one of you. I am always thrilled at each event to see the level of commitment and pride each one of you has in this organization. We’ve been going for 49 years, and you, our volunteers, are the reason why.
The number of volunteer opportunities with OCWS is endless. Consider volunteering at one of our events for set-up, check-in, pouring wine or clean-up. We have dozens of volunteer opportunities for our larger events as well. The Wine Auction, OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition, OC Fair Home Wine Competition and The Courtyard at the OC Fair have both active and sedentary volunteer positions. These events provide unique experiences to learn more about wine, meet OCWS members and winemakers and share in the organization’s success.
To volunteer for an event, please check the event articles posted online for instructions on how to volunteer or contact the event chair.
I look forward to seeing you at one of our future events. Cheers to you all!