We are very pleased to announce that the ASPT auction will return this summer at the annual meeting in Tucson! A silent auction will run during the ASPT mixer/banquet, with the live auction held following the banquet. The purpose of the auction is to support the next generation of ASPT members and the proceeds are used to directly support our students. Among other things, funds are used to provide reduced prices for students at the ASPT banquet and to fund student participation in field trips during the annual meeting.

As always, the key to the auction’s success is your generosity and creativity in the form of your donated items. Please think about auction items that will be interesting, humorous, or unique. Think outside the book! Although some out of print books can be good auction items, we hope to have a broad array of items on the auction table. Particularly strong items include:

A) Vintage teaching materials, especially hand painted botanical models and hanging scientific diagrams.

B) Botanical-themed handmade items, including paintings, jewelry, etc. Also, please contact me if you know of any talented craftsman that would perhaps be willing to donate botanical-themed items in exchange for some online and in-person promotion.

C) Think of donating your time/expertise! There are many possibilities here- examples include one publication-quality botanical drawing, an online session of help with genomic data analysis, online training/feedback on genomic library preparation, a set of species-level IDs from a problematic group, etc.

Please contact James Beck (james.beck@wichita.edu) if you have a donation ready or if you have questions about a potential one.

James will provide shipping information. Although items will be accepted on-site if brought to Tucson, James would prefer to receive as much material as possible in advance to minimize the amount of on-site paperwork. Let’s make this a memorable auction!