Well said Frank. This dark chapter in the modern history of Paphiopedilums is one I had buried deep in my mind, and I did not even think on it until I read your post tonight.
I did not know George Norris- but that story is a cautionary tale about knowing a business and its risks fully before diving in, as well as the wisdom of putting your financial security on the line to provide bail or other financial support for people you thought would remain your friends at a time when everyone is forced to look out for themselves.
This is not intended as a criticism against Mr. Norris- everything I have ever heard suggested his intentions were honorable, but for the benefit of future dealers in orchids in general this is a good story to research and understand well. Enforcement in this area is rarely directed at things like orchids, but these agencies are used to dealing with very dangerous people trafficking in merchandise at a dollar level worth killing for- and if you get caught in the crosshairs without having pristine documentation, you can expect a terrifying and very expensive experience.
The only thing I would add to your impact statement Frank is that I think these events were also a big part of the acceleration in the decline of the importance of the AOS. As you noted, consistent with history the game of being a leading player in the orchid world is fraught with jealousy and a complete lack of loyalty to the community at large. I think my own comments stand as a very high level reason for long term declines, but the acceleration of the decline- with a disproportionately high impact from more serious growers and vendor- very much came into play for the reasons you have laid out.
The worst of this is that the scale and intensity of the many actions taken around that time were largely the result of fellow growers who had done as bad or worse turning snitch on their competitors to either save their own skins or try and settle long held grievances and turf wars. The AOS and other organizations were wise to take a neutral stance, but unfortunately the mere continuing recognition of certain figures as experts constituted taking sides as it was not just orchid vendors who willingly dived into this abysmal game. As much as I was angered at the AOS for that ridiculous visitor center in the middle of nowhere that nearly collapsed the organization financially, it was the continued publication and recognition of certain authority figures who had been key players in the destruction of the reputation and lives of many orchid breeders and hybridizers over the importation, selling and breeding of Paphs and Phrags that was truly unforgiveable.
