The EOC Board
Mr David LaFarge
Secretary General
orchidophil[at]france-orchidees.org
David LaFarge is a Board member for the Fédération France Orchidées, editor in chief for L’Orchidophile, Vice-president for the AFJO (French orchid judging association) and is an orchid judge.
His main interests are cultivation of tropical orchids, among which Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, Paphiopedilum and Bulbophyllum species.
He is the author of a monograph of the genus Phalaenopsis, released in 2019.
Dr Ari Matikka
Treasurer, Webmaster
ari.matikka(at)suomenorkideayhdistys.fi
Apart from growing orchids, Ari Matikka is especially interested in the technical aspects of the hobby, like grow lights and terrariums. Ari has acted as the vice president and the president of the Finnish Orchid Society and as a delegate of the EOC since 2009. He now lives permanently in Portugal. His many interests include singing in a Portuguese Chamber Choir.
Mr Guido Diana
guido.diana(at)infocert.it
Guido Diana is president of the Italian Association of Orchidologia since 2008, cultivates orchids for over 25 years in his small greenhouse and has a collection of 300 orchids, between species and hybrids. Guido has been involved in the organization of the EOC judgments Padua 2006. Since 2009 collaborates in the publication of the AIO Caesiana magazine.
Mrs Vinciane Dumont
vinciane(at)demessey.com
As President of the Swiss Orchid Society, groupe de Romandie and Secretary General of the EOC, both for 20 years, as Deputy Chair of the Orchid Specialist Group at the IUCN and Member of the Expert Committee for Endangered Species appointed by the Swiss Federal Council for 12 years, Vinciane Dumont has been very much involved in the CITES revisions on orchid trade in Kyoto and Fort Lauderdale, where it has been approved to exempt orchid flask from CITES regulation. She has been co-editor of the Orchid Action Plan for the IUCN in 1996. In 2002, she resigned of all those responsibilities to dedicate herself in the organization of the World Orchid Conference in Dijon in 2005.
Dr Clare Hermans
clare.jepson (at) btinternet.com
Clare Hermans is Chairman of the RHS Orchid Committee. She is a Research Fellow of the University of Vienna, Fellow of the Linnean Society and Secretary to the International Orchid Committee. She has a special interest in the Orchids of Madagascar and the history of the RHS Orchid Committee and writes regularly for the Orchid Review and other orchid journals. Dr. Hermans represents the EOC in the WOC Trust.
Mr Johan Hermans
orchids1(at)btinternet.com
Johan Hermans is a Vice Chairman of the RHS Orchid Committee and Chairman of the Orchid Hybrid Registration Advisory Group. He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society and recipient of the VMH. He is a World Orchid Conference Trustee and an Honorary Research Associate of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and a Research Fellow of the University of Vienna. He has a special interest in the Orchids of Madagascar.
Mr Franz-Josef Richardt
franz-josef.richardt(at)orchidee.de
Franz-Josef Richardt is process engineer and is active in environmental and ozone-technology. He is working as a product manager for ozone systems. Franz-Josef has a collection of 700 orchids, cultivated in a 25 m² greenhouse. He is acting since 2015 as the vice president of the German Orchid Society (D.O.G.) and responsible for finance, membership management and the team lead of the orchid exhibition construction team. Franz-Josef has published several articles and is acting as a photographer for the D.O.G.
Mr Pedro Spínola
Auditor
jpf20_(at)hotmail.com
Despite its degree in Cultural Studies and a post-grad in Literature and Interastistic Studies, Pedro´s most extensive work has always been within the orchid world. Trained by Elizabeth Garton and Verena Binder, Funchal soon prooved to be an excellent theatre for an orchid enthusiast where other names like Adolph Schon came along.
Growing a 500 species collection, Pedro has a particular interest in Masdevallia and Coelogyne, growing them year round outdoors.