The Inland Empire Bonsai Society got its start in 1993 when Blanch and Merle Halsted and Marga and Roger Snipes brought a group of Spokane-area bonsai enthusiasts together to form a study group. The group met once a month, alternating the meeting location between the homes of some of the group members. The meetings generally consisted of group workshops on assorted phases of bonsai care, discussions of bonsai in general, and problem solving and styling suggestions for member's trees.
As our group started to grow in membership, it was decided that we needed a more formal meeting location. In 1997, we started holding our meetings in the Manito Park meeting room. During 1997, we started trying to bring a little more structure to our meeting format and provide programs that would be more helpful and informative, thereby increasing interest among the group members. We needed a name for our group, and decided on the Inland Empire Bonsai Society as a name that encompassed all of the members of our group, who came from Eastern Washington and North Idaho.
In 1998, we started having serious discussions about changing our study group into a formal club. After a few months of discussion, we decided to go ahead with the idea of converting to a formal club with officers, membership dues, and more involved programs. Dennis Howke, one of the study group members, did a considerable amount of research and compiled a set of bylaws for the new club. In the fall of 1998, the new club adopted the bylaws, set up a dues structure, elected officers and officially became The Inland Empire Bonsai Society.
Roger Snipes
IEBS President 1999-2000