Once upon a time, before the memory of anyone currently involved with iris in the Richmond, Virginia, area, there was a Richmond Chapter of the American Iris Society.  When a lady named Ruth Walker, who lived near Fredericksburg, VA, joined AIS in 1981 she was assigned to this “inactive” Richmond Chapter.  Ruth went to work to reactivate it, and in April 1984 the Fredericksburg-Richmond Iris Society was formed, with the name changed slightly to reflect the location of the core group of members.  By 1992 the number of members in the Richmond metropolitan area had grown.  They decided to split off and form their own Affiliate, with meetings in locations more convenient to the Richmond members.  With the help of Ruth Walker and other FRIS members, they held an iris exhibition at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden to attract potential members, and in July 1992 the Central Virginia Iris Society was formed.

In its early years CVIS was a loosely organized group.Various members designated as “contact person,” “Chairman of the Executive Committee,” or “President” guided the group. Those members were Roy Hass (1992-1993), Van Ferguson (1994), and Cameron Hall (1994-1995). The group struggled with a lack of direction and conflicting priorities. Many of the non-AIS members simply wanted to add pretty flowers to their gardens and weren’t interested in keeping track of iris names, or in promoting the iris and AIS through shows and sales. Nevertheless, they did organize road trips to gardens in the Fredericksburg, VA, area, to Maryland, and to Don and Ginny Spoon’s Winterberry Gardens near Winchester, VA. They also began to organize sales, holding their first sale in July 1994 with the help of rhizomes donated by the re-named Fredericksburg Area Iris Society. The early sales were held in front of Ukrops grocery stores, or at the Brandermill Lowe’s home improvement store. For many years now the annual rhizome sale has been held as part of the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s Fall Plant Fest in September.

By 1996 the group began to exhibit more consistency in both its organizational structure and its activities.; That year, under the leadership of President Anner Whitehead, the group drafted and adopted its by-laws and affiliated with AIS. Subsequently, under Presidents Phyllis Soine (1996-1999), Mike Lockatell (2000-2001), Linda Laing (2002-2005), David Traylor (2006-2007), Vicki Sheffler (2008-2009), John Rossini (2010-2014), Jim Diggs (2014-2017), and Kathy Huneycutt (2018-present) the society has held bi-monthly program meetings, annual rhizome sales (often two sales a year), an annual picnic, and an annual Harvest Dinners to finish the growing season.  The Society’s first AIS approved show was held in May 2003, followed by shows in 2004 and 2005, annual shows since 2011, and a fall rebloom show in 2017.  For a number of years the group also sponsored a guest iris program for its members.  CVIS regularly participates, with a booth or table, at public out-reach events sponsored by various local nurseries and the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

CVIS sponsored the Region 4 Fall Meeting in 2005 and 2019, complete with AIS approved rebloom flower show.  While held in the Richmond area, the 2009 and 2010 Region 4 Fall Meetings, were not sponsored by CVIS.  However, CVIS members John and June Rosini made all the local arrangements.  CVIS also sponsored the Region 4 Spring Meeting in 2015 with a flower show and garden tour to the gardens of Judy and Griff Durant, Jim and Jean Diggs, and Mike Lockatell.

CVIS youth member Kristen Laing was the recipient of the 2004 Clarke Cosgrove Memorial Award for Youth Achievement.  (She had been second runner-up in 2002 and first runner-up in 2003.)  The Historic Iris Preservation Society presented its Distinguished Service Award to CVIS member Mike Lowe in 1998, charter member Cameron Hall in 2006, and CVIS past President Anner Whitehead in 2016 for their dedication to preserving irises from bygone eras.