Re: derailed convention thing?

["Karen Randall" <krandall@rdrcpa.biz>]

Hi folks,

I really haven't had a chance to look through the conference stuff during
the holidays.  I just looked through it now, and there were a couple of
things that jumped out at me:

1.  I think the hotel contracts should be approved by the treasurer as well
as the conference chairperson.  If David had had a chance to see the
pull-out clause for the Houston hotel, at very least it would not have been
the nasty surprise to all of us that it was.  This would make sure that at
least one member of the BOD knew the financial situation.

2. I think it's not a good idea to have several parties who have not even
passed the bidding stage contacting potential speakers in the name of AGA.
This sounds to me like a good way for the AGA to get a bad reputation, and
for people to get their feelings hurt, if they are asked to speak, and then
get left out if another club wins the bid.    Either the speaker
solicitation should be taken out of the hands of the hosting club, or it
should be done after that club gets the green light to host the conference.

3. I agree with (I think) Erik, that all the meals do not _have_ to be
served via the conference.  We should certainly have a banquet.  Beyond
that, I'd give the host organization some flexibility.  If there are a lot
of options available for meals, it might make more sense to have people eat
on their own.  If the hotel offers a nice lunch or breakfast cart, where
people can pay as they go, that's fine too.  I think there are a bunch of
options that could work.

4.  I think it's VERY important for people who volunteer to help at the
convention to know ahead of time what their duties will be.  I went early,
specifically to help out.  I didn't mind doing most anything I was asked to
do, and I did miss out on parts of the festivities.  That was all OK.  What
WASN'T OK was that one of the duties that was assigned to me was driving a
very large (15 passenger?) rental van on extremely congested unfamiliar
highways to unfamiliar destinations.  I thought I was going to have a
mini-nervous breakdown when I heard that bit of news.  Fortunately, another
conference attendee who knew the city was kind enough to take over this
duty.  But that is NOT the kind of job that should be assigned to someone
without checking ahead of time that the person feels capable of handling.

>From what I've seen a the last 3 conventions, there are more than enough
people willing to lend a hand, we just need to organize them better ahead of
time and give them some warning of what is entailed.

5.  While I understand that we're not in a financial position to pay all the
expenses for all speakers yet, I do think we should be willing to arrange
for and pay for transportation to and from the airport for all speakers.
That's just a courtesy, and shouldn't cost us that much.

6. I think that each speaker should have a designated "host" who is assigned
to them for the convention.  This is something NEC has done for years.  This
host can get some bio information from the person and introduce their talk.
They can also help the person keep track of time during their talk by giving
them a 5 minute warning.  Most important, they are a person the speaker can
turn to at any time with questions or needs.  They do not have to dine with
the speaker, but they should make sure the speaker has someone to dine with,
and that they are not feeling left out.  Believe me, this can often happen
at a big convention when everyone is busy.  I've been at conventions where
no one has remembered to introduce me, where the people at the registration
desk didn't know who I was, and where I completely on my own finding out
what room I was speaking in and where to get a carousel for my slides.
Speakers don't EVER make anything on speaking, and in our case, they pay to
get to the conference.  They deserve some consideration for their time and
effort.  This isn't currently in any of our guidelines, but it's easy to do,
and makes a BIG difference to the speakers.

OK, that's all I have time for before running off with the kids once more.
Hope they are some helpful thoughts!  As far as Boston is concerned, I'll
see if I can drum up some more enthusiasm.  But if they won't pick up the
ball and run with it, my plate is just too full at the moment to take it on
by myself.

Karen

Karen A. Randall
krandall@rdrcpa.biz
----- Original Message -----
From: "Erik Olson" <erik@thekrib.com>
To: "S. Hieber" <shieber@yahoo.com>
Cc: <aga-sc@thekrib.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 2:01 PM
Subject: Re: derailed convention thing?


> Two weeks should be great.
>
> Dallas mentioned that they need to know by the end of the month if we want
> them to do it or not; I suspect that at this point there's no way we can
> meet this deadline.  I tend to think that if Dallas can't do it, the only
> other viable option is Boston/NEC, and I didn't see a lot of enthusiasm
> there either.  I'm of the opinion we might be better off skipping a year
> and making 2004 work than killing ourselves to make this year work.  So
> let's go with two weeks. :)
>
>   - Erik
>
> On Tue, 7 Jan 2003, S. Hieber wrote:
>
> > Yes.  I'll take whatever other comments anyone has to
> > offer, but I have enough to work with.
> >
> > What kind of deadline are you thinking of?  I guess if we
> > work backwards, timewise, from teh next convention, then
> > we're behind schedule already ;-)  .
> >
> > Anyhow, I'm thinking a couple of weeks.  Will that work
> > out?
> >
> > SH
> > --- Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com> wrote:
> > > Just checking in to make sure we don't derail the
> > > convention progress too
> > > much...
> > >
> > > Does anyone else have any comments on the convention
> > > document that Darlene
> > > sent?  If not, Scott, do you think you have the
> > > information to proceed
> > > with integrating all the information I've sent you?
> > >
> > >   - Erik
> > >
> > > --
> > > Erik Olson
> > > erik at thekrib dot com
> > >
> >
> >
> > __________________________________________________
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>
> --
> Erik Olson
> erik at thekrib dot com
>
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