[AGA-sc] [AGA-mcm] RE: AGA-mcm Digest, Vol 14, Issue 17 (fwd)

[Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com>]

Anyone else wanna have a go replying to this one?  Maybe I'm still not 
able to discern whether a post is hostile or not, or maybe it's just 
SFBAAPS-speak.  But I've tried to reply three times, cancelled, reaching 
the conclusion that addressing any points other than the direct questions 
about square footage or vendor space at the end (which I don't really have 
the answers to anyway) is just going to tick him off more.  ("Where were 
you last April?" "You know that expression, fool me once, shame on you; 
fool me twice..." "Where in the message did it say 'feel good'?" "Don't 
even TALK to me about burnout" "If the bid is so far along, how come when 
anyone asks how the plan is coming, there's dead silence?")

This just reminds me so much of Jeff Kropp and Dave Gomberg's attitude 
earlier this year.  I suppose they are the two "burnouts".

  - Erik

PS: Jim L has been quite pleasant to talk with this week, and he e-mailed 
me tonight about the hotel search tomorrow & promised he'd give an update 
during the weekend.

--
Erik Olson
erik at thekrib dot com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 20:03:49 -0700
From: Michael Skidmore <mskidmore@alamedanet.net>
Reply-To: AGA Advisory Committee <aga-mcm@thekrib.com>
To: aga-mcm@thekrib.com
Subject: [AGA-mcm] RE: AGA-mcm Digest, Vol 14, Issue 17

> In reality these things are created before the bid is completed, with
> people from both clubs talking, sharing experience, making suggestions,
> helping with negotiations, etc.
> By the time the bid has been written out, it's well-known what the
> convention entails.


What? That's quite different than what is written in the AGA draft bid
guidelines and the instructions I have received to date. Our club is not
going to try to make you 'feel good' about this. We are going to make a bid.
It will be compelling, well thought out, researched and will have sufficient
substance to let the host committee decide if it is appropriate to award to
SFBAAPS. The AGA can accept it or reject it. In fact, if another club
submits a better bid than it would be in the AGA's best interest to accept
the best bid, of all bids received. It's my understanding that the deadline
for submitting a bid is 9 months out with 12 months requested. So that would
be this Nov 10th. I have participated in 3 national conventions ranging from
150 to 6000 registrants, as well as designing and building a convention
center for UCSD. I have never in the past spent more time discussing how to
make the host committee 'feel good' in lieu of discussing how to develop the
convention.  Our bid will include a marketing and sales plan with enough
detail to market to the AGA board and assoc. members. "Impressing the
importance" of this on SFBAAPS members has already burned out two very
motivated and knowledgeable members.

I'll be checking out hotels tomorrow with Jim and Michael L. Dave G may or
may not come, he is still burned out after the first exp back in Feb. and
spending 3 days looking at hotels and negotiating. The one element of
guidance I noticed is lacking from the guidelines is the square footage of
the conf. area expected. I will go on my past exp. And anticipate the need
for 1 hosp suite, 1 speaker ready room, and a conf room with space for 150
-200. What isn't clear to me is if you would prefer vendor tables around the
perimeter of the conf room (to maximize mingling) or in an adjacent room
which is quieter for main session but draws vendors away to tend their
tables. If there are other space needs or nice to haves, let us know and
well tell you what we find. We have already established an agenda, sample
brochures, side events and recruited very experienced local help from SVAS
and ACA as mentors and sources of volunteers.  If you were willing to have
it early, Sacramento would love to do a joint convention with FINDIG and AGA
combined. But they meet annually two weeks earlier, on last weekend of Oct.

Skids


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