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2012 Symposium

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Not sure if there are already plans in the works for 2012, but where would you like to see the 2012 Symposium? Would Las Vegas, Sand Francisco, New York draw a bigger crowd?

Let's hear what you think?

(Personally, Las Vegas #1, San Fran #2...)
 
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I thought the symposiums went east coast one year west coast the next.
2012 would be an east coast year I would suggest a Tenn. Kentucky or Georgia.
 
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I thought the symposiums went east coast one year west coast the next.
2012 would be an east coast year I would suggest a Tenn. Kentucky or Georgia.

If Minneapolis/St. Paul is considered "west coast" for the 2011 Symposium, I think our cornfields here in Iowa should be re-classified as beachfront property! ;)

Looking at the MAP of the AAW forums, it would seem that somewhere in the southeast might be a good choice for 2012, somewhere "south central" (TX, LA, MS) , or SoCal/Arizona/Nevada.

I think a lot of this has to do which the availability of the venue as to accommodating a group of 1,500 - 2,000 "rotary woodshaving-generators" at an affordable cost, which can be gotten-to easily by the largest number of members. Having been part of the organization and implementation of a few national meetings in past years (Botanical Society of America; American Society of Plant Taxonomists, American Institute of Biological Sciences) I can tell you from personal experience that this is a delicate balancing act when choosing a meeting site.

Site selection is also indirectly related to the availability of local AAW chapters and the "local guys" at or near the meeting venue who can do a lot of the grunt work and get things going in advance of the actual symposium date. I was happy to be able to arrive early and spend a few hours on the Thursday afternoon before the Albuquerque Symposium helping members of the local AAW chapters set up the demo rooms with lathe accessories, chucks, lights, tools, blanks, compressors, etc. A lot of this volunteer component is "behind the scenes" and often unknown (and under-appreciated) to the meeting participants. I, for one, appreciate those folks at the venue site who are asked to spend their time working on behalf of the meeting participants.

See you in Hartford (.....I'll try to get there early!),

Rob Wallace
 
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I was talking with Dale Larson, a board member, and one of our Oregon turners, and he was thinking in the San Francisco/Sacramento area. One consideration for the Symposium is the volunteers, and Las Vegas only has one club, while there are several in the Bay Area. Aside from that, some thing about 'Lost Wages' just creeps me out.

robo hippy
 

Bill Boehme

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I do not think there is anything to be gained by going to over-priced tourist destinations like Las Vegas. That would just raise the cost to attend with no particular benefit. I think that mid sized cities with adequate facilities for the symposium and lodging would provide the most bang for the buck. Has the symposium ever been held in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, or Louisiana?
 

hockenbery

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Portland - north west
Richmond - mid atlantic
Albuquerque - south west
Hartford - north east
St Paul - North central

Negotiations are underway for
2012 in the west
2013 in the southeast

as in any negotiation it isn't final until AAW has a contract.

Rob Wallace covered it quite well.
1. pick a geographic area we haven't covered recently
2. identify cities with adequate
convention center , hotel space and air port

3 evaluate potential site by
convention cost
Hotel rooms - availability cost
members and chapters nearby

4 pick the best choice

see you in Hartford
-Al
 
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Vegas is prob the most central and the most affordable. Probably a bit more for the family to do while we're playing w/ wood stuff. An easier sell to the other half etc. The greatest concentration of lodging in a close proximity.
Just my 2 cents.
 

hockenbery

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Bob,

Until there is a contract signed (I don't think we have one yet) that would be just a rumor.

The Atlanta area has all the requirements
and lots of AAW members.

if the contract can't be worked out 2013 might end up in Tampa, Fl.

Prematurely publishing the location of the 2013 symposium may cause the location to lose their enthusiasm to negotiate.

-Al
 
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N'awlins doesn't have much concentration of AAW chapters, but they need the business, and have lots of local culture. Great restaurants, too.

Another 2 cents to stir the pot.
 

hockenbery

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Joe

New Orleans looks great on everything but price.
New Orleans was the most expensive any site the AAW looked at.
They are in demand and the they charge accordingly.

New Orleans hotels were $88 more a night than the front runner for 2013.

-Al
 

john lucas

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We could do them like they did in the 30's with the Sierra Club and just find a big park and lots of tents. That would keep the cost down. We would be really close to a lot of trees and downed wood. We could have in the field lectures on wood and tree identification as well as harvesting the wood.
Then we could sit around campfires in the evening and share wild stories and sing our version of Kum By Ya (AAW my lord, AAW, Oh lord AAW). The banquet would come closer to resembling a big rock concert with a stage and lighting and all the people sitting on the ground on blankets. Heck we could even hunt for the food.
 
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I do not think there is anything to be gained by going to over-priced tourist destinations like Las Vegas.

Lots of places are 'over priced' tourist destinations, but Vegas in not one of them. Anyone thinking that has not done the checking. Because of the draw, rooms and meals are many times priced as loss leaders. Other places have to meet the competition.

John :)
 
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We can still sing 'Kum by ya' around a lathe...

We could do them like they did in the 30's with the Sierra Club and just find a big park and lots of tents. That would keep the cost down. We would be really close to a lot of trees and downed wood. We could have in the field lectures on wood and tree identification as well as harvesting the wood.

Maybe then I would stand a chance of being accepted as a symposium demonstrator - four years of getting the "thanks but no thanks" messages from the AAW makes me think that symposium organizers don't see this form of turning education worthwhile....one of the several demos I've proposed to offer is just that - understanding wood, its identification, and related topics.:confused:

Then we could sit around campfires in the evening and share wild stories and sing our version of Kum By Ya (AAW my lord, AAW, Oh lord AAW). The banquet would come closer to resembling a big rock concert with a stage and lighting and all the people sitting on the ground on blankets. Heck we could even hunt for the food.

You crack me up John! I can see groups of guys running through the woods with skews lashed to sapling poles chasing down a terrified whitetail doe! So easy, a caveman can do it - well, actually, they already did it (for more than a few thousand years...). Bear Grylls would be proud of how we could butcher game with Wolverine-sharpened Ellsworth gouges and hollow the carcass with a Jamieson system! :eek:

Not sure about having the banquet outside... I have a feeling that projecting the images during the auction would be even more of a challenge than in past years. We've had problems over the past few years, despite all of the technology.... ...and calling outdoor auctions is not fun, believe me! Maybe we need to stay inside...??

Rob
 
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I like what John said. But I would say Vegas. We stayed at a motel there for only $25.00 a night.
 
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I like what John said. But I would say Vegas. We stayed at a motel there for only $25.00 a night.

Did you check into what a convention facility charges? Like New Orleans, it usualy ain't cheap. None of the places that do business (mostly) with "professional" conventions are. A "professional" convenetion is one that is put on for a particular business area, or other "deep pocket" operation.

The AAW needs to be able to deal with convention facilities that are also used to dealing with mid to low end conventions, that is attended by people out of their own pocket (say like Ham Radio, Quilting, etc)

Hotels can be cheap in LV, if you go there mid-week, when there it not a major convention

Check what LV hotels "standard" rate is, it will scare you. I stayed at a nice "resort" there for 25% of "standard", but it was mid-week and not during a convention.

TTFN
Ralph
 
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I know that several years ago they had the AAW symposium on the UC Davis campus, about 5 minutes from Sacramento. Might be worth the consideration again, and it an agricultural school with a lot of cool trees on the campus.

Way more people between SF and Sacramento than in the whole state of Nevada. Though when you think about it, we draw very little from the general population.

robo hippy
 

hockenbery

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The AAW use to meet at college campuses and attendees stayed in the dorm rooms that were available in the summer. That only worked while the AAW was smaller. Some regional symposiums are small enough to meet at various campuses.

Now with attendance of 1600 and growing AAW needs larger facilities.

The AAW has hundreds of members engaged in producing the symposium each year. A strong local presence is needed.
Locations with 4-5 strong clubs within 200 miles are a definite plus.

Al
 
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