Hi Cherry - In my memory, there has never been a commuter fee before. Nor has the schedule been so fragmented, making it difficult to justify taking a shorter class but staying around all week to be part of the other activities.
I also have never seen the limits on the vendor rooms either... if you take a short class, you can only go in on the day of your class!! I have seen the vendor room closed to all except those registered until after a certain day, and I have seen non-registered guests charged a minimum fee to go to the vendor room only, but I've never seen registered attendees limited to when they could go. I'm afraid that this limits the numbers of customers the vendors will have, and will therefore have a negative impact on the number of vendors who will be there - and this would be a terrible blow. The committee has clearly wanted to make sweeping changes to the fabric of the IOLI convention. In an effort to make the convention more accessible to working members, they have also affected the quality of the traditional convention which has been so attractive to so many members for decades. Unfortunately, I think they are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But please remember that the convention committee is separate from IOLI leadership. While our IOLI officers are publically positive or non-committal on the subject, I suspect that they are also concerned about the impact that this convention will have on membership and on the organization's ability to meet a quorum at the annual meeting and to do the business than needs to be done for the year. So when you're reading over your bulletin and trying to decide whether to go... keep an open mind and remember that this event is about IOLI, not the committee. If you can possibly weather the inconveniences and expenses the new format has imposed, please go to convention and support the organization! And as for your membership - take heart in the fact that if this convention is a complete flop, then this venue will not be repeated. Clay Clearly, the organizers are trying hard to ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cherry Knobloch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 7:33 AM Subject: [lace] IOLI Convention > I don't believe the convention is being tailored to local lacemakers, in > fact, we are being penalized for living within commuting distance. This is > practically in my backyard but there are no classes that interest me enough > to pay the high costs of attending. I will save my pennies and go to Ithaca > in the fall. > > Has there ever been a commuter fee for an IOLI convention before? > > > Commuter Fee: A commuter fee will be charged to those who have registered > for the Fancy ($60), Plain ($50) and Blue ($40) Packages, but are not > staying at either the Holiday Inn East or the Harrisburg-Hershey Marriott. > > > Cherry Knobloch > Camp Hill, Pa USA > > - > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
