I will be there, coming all the way from The Netherlands :) and looking forward to it. It will be my first conference. It is a shame they don't organize an event like this in Europe!

I feel very lucky that I could organize the trip to be there !
I hope I will have the opportunity to meet other forum members.
So exciting!

You are perfectly right, Bianca!
It would be absolutely terrific, if we could attend such an event here in Europe.
I envy you all, and I sincerely hope I can go next time, maybe in 1 or 2 years...
Have fun and please let us know how it goes!
Karine

Julie, I really don't know the answer, but I'm guessing that the East Coast is a convenient destination for people flying in from other countries. Of course "convenience" is a relative term! Last year when it was in Texas it felt horribly inconvenient and the plane connections were terrible. So I know how you feel. And the West Coast people always have a long flight. So really there is no good answer.

I'll be there.

Julie, it's a complicated issue. It has a lot to do with the concentration of members in the country (most are towards the East Coast), and very much to do with identifying facilities that can handle the special needs of a group that size in general (close to 1000 attendees now), and the needs of our organization in particular. It's a draw also to be in a city with a major museum or event going on at the same time. And, as mentioned, it has to be fairly easy for most attendees to get to.

If a location meets these criteria, and a venue demonstrates a real understanding of what PSOA needs, the tendency is to repeat at that location. The Reston facility has done so in the past, very well. But the guys in Tallahassee try to balance this with some responsiveness to members in the Midwest and West, hence the occasional forays out into other cities.

This one gathering essentially has to be successful, for PSOA to create enough revenue to cover the operating budget for the rest of the year--membership fees alone won't do the job. The planning and coordination of an event this size is conducted a number of years in advance, and the efforts toward mounting it are Herculean. Some of the behind-the-scenes stories of difficulties and risks overcome in the past will curl your hair.

All of this from a non-profit organization created for the elevation of the art and the benefit of the member artists. In short, we can't thank them enough, but if anyone attends this year, please seek out Christine and the staff and express your appreciation--it's a real boost for them to hear it. (I'm reminding myself here, too.)

Hope to see everyone there!...TE

(PS...not to add pressure or anything, but Chris's demo last year was a must see.)

Dear Richard, Michele, Chris, Alex, Cynthia, Linda, Bianca, Marina, Tom, and all,

It's official, I will join you at the Conference! I look forward to meeting all in person.

Should we gather informally for a bite, on Friday evening? I miss your former impeccable Stroke of Genius annual Dinner events Cynthia. They were always so classy, special, and memorable evenings. Thanks, again for those most auspicious gatherings.

If any are interested or in need of on-location lodging, I would not mind considering sharing my reserved room (two twins). The Hyatt is booked full now.

Can't wait for the camaraderie; see you soon!

Garth

Tom, I figured out some of that, and I know it is difficult to plan conferences of this size. But it's always at the perfectly worst time of year for any public school employee - (end of year paperwork), and it's out of reach for me financially as well, because I can't afford to fly there and pay the hotel bill at this point in time. I'd love to attend sometime, but these are pretty big obstacles. The South is supposed to be the biggest area of the country for portrait commissions, so surely there are a lot of potential attendees, no?

I'll be thinking of you all that go, and wishing you the best.

I am really looking forward to meeting you all. Garth, I'd like to "second" your motion to meet on Friday evening . . . it would be my great pleasure !
I've never been there, so your suggestions for a meeting place, etc. would be most welcome.

Julie--

You're definitely not alone in raising these questions.

I don't know if they've actively considered Atlanta yet, but to your point, it would surely be worth a look.

Maybe we'll meet when some of us come down to the High Museum for Cecelia Beaux...

Best--TE

Thanks, Garth! I'd love to do another one like the last one in DC. It was the best and the food was awesome. Prior to that, I did the dinner in the restaurant, but the group became too large for that - which led me to do a catered event in a private room. But, I have to tell you that it was a lot of work to put together - planning the menu, handling all the emails back and forth, collecting the money, dealing with last minute attendees at the event. We had 46 attendees that year - I did send out an email to ask who was interested for one this year - tho I didn't mail to all the Forum members - just made a post - so the response is lower. I think the large turn-out year before last was because I did email all the Forum members. Bottom line is that to have a catered event, they require a minimum number of attendees or I get stuck with the difference. So, I'm thinking just to keep it smaller and in the restaurant because of time constraints this year - unexpected funeral, unexpected dental work and more. I expect to make some kind of a final decision in the next week if I can get myself together enough over here.

I do believe I made a separate post regarding a dinner if you all will look for it an express your interest over there.