Re: [Harp-L] SPAH convention locations

[IcemanLE@xxxxxxx]

What is interesting is, during the Golden Years of SPAH (pre Tate), the BOD  
had such a solid and strong vision and follow through, that "staff that  could 
 
> book the
> hotels, arrange for talent, seminars and  other good stuff on a  
> rotating basis
> around the  country."
 
was in place and building year after year. Basically, Bob Williams did the  
hotel booking, banquet decisions, hotel liason. I did everything else -  
arranging talent, seminars, promo, press releases, etc. - not just Detroit, but  St. 
Louis and wherever. The local harmonica clubs were tapped as purely a  
support system, gathering data, doing airport transportation, etc. Once the info  
was gathered, we made all decisions and followed through. We never depended on a 
 local chapter or volunteers to do any of the "heavy lifting". All decisions 
came  from a focused top of the pyramid structure. We also kept "cliques" from 
running  the convention. It was clean, efficient and worked well.
 
SPAH could still get back on track if they wish. However, it will take a  
tremendous focused vision from the top and a lot less delegating "minions" to  
make decisions and do the work. SPAH seems to be run by too many committees to  
be super efficient - it became one mungo Political machine under the Tate  
Monarchy and has yet to recover, IMO.
 
The Iceman
 
 


> So  it's not just a matter of geography. A SPAH convention needs  
>  dedicated
> volunteer workers. Those of us who just fly or drive in for  the  
> convention,
> socialize and check out the jams and  workshops probably don't  
> realize the amount of
> work  that goes into setting up the convention.
>
> Some people have  even opted out of an active roll in convention  
>  organization
> when they realized that they were spending all this time  working on a
> "professional" convention and would not get paid for  their time.
>
> It would be nice if SPAH had a paid organizational  staff that could  
> book the
> hotels, arrange for talent,  seminars and other good stuff on a  
> rotating basis
>  around the country. But this is not likely to happen  soon.




**************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? 
Read reviews on AOL Autos.      
(http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017 )