Whew! The 2010 ABANA Conference is history. And it was a great one.
Thanks go to our Affiliate Organization sponsors, our Vendor sponsors, the Metal Museum Staff and Directors, the unflappable ABANA Central Office staff, the River Bluff Forge Council, the talented demonstrators, the tireless setup crew, the gallery crew, many other volunteers, the ABANA Board members, the 2010 Conference committee, and the participants .
We learned a lot about what it takes to put on a successful conference. Some of what we did in Memphis succeeded brilliantly. Other things, well, not so much.
We will be posting photos an reviews up on the ABANA web site to document the conference but meanwhile we would like you to post your impressions and remarks here.
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Paul Boulay
ABANA President
6 comments:
I had a great time at the conference and I would like to thank all the volunteers that made it happen. Also I would like to thank BAM for the education tent and all the company's that provided equipment. More on-site food would have been nice, but there was plenty of food near by.
Hats off to all who worked so hard to make this conference a great one. Looking forward to 2012
This was my first conference. It was superb! The demos were very appropriate and to the point. My wife enjoyed herself even tho' not a metalworker.
Comments - The food offered was a first step. There needed to be a more healthful selection and perhaps ABANA could sponsor soem water stations.
-There was a good effort to improve the presentation at the auction, however, the visual presentation could be improved, especially the lighting. The logistic system of moving items in and out was very good. Perhaps the next place will have a better auditorium.
-Also, have the checkout and the paying area so far apart was time consuming and awkward. A better checkout station could be designed.
-Overall we had a fantastic experience! Being able to meet and interact with the master smiths was terrific. We will be attending the next one. Thank you for all the work.
Dave Tosi
Green Bear Forge
North Carolina
This was my first conference and it was great. For criticism I would list:
Poor Sound and Lights. During the demos,the wireless mics were near useless despite the hard work of the volunteers who tried to get them to work properly. The lights at the Auction were poor as was the audiovisual setup and the Auctioneer was really hard of hearing.
Despite the technical problems the Auction was really impressive and the Gallery was unbelievable. Hats off to Lorelei Simms for her tireless performance in both.
Looking forward to 2012
Ringrazio tutti coloro che hanno reso possibile questa grande conferenza che io ho vissuto da lontano (Italia) e sopratutto il Signor Paul Boulay che ha realizzato una bella presentazione delle opere di mio padre Mauro De Biasio,che mi ha pregato di ringraziarVi calorosamente.
A presto
De Biasio Francesco (Italy)
Translation of Francesco's (mauro0437) comment (courtesy of the Google Translation engine):
I thank everyone who made this great conference that I lived far away (Italy) and especially Mr. Paul Boulay who made a nice presentation of the works of my father Mauro De Biasio, who asked me to thank you warmly.
Soon
Francesco De Biasio
The presentation he mentions is on the ABANA website at http://www.abana.org/resources/galleries/members/index.shtml under "Extra".
Francesco is still seeking someone to take on the project of explaining his father's work to the world. Contact at:
Francesco De Biasio
franzdebiasio@gmail.com
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