[AaronT]

Is anyone else planning on attending the 2008 AGA Convention in Atlanta, Georgia this November? It promises to be a great convention this year. The list of speakers is top-notch, including none other than the master himself, Takashi Amano!

http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/convention.html

I'm planning to be there. It will be great to meet some of you in person for a change.

 

[AaronT]

it was between tom barr's plant fest and this convection and i chose the plant fest mainly because tom is a real good friend of mine. i sure would like to see Mr. amano doing an aquascaping presentation but hes there almost every year so maybe next year

I doubt Amano will be back next year. It's been since 2004 since he last came to the AGA. He'll probably be back at some point though.

 

[AaronT]

I was at the '04 convention and should probably look into going to Atlanta this year. I wonder if I can get a few fellow SWOAPE people to go.

I was there too. Maybe this time we can actually meet.

 

[AaronT]

I want to go soooo bad. Though with the price of gas and the cost of college it will probably be a no for me. Can someone please explain what all those fees are for? It says that only AGA members can attend, but do you still have to pay $59 to go?

Sure, that's an easy one. The rent cost of the hotel convention rooms has to be covered. The speaker's plane tickets have to be paid for (Amano San doesn't come free. ). There are lots of costs, trust me they're aren't making any money on fees.

 

[AaronT]

Its in different places, last year they didnt even have one.

Wasn't last year San Francisco? I think it was the year before that they didn't have one.

 

[AaronT]

I'm most definitely going to be there, it's just down the road! I wouldn't miss this one for the world. I'll finally be able to go to the auction and other Sunday activities. Yeay!!!

On a peripheral note, since I do live in the area I'd love to have folks over to my place at some point. If you're going to be arriving early on Wednesday night or Thursday let me know. We might be able to arrange some sort of pre-mass-arrival goings-on before the big Thursday night activities get going.

Regards,
Phil

I might take you up on that Phil. My wife and I will be driving up from Orlando from a wedding the previous weekend.

 

[AaronT]

How big is the convention? How many people have there been at past conventions?

The time I went when it was here there were 80+ people, so it's small as far as conventions go, but I kind of like it that way because you actually get to meet most of the people and have one-on-one time with your favorite speakers.

 

[AaronT]

Wow, nearly 100. That's awesome!

 

[AaronT]

I just signed up officially.

 

[AaronT]

That's a shame you can't make it Bryce. I was looking forward to meeting you in person finally.

We'll all have to wear our name tags with our APC names on them as well as our real names so we can find each other.

 

[AaronT]

Oh Bryce, I thought you were already confirmed! So sorry! I thought there was some law about leading APC and having to be at the conference! Your hospital just probably doesn't know about that. I'm sure if they did they would take the necessary steps to see that you went! :slywink:

For the plant auction how do you keep plants in good condition until Sunday? Do you just treat them as if you were mailing them?

That's what I would do to bring plants. I would carry them on too as the luggage compartment of planes can be pretty cold and you never know if they'll lose it.

 

[AaronT]

I'm going to be sending an e-mail to to everyone who registers, inviting them to send me a line of text and a small graphic. This could be the name of your aquatic-related business & logo, OR your forum name and avatar.

Did this email go out yet? I'm leaving early (Nov 5th) for the trip to visit some folks in Florida and want to make sure you get this info from me beforehand.