[ft-l] FTA Annual Conference

[ft-l@mailman.backcountry.net (Cricket)]

I want to second Pam Hale's assertion that FTA doesn't MAKE money on the
fees for the Annual Conference.  FTA tries to simply BREAK EVEN for the
conference costs and usually the FTA office staff and officers do a great
job of doing just that.  The camping and food costs go directly to the
people providing the site.  The registration fee is all that FTA gets and
that goes to cover the mailings, presenters, etc.  The raffles and auction
are the only money raisers that FTA does during the conferences and those
are strictly voluntary.

I too was a little set back by the cost of the conference, especially since
for me, as an FTA staff member, the weekend was mostly work.  (And members
should know that all FTA staff pay the same fees the volunteers do, even if
they work behind the sales counter for the entire weekend.)   I brought an
out-of-state friend and new FTA member with me to her first conference and I
paid almost $100 for registration, tent camping and 2 dinners for 2 people.
But I realize that only the registration fee actually went to FTA and that
fee was used to defray the cost to FTA of putting on the conference.

Over the years people have come to expect more and more conveniences at the
conferences - RV sites and hookups, cabins, showers, etc.  Finding a
location with all these conveniences in addition to the required
indoor/outdoor presentation areas for 200 some people gets harder and harder
and more and more expensive each year.

The only solutions are for everyone to keep their eyes and ears open for
less expensive sites or to accept fewer conveniences.

Deb Blick