bjarvis | Jul. 2nd, 2011

Jul. 2nd, 2011

Our train arrived Thursday morning, 8:15am. Our arrival was a little early but that advantage was consumed by an extended wait for the luggage. With a $20 taxi ride, we were at the Marriott Marquis hotel and checked into our room.

As much as I dearly wanted to just all asleep --I didn't sleep well on the train-- we opted instead to stay vertical as long as possible. Exploring the immediate area, we discovered a nice mall food court adjacent to the hotel where we had a quick bite. From there, we headed to the Georgia Aquarium, five blocks from the hotel.

I liked the aquarium but not as much as I thought I would. It has an international reputation as one of the best aquaria on the planet. It is indeed very nice, but I think of it more as on par with the Baltimore Aquarium and the Cincinnati Aquarium.

We went on the basic tour, declining the $15/person upgrade for the dolphin show. I snapped about 200 photos, knowing many wouldn't be very good from viewing through plexiglass with lots of reflections and sometimes murky water beyond. Still, a good number were fine... when time allows, I'll post the lot.

Following the aquarium, we toured Olympic Park --no bombs were spotted.

Once back at the hotel, we snoozed. Hard. Lord, I needed that.

By early evening, we were conscious enough for socializing once again, so we made contact with David Levine & Kate Yulef for dinner at R. Thomas' Deluxe Grill. It was... an interesting dining experience. Think delightfully quirky. The menu was 50% vegetarian and 100% delicious; even the toucan and parrots outside were fun!

While we did lounge a little at the hotel bar later in the evening, we called it a night relatively early: there would be much to do in the morning.

I slept in this morning. And loved it.

Once I was awake and made presentable for the public, I dropped in on the GCA dance featuring the students from our latest caller school. I didn't dance at all, using the time to solicit information from various participants for my report on behalf of the GCA at the IAGSDC delegates meeting.

I skipped lunch: I was still digesting dinner from last night. Besides, refreshments are frequently served at the business meetings so I could take full advantage there.

The delegates meeting itself wasn't too surprising on some levels, very surprising on others:

the IAGSDC funds are stable;
six clubs have folded while one new one has been created;
Chicago's 2010 convention had 1004 attendees with $15.5k in surplus funds which they distributed to various local charities, All Join Hands and donated as seed money to upcoming conventions;
The Vancouver (2012), San Francisco (2013) and Salt Lake City (2014) conventions are all progressing nicely;
Despite grilling the New York City team for the relatively high room & registration rates in their bid for 2015, the delegates voted ~~26:6~~ 28:7 in favour.
Expressions of interest were expressed for 2016 (St. Louis) and 2017 (Toronto). NO one can say we don't plan ahead.
There were also a stack of by-law changes, some to correct text & typos along with a huge update to codify the bid submissions & acceptance process.

The GCA meeting was a simpler affair in many measures. Reports were made, thanks were given and outgoing board members said their farewells. We have a slate of new officers:

President Michael Levy
Treasurer Alan Hirsch
IAGSDC delegate Aaron Wells
Alternate IAGSDC delegate Andy Shory
vice-president Arlene Kaspik (continuing)
Secretary Terri Sherrer (continuing)
Call Sheet editor Harlan Kerr

When the meeting ended, I was off the board. In fact, for the first time since 1998, I am not an officer of any board, corporation or organization. This hasn't sunk in yet, but it would be nice to have some time to get used to it before joining some other organization.

We had dinner with Eric Mulder, Chip Prince and John Bauder at Jalapeno Charlie's. Service was good and the food was excellent: I recommend the place.

The evening dances were well under way when we returned to the hotel. I ordered a badge update from Badge Works in the vendor area, laid out flyers for the DC Lambda Squares' upcoming fly-in weekends and generally schmoozed with friends. When the dance wrapped up, we joined the mob at the bar before retiring to our room around 11pm. Morning will, again, come early.

the IAGSDC funds are stable;
six clubs have folded while one new one has been created;
Chicago's 2010 convention had 1004 attendees with $15.5k in surplus funds which they distributed to various local charities, All Join Hands and donated as seed money to upcoming conventions;
The Vancouver (2012), San Francisco (2013) and Salt Lake City (2014) conventions are all progressing nicely;
Despite grilling the New York City team for the relatively high room & registration rates in their bid for 2015, the delegates voted ~~26:6~~ 28:7 in favour.
Expressions of interest were expressed for 2016 (St. Louis) and 2017 (Toronto). NO one can say we don't plan ahead.
There were also a stack of by-law changes, some to correct text & typos along with a huge update to codify the bid submissions & acceptance process.

The GCA meeting was a simpler affair in many measures. Reports were made, thanks were given and outgoing board members said their farewells. We have a slate of new officers: