Matt Collins
04-15-2009, 05:20 PM
Overall I am very pleased with the CFL convention in St Louis a few weekends ago. I think it came off beautifully; a lot of friendships were kindled, much knowledge was gained, countless information was exchanged, hundreds of hearts and minds were inspired, and a forward direction was set.
The location was great. St Louis is relatively centrally located, and the hotel / convention space was easy to get to by all means of transportation. The scenery was stimulating and the times were fun.
Lunch and breakfast were great. Also I am glad that on Sunday we had an "open mic forum" where questions could be asked with an open dialog etc back and forth between CFL leadership and those in attendance.
In the spirit of constructive criticism I have a few items I would like to see implemented so that future events can be not only just as good, but even better than the St. Louis / CFL weekend...
First and foremost I think the climax for the event should've been Saturday night. That way the energy of the conference builds throughout the weekend instead of diminishes. Attendance was also diminishing as the weekend progressed; it should be the opposite. My idea is to have the sponsor dinner, meet & greet, and keynote speeches on Saturday night. And the keynote speeches should indeed be open to the public to raise awareness, etc which was a good move. Having the highlight on Friday night seemed to make the "flow" of the weekend awkward.
Of course star power like Congressman Paul, Judge Napolitano, and Tom Woods is great, but I was disappointed that they were not at the convention longer and a bit more accessible. Many attendees did not appreciate being rushed through the book-signing line and being told to "only choose 1 author". This aspect of the event could've been handled in a better manner than it was.
Although I want to listen to Tom Woods speak anytime, I think that trying to hold a lunch lecture was a bad idea. Lunch was a time for us to take a break from class. Lunch is where a great deal of networking and social interaction occurs. Having a speech during lunch tends to stifle that; besides the fact the ballroom used for lunch was not really conducive to that type of activity (too small, ceiling height, pillars blocking line-of-site, etc). Tom did an excellent job as always, and lunch tasted great, but I think it would be best if the two were separated.
Both Friday and Saturday nights should have been some sort of (non)/official social event at the hotel. The oyster bar was a bit of a walk but too short to drive to, and it was too small/crowded/noisy; same thing for Saturday night. As I work in the music industry and love a great band or DJ, at times like the CFL weekend I think that lower volume (or limited time) entertainment would a better idea again due to the networking potential of fellow like-minded individuals. The best networking that happened on this trip in my experience was in the lobby /lounge after about 10pm because it was spacious and yet quiet enough for one-on-one and small group conversation to prevail.
For the next CFL event it should considered to get nationwide radio talk show host Mike Church involved. Mike Church is a Constitutionalist and very supportive of Congressman Paul. He heavily promoted the Republican Liberty Caucus in Jacksonville the same weekend and would probably be willing to do the same for the CFL (in addition to serving as weekend MC). I would be more than happy to set up CFL-HQ an introduction with Mike Church if requested.
I do recommend the following locations to be considered in the future to minimize travel:
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Wichita (and/or maybe Omaha and Dallas)
Vegas
Seattle
This is designed so that no one would have to drive more than a single day. Of course that list would need to be tweaked based upon CFL/RP activity; it may not make sense to have an event in the geographic center of a group but there is zero local activity. Although I'd of course rather have it in Nashville or Orlando (hey I admit my bias - ha ha) I do think St Louis is a fairly centralized place and worked out well.
Thanks again for all the planning and hard work that went into the CFL weekend, I look forward to the next one!
.
The location was great. St Louis is relatively centrally located, and the hotel / convention space was easy to get to by all means of transportation. The scenery was stimulating and the times were fun.
Lunch and breakfast were great. Also I am glad that on Sunday we had an "open mic forum" where questions could be asked with an open dialog etc back and forth between CFL leadership and those in attendance.
In the spirit of constructive criticism I have a few items I would like to see implemented so that future events can be not only just as good, but even better than the St. Louis / CFL weekend...
First and foremost I think the climax for the event should've been Saturday night. That way the energy of the conference builds throughout the weekend instead of diminishes. Attendance was also diminishing as the weekend progressed; it should be the opposite. My idea is to have the sponsor dinner, meet & greet, and keynote speeches on Saturday night. And the keynote speeches should indeed be open to the public to raise awareness, etc which was a good move. Having the highlight on Friday night seemed to make the "flow" of the weekend awkward.
Of course star power like Congressman Paul, Judge Napolitano, and Tom Woods is great, but I was disappointed that they were not at the convention longer and a bit more accessible. Many attendees did not appreciate being rushed through the book-signing line and being told to "only choose 1 author". This aspect of the event could've been handled in a better manner than it was.
Although I want to listen to Tom Woods speak anytime, I think that trying to hold a lunch lecture was a bad idea. Lunch was a time for us to take a break from class. Lunch is where a great deal of networking and social interaction occurs. Having a speech during lunch tends to stifle that; besides the fact the ballroom used for lunch was not really conducive to that type of activity (too small, ceiling height, pillars blocking line-of-site, etc). Tom did an excellent job as always, and lunch tasted great, but I think it would be best if the two were separated.
Both Friday and Saturday nights should have been some sort of (non)/official social event at the hotel. The oyster bar was a bit of a walk but too short to drive to, and it was too small/crowded/noisy; same thing for Saturday night. As I work in the music industry and love a great band or DJ, at times like the CFL weekend I think that lower volume (or limited time) entertainment would a better idea again due to the networking potential of fellow like-minded individuals. The best networking that happened on this trip in my experience was in the lobby /lounge after about 10pm because it was spacious and yet quiet enough for one-on-one and small group conversation to prevail.
For the next CFL event it should considered to get nationwide radio talk show host Mike Church involved. Mike Church is a Constitutionalist and very supportive of Congressman Paul. He heavily promoted the Republican Liberty Caucus in Jacksonville the same weekend and would probably be willing to do the same for the CFL (in addition to serving as weekend MC). I would be more than happy to set up CFL-HQ an introduction with Mike Church if requested.
I do recommend the following locations to be considered in the future to minimize travel:
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Wichita (and/or maybe Omaha and Dallas)
Vegas
Seattle
This is designed so that no one would have to drive more than a single day. Of course that list would need to be tweaked based upon CFL/RP activity; it may not make sense to have an event in the geographic center of a group but there is zero local activity. Although I'd of course rather have it in Nashville or Orlando (hey I admit my bias - ha ha) I do think St Louis is a fairly centralized place and worked out well.
Thanks again for all the planning and hard work that went into the CFL weekend, I look forward to the next one!
.