Re: Subject: Re: Finding Places To Speak

**"* C* <d*@sympatico.ca>**

First- I like and am impressed by many of the people in the garden clubs and 
master gardener groups that I know.
Second- I like and am really, really impressed by most of the folks on this 
list.
Third- Canada Blooms is great, it really is.

But ...

It is relatively easy to plant a garden, photograph it and then tell your 
friends about it. No big deal, anyone can do it.  Heck, when I was a 12 yr 
old kid, I won 25 ¢  (alt-189) from the Kemptville Hort Soc. for my veggie 
garden. Did a speech in public school about it; my specialty was hoeing 
cucumbers.

So, why should I spend big dollars for some-one to come in and talk to me 
about a garden or gardening?  When they talk to the slides all they've 
really done is transfer some photos or a coffee-table book to the big screen 
and then read the text, right? And geez, with the new PowerPoint craze, the 
computer does all the work so why don't you just send us the disc- we'll 
spring for the postage? And if we're really, really clever, we'll just send 
a note to Heritage,Proven Winners or Monrovia and, oh don't forget that Paul 
Poinsettia fella in California, they'll send us a DVD that we can show to 
the club. Free.
As for the shows, such as Canada Blooms; I can hear some of the planners 
saying, "Give me a break! We provide one of the largest venues in the 
country ( 5th largest in NA if you believe some of the hype), with a huge 
national audience for you to plug your book, your website, yourself. Aanndd 
we'll give you a couple of hundred dollars to cover the subway. What more do 
you want?")

We know what the work is.
We know the value of our work.
They don't.
How do we educate them?

btw- I've had 2 really excellent speaking experiences in the past 2 years. 
One was a talk in a large city with the reference coming from the speakers 
list on GWA member Donna Dawson's (and Tom's) ICanGarden website and the 
other through the professional hort. trade association where I volunteer. 
The point here is that the standards for remuneration were agreed upon by 
the contactor before they even got to me.

Now, If I could just get a couple of those gigs a week.

Dan 

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