Re: GWA Meeting Critique

**"Linda Nitchman" p*@hotmail.com**

Kirk and all,
I've been following the meeting critiques with interest. First let me say 
thank you to the local arrangements committee for a fantastic job! The 
Longwood and Chanticleer experiences alone were worth the price of admission 
to me. And, I loved the private gardens--some more that others, like always.

Anyone who has been involved with events planning can appreciate the 
complexity of providing a meaningful experience for an extremely diverse 
group of 600-plus people. We have no commonality of age, expertise or even 
occupation.  I met writers, photographers, editors, trades people, landscape 
designers, public garden directors, public relations people, electronic 
media folks and university extension agents. There were freelancers, 
employees and business owners.

Although we share a love of gardens, our style preferences and plant 
interests are also quite different.  Some of the gardens that I felt were a 
waste of my limited energy, I was surprised to learn were favorites of 
others. The session on websites someone complained was too basic, I found 
useful. I'm in the 25 percent that doesn't have one, yet.

As a new regional director, I listened to my fellow garden writers 
throughout the symposium, hoping to get a consensus on anything. What I 
learned, and I pass this along to future local arrangement committees, is 
that we want more high-powered speakers that are paid, but we want a more 
affordable symposium. We'd like the sessions geared to our individual skill 
levels, more in-depth and longer, but we'd like time to rest. And, we want 
perfect weather, overcast for the photographers, sunny for everyone else and 
definitely no tornados, power outages, traffic jams, floods, overbooked 
hotels or Primitive Baptists.

If you can do all that, and take care of any other unforeseen problems 
before they occur, I'm sure we will still find something about which to 
complain. Planning an entire symposium that perfectly suits everyone would 
be impossible.

Again, thank you all for a symposium that left me exhausted and inspired. 
Have a great holiday weekend!

Linda Nitchman
"The Heartland Gardener"
Region V Director

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