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rich.hopkins@gmail.com
Guest
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 Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:40 am Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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Hmmm...having gone overtime at Region before, I think I'll just offer
to refund about 75 cents to any of you who ask....!
Rich.
Colin William wrote:
| Quote: | rich.hopkins@gmail.com> wrote
I agree that it is overpriced, although its only $11 per speaker.
Well, if you want to break it down that way, then it's $1.57 per minute of
prepared speeches - more if anyone comes in under 7 minutes ;-)
So Rich, you are obligated to go exactly 7:29 to maximize everyone's value!
Colin |
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Colin William
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:39 am Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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"Susan Niven CSP DTM PID" <foronlineuse@shaw.ca> wrote
| Quote: | One of our District's PDGs told me he thought the speech contest was
$60.00. Did I happen to run across something with $50.00 extra tacked on
a day too soon? $60.00 seems high but reasonable. $110.00 seems
exorbitant, but I bit the bullet and paid it.
$22 to $110 in 6 years?! 500% is a Big Increase! Don't know about you, but
my income sure hasn't jumped 500% in the last 6 years !!!!
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And on the heels of a 50% dues increase, too. And in a context where they
already double-bill dual members. It seems the organization is hell-bent on
milking its most dedicated people.
Colin |
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rich.hopkins@gmail.com
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 9:44 am Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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At the risk of sounding like a Toastmasters apologist (and I, for the
record, voted against the dues increase at the club and district
level), could they have been undercharging us for years?
That seems to be the stance they took on the dues increase severity.
Rich
Colin William wrote:
| Quote: | "Susan Niven CSP DTM PID" <foronlineuse@shaw.ca> wrote
One of our District's PDGs told me he thought the speech contest was
$60.00. Did I happen to run across something with $50.00 extra tacked on
a day too soon? $60.00 seems high but reasonable. $110.00 seems
exorbitant, but I bit the bullet and paid it.
$22 to $110 in 6 years?! 500% is a Big Increase! Don't know about you, but
my income sure hasn't jumped 500% in the last 6 years !!!!
And on the heels of a 50% dues increase, too. And in a context where they
already double-bill dual members. It seems the organization is hell-bent on
milking its most dedicated people.
Colin |
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Joy
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 9:47 am Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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I don't think so. Other conventions I've attended or heard about usually
don't charge that kind of money. And if you consider the contest to be a
show, only top stars who are paid megabucks usually draw an audience with a
ticket price of $110. The "stars" of the contest aren't paid, so I don't
see how they can possibly justify that sort of charge.
Joy
<rich.hopkins@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1155005041.483518.151460@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | At the risk of sounding like a Toastmasters apologist (and I, for the
record, voted against the dues increase at the club and district
level), could they have been undercharging us for years?
That seems to be the stance they took on the dues increase severity.
Rich
Colin William wrote:
"Susan Niven CSP DTM PID" <foronlineuse@shaw.ca> wrote
One of our District's PDGs told me he thought the speech contest was
$60.00. Did I happen to run across something with $50.00 extra tacked
on
a day too soon? $60.00 seems high but reasonable. $110.00 seems
exorbitant, but I bit the bullet and paid it.
$22 to $110 in 6 years?! 500% is a Big Increase! Don't know about you,
but
my income sure hasn't jumped 500% in the last 6 years !!!!
And on the heels of a 50% dues increase, too. And in a context where they
already double-bill dual members. It seems the organization is hell-bent
on
milking its most dedicated people.
Colin
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betsy_in_va
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:11 pm Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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| Quote: | (If you want to check this out yourself, or check out the prices for any
other year, just go to www.archive.org and type in www.toastmasters.org in
the field for the "Way Back Machine" and it will give you a list of dates
for each year, with links to the site as of that date.
This is a very handy tool for all sorts of things!)
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This site is cool. Definitely something to browse through if you've got
an hour or two to kill. |
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Colin William
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:31 am Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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<rich.hopkins@gmail.com> wrote
| Quote: | At the risk of sounding like a Toastmasters apologist (and I, for the
record, voted against the dues increase at the club and district
level), could they have been undercharging us for years?
That seems to be the stance they took on the dues increase severity.
|
I don't see how they could conceivably have been undercharging to the tune
of needing a 400% increase. Maybe they're choosing more deluxe convention
locations; maybe the economic downturn in this decade means fewer people are
attending. Maybe they had been jacking up convention costs to try to
generate revenue to offset losses from undercharging on dues. Maybe they
looked at the demographics of those attending and concluded that this market
could sustain a price increase. *shrug* I dunno. I imagine there are less
expensive locations they could use, though that'd negate some of the travel
appeal, esp. for spouses and families.
Still, when you combine generally higher travel costs with jacked up
convention costs, they might be creating a vicious cycle as they price more
and more people out of being able to attend; then, as fewer people are able
to attend, they have to further increase the prices to spread costs across
fewer people. It'll get to the point where even local TMs will be unable to
attend; I certainly couldn't justify paying $220 for my wife and I to go see
the contest, even if it were here in my town and a 5 minute drive away. I
hate admitting that, as I'd love to see the best in person (you, for
instance  ), but life just has too many financial demands for us to drop
that kind of coin on a 2 hour contest.
Colin |
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betsy_in_va
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 4:35 am Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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Wishful thinking, I know, but it would be nice if the extra money for
the contest admission went directly into a fund to pay for the
international contestant's travel.
Which reminds me, do they provide transportation all the way to the
convention center or just to the airport? |
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rich.hopkins@gmail.com
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 5:49 am Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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Agreed. I certainly couldn't afford to do this without the sponsorship
of so many in my District, and TI's generosity toward the contestants.
$220 is a lot of money for a morning out - even for an evening out
unless you are going to Broadway shows.
I remember seeing a WCPS tape one year that mentioned it was sponsored
by a bank - perhaps our corporate sponsorships are drying up?
Rich.
Colin William wrote:
| Quote: | rich.hopkins@gmail.com> wrote
At the risk of sounding like a Toastmasters apologist (and I, for the
record, voted against the dues increase at the club and district
level), could they have been undercharging us for years?
That seems to be the stance they took on the dues increase severity.
I don't see how they could conceivably have been undercharging to the tune
of needing a 400% increase. Maybe they're choosing more deluxe convention
locations; maybe the economic downturn in this decade means fewer people are
attending. Maybe they had been jacking up convention costs to try to
generate revenue to offset losses from undercharging on dues. Maybe they
looked at the demographics of those attending and concluded that this market
could sustain a price increase. *shrug* I dunno. I imagine there are less
expensive locations they could use, though that'd negate some of the travel
appeal, esp. for spouses and families.
Still, when you combine generally higher travel costs with jacked up
convention costs, they might be creating a vicious cycle as they price more
and more people out of being able to attend; then, as fewer people are able
to attend, they have to further increase the prices to spread costs across
fewer people. It'll get to the point where even local TMs will be unable to
attend; I certainly couldn't justify paying $220 for my wife and I to go see
the contest, even if it were here in my town and a 5 minute drive away. I
hate admitting that, as I'd love to see the best in person (you, for
instance ), but life just has too many financial demands for us to drop
that kind of coin on a 2 hour contest.
Colin |
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rich.hopkins@gmail.com
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 5:56 am Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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Just to the airport. (that's ok, that's still pretty generous) Lucky
me, though, I have connections - a TM friend from my old club in Utah
(before I moved to WA), is a TM in DC, and is picking me up!
Rich.
betsy_in_va wrote:
| Quote: | Wishful thinking, I know, but it would be nice if the extra money for
the contest admission went directly into a fund to pay for the
international contestant's travel.
Which reminds me, do they provide transportation all the way to the
convention center or just to the airport? |
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Colin William
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 8:45 am Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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<rich.hopkins@gmail.com> wrote
| Quote: | Agreed. I certainly couldn't afford to do this without the sponsorship
of so many in my District, and TI's generosity toward the contestants.
$220 is a lot of money for a morning out - even for an evening out
unless you are going to Broadway shows.
|
$220 is the kind of money I'm willing to spend for my wife and I to splurge
on an anniversary or something (we just dropped more than that on an
overnight trip to Chicago for our ten year anniversary). But a TI contest
does not fall into that category :-)
| Quote: | I remember seeing a WCPS tape one year that mentioned it was sponsored
by a bank - perhaps our corporate sponsorships are drying up?
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That's an interesting question.
Colin |
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betsy_in_va
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 7:44 pm Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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Sounds like your covered. I was going to offer to pick you up if you
needed a ride... I wouldn't want your speech to be all about "How I Got
Lost Trying To Take The Metro..."
:-)
Two weeks to go... and it looks like we might even get a break with the
weather. Pricey or not, I must admit I'm getting excited about it. |
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Regina Litman
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 8:32 am Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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Regina Litman wrote:
| Quote: |
Just before Division B's next shot at hosting came along, in Fall 2005,
a reorganization put my club into the newly-created Division F. And now,
it is Division F's turn, and I'm the Treasurer/Registration Chair.
|
It was Fall 2004, not Fall 2005.
Incidentally, because I was the outgoing Division B Governor, I was the
person who was given the assignment of deciding which half of old
Division B would still be called Division B and which half would now be
called Division F, effective July 1, 2004. Knowing that the half
remained B would have the task of hosting the next Conference, I asked
the incoming District Governor if a site for the Fall 2004 Conference
had been picked yet. She told me that it was going to be in the same
facility where we had held the Spring 2002 Conference. That's in the far
western end of the old Division B, so it became a simple matter to
designate the western half as Division B and the eastern half as Division F.
Or so I thought. After the program year got underway, I learned that the
Fall Conference was not going to be at that western location after all;
it was going to be in a facility near the center of the old Division but
slightly over the line into what became Division F. In fact, it's so
close to yet another Division, Division C, that it had been the location
of a District Conference once before when it was Division C's turn to
host it.
But things worked out for the best. I got a couple of more Toastmaster
years under my belt before the Conference cycled into my Division again.
And in a touch of irony, when it became Division C's turn to host the
Spring 2005 Conference, despite being located some distance from their
Division, the conference ended up in the facility at the far western end
of old Division B!
The upcoming conference hosted by Division F is at the far eastern end
of the old Division B. Ironically, though, it is only a block away from
the Division C border!
(Division C is the city of Philadelphia. Divisions B and F comprise the
four Pennsylvania counties that are in the suburbs of the city. Delaware
and Chester Counties are in Division B. Bucks County is in Division F.
Montgomery County is split between B and F. Division D covers the parts
of the state of New Jersey that are in District 38. Divisions A, E, and
G cover other parts of Pennsylvania.)
--
Please note my correct email address:
rslitman [at-sign] infionline [dot] net |
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Rod Taylor
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:52 am Post subject: Re: Finally Going to International Convention! |
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"Regina Litman" <rslitman@infi.net> wrote in message
news:44DA8CBB.5040606@infi.net...
| Quote: | Regina Litman wrote:
Just before Division B's next shot at hosting came along, in Fall
2005,
a reorganization put my club into the newly-created Division F. And
now,
it is Division F's turn, and I'm the Treasurer/Registration Chair.
It was Fall 2004, not Fall 2005.
Incidentally, because I was the outgoing Division B Governor, I was
the
person who was given the assignment of deciding which half of old
Division B would still be called Division B and which half would now
be
called Division F, effective July 1, 2004. Knowing that the half
remained B would have the task of hosting the next Conference, I asked
the incoming District Governor if a site for the Fall 2004 Conference
had been picked yet. She told me that it was going to be in the same
facility where we had held the Spring 2002 Conference. That's in the
far
western end of the old Division B, so it became a simple matter to
designate the western half as Division B and the eastern half as
Division F.
Or so I thought. After the program year got underway, I learned that
the
Fall Conference was not going to be at that western location after
all;
it was going to be in a facility near the center of the old Division
but
slightly over the line into what became Division F. In fact, it's so
close to yet another Division, Division C, that it had been the
location
of a District Conference once before when it was Division C's turn to
host it.
But things worked out for the best. I got a couple of more Toastmaster
years under my belt before the Conference cycled into my Division
again.
And in a touch of irony, when it became Division C's turn to host the
Spring 2005 Conference, despite being located some distance from their
Division, the conference ended up in the facility at the far western
end
of old Division B!
The upcoming conference hosted by Division F is at the far eastern end
of the old Division B. Ironically, though, it is only a block away
from
the Division C border!
|
That's interesting. In this District, the conferences are organised by
the Divisions. The sequence takes geography into account for both
conferences. Once the hosting Division has been assigned, that Division
makes all the arrangements, including venue, speakers, programme, etc.
District simply oversees the programme to ensure that all the
formalities are included (AGM, Council meeting, executive meetings,
etc.)
Rod Taylor (rodt iafrica - don't forget the @ and the dotcom)
Transformers Toastmasters Club
District 74, Southern Africa |
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