In addition to a low ROI this event also seems to have some rather questionable optics. What exactly are we celebrating? Decades of reductions in service and aging hardware? Budget battles that are as tedious and contentious as they've ever been? The simple passage of time? Why don't we save the really big celebrations for really big wins rather than focusing on some arbitrary window of time?
Each individual has their own factors to determine their ROI. For me it just isn't there. That does not necessarily mean that is the case for everyone.
Right, it was not meant as a criticism. More pointing out that if one of our more knowledgeable and involved AU members has decided the event is not worth it, then it's a huge red flag that the event is definitely not worth it for the more casual members here.
Not only is it more expensive for you, the fact that you're paying your own way is being advertised to the people who actually matter (corporate sponsors)...
Paying serious money to put myself in a position where I'm the one being lobbied makes little sense to me.
Well, I'm going, but my stocks have been doing *very well* this year (well enough to pay for an extension on my house), so it's not feeling expensive to me this year.
Which sadly show the list of people that we have seen were invited and not confirmed.
Heh. They'd never say that out loud, but uh... the number of people I saw at the Denver NARP meeting and the ESPA meetings congratuating Jim Matthews for replacing Capon was very large. The organization has become quite evidently more effective (specifically at deploying lobbying power toward Congress) since Matthews took over.
