Hi All,
We have found one monitor. Aerin Fogel will be joining us on staff this year. Please welcome her aboard. And yes, I will need a second monitor as well, so if anybody is looking for a way to cut costs for the conference, message me and I’ll fill you in.
Call For Vendors
This is also our first call for vendors. And last year, I fear our 15-minutes between classes did not help the trade room. So if you were a vendor last year, we are going to offer you a price break — only $100 for 2 tables for you this year! While we never guarantee that you will break even, we DO feel that you were at a disadvantage and the price break is a bit of an apology. Note that it applies only to those of you who were vendors at SOTA 2016. New vendors will be paying the going rate of $150 because we are back to a schedule that SHOULD allow people reasonable opportunity to browse and buy.
What we will not be doing is offering vendors a conference pass beyond the opening. I have explained why not several times, but bear with me while I explain it again: First of all, the normal vendor’s fee is $150. The normal early bird conference fee is $210. This is not a charity. Yes, it costs you money to be here. That’s the cost of doing business. And it also cost US to have you here. It works both ways. Secondly, not only are you not making money when you’re in the lectures, your trade table is also unattended, which COULD be an invitation to theft. And we are not willing to take responsibility for unattended tables. So I fear this one is a non-negotiable no. The purpose of a vendor is to vend. If you want to be in lectures AND have a trade table, you will need to buy yourself a conference pass and also have someone to attend your table while you’re in lectures. You can’t have it both ways. Especially not for a $100 fee.
And while we’re on the subject of vendors, we are looking for a gem, mineral, and jewelry vendor. Unfortunately Billee assumed we would be running in November again and booked herself into another trade show for our conference dates. I know we will all miss her enormously and am hoping she will be back in 2018. Meanwhile, I am looking for one —or even two—gem, mineral, and jewelry vendors to replace her. So if you know someone, please have them get in touch with me or email me with their address and a bit about them.
Featured Speaker: Grace K. Morris
Ok, on to lectures, I am once again noticing fear creeping into conversations when it comes to 2017. Between Trump and Brexit, there are a lot of unanswered questions about the economy. So what better time to have a workshop on the economy. And who better to have doing this than Grace K. Morris?
Grace is an experienced, accessible speaker. She has been here before and has always been well-received. Here’s her topic:
The Stock Market and the Economy
Grace has successfully forecast the direction of the stock market and the economy for over 30 years, picking favorable sectors and winning stocks, and accurately predicting interest rates, Inflation/deflation cycles and the real estate values has proven profitable for her clients and subscribers. She will share with you the resource she uses so you, too can profit.
Now in answer to questions you might have, first of all, yes, this will involve astrology, including the charts of various stocks. And secondly, no, this is not just applicable to the US. She will be talking about the global economy. You stand to both learn from this and enjoy it.
Keynote Speaker: David Cochrane
And if you stick around after the lecture, you can also join us for the Opening Reception. Cash bar, good nibblies, and a keynote by David Cochrane:
The Astrologer’s Journey: Roller-Coasters and Merry-Go-Rounds.
More on this next week, but if the title intrigues you, by all means stick around. The Opening Reception, and David’s Keynote are included for all Deluxe attendees, staff, speakers, and vendors.
More next week. Meanwhile, I have to sort out my transportation to Cincinnati. You can still get there from here but they’ve changed the schedule so you either have to get up at 3 am to make the bus or ask people to pick you up after midnight. I am hoping there’s another way and will persevere. So until next week, stay warm and stay out of trouble — not that astrologers ever get into trouble of course!
Best,
Donna