Hi All,
GLAC
I have returned from GLAC, where a good time was had by all. This was the best GLAC yet, in my opinion — good speakers, a good trade room, and very definitely good socializing. A number of SOTA-ites were there, including Demetrius Bagley, Carol Godzick, Jan Scheffer, Melody-Ann Summers, and of course Pam Wenzel, who is GLAC’s co-convener. Others too — the list would be long, trust me.
Phil Meade won the SOTA registration. Phil is a Michigan-based speaker who did an excellent lecture on fixed stars. So this time he’s a guest, but if there’s a next time we just may rope him in as a speaker — though mind you we try to keep speaker duplication to a minimum. If you’d like to peruse the list of lectures and perhaps order some recordings, you can Google Great Lakes Astrology Conference (GLAC) and order them directly from the website. Or contact saracartwright@msn.com for further information.
And now back to SOTA…
SOTA Staff
First of all, I’d like to welcome Martha Weber to our staff. Martha will be assistant registrar. She and Myra will make sure you’re badged, programmed, and sent in the right direction for whatever you’re headed for. This means we have a full contingent of staff.
AFAN Scholarships
For those of you who were hoping to cut staff by taking a staff position, there are other ways to cut costs, at least if you’re a member of AFAN. AFAN — yes, the same organization that does our wonderful hospitality — is offering a number of scholarships. Check out their website and apply today. They WILL run out, and there IS a deadline. And if you’re not a member of AFAN, why not join? They do this every year, in addition to providing hospitality and other networking opportunities. The dues are a very small price to pay for the benefits of membership you’ll receive.
Trade Room
On the Trade Room front, this is our second call for vendors. A number of our vendors from last year will be back, including A-C Tapes, Billee Dommell and David Jordan and their wonderful selection of jewelry and minerals, Joy White and Mary Lou Vaughan and their incredible carvings, and Nora Sturtevant Bouvier with her wonderful prints. And we’re expecting Fei Cochrane to be back with Sirius and more and Helene Arts to be back with an array of books.
We still have room for two or three other vendors, and we’ve had several inquiries. What you need to know is that we really want to finalize the trade room by the end of June, so if you’re still sitting on the fence or still need to pay your vendor’s fee, please contact me as soon as possible.
Also note that some of you may have heard that we were contemplating moving the trade room to the main hotel lobby for Sunday. This plan has been scrapped. It just isn’t feasible to get everything moved and set up for 8:30 am Sunday morning and we would rather stay put so you can put your energy into sales rather than set-up. My thanks to those of you who gave me input on this. Sometimes if you don’t do a job you just don’t know what’s entailed. This was one of those cases. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it simply wasn’t.
In terms of readers, we MAY have a full contingent, but if you’re interested, contact me for details. At the moment I am waiting for people to confirm by sending in their cheques.
Program
Enough, you say. What about the program? Â Well, one of our speakers this year is Ronnie Gale Dreyer. Ronnie was on the SOTA roster some years ago, but she hasn’t been back for quite a while. And since some of you expressed an interest in Vedic astrology and almost all of you expressed an interest in forecasting techniques, we thought she might be a good fit. Here’s her topic:
Forecasting  Techniques that Really Work : Indian Planetary Periods (Dashas)
Indian astrologers are known for their ability to pinpoint events by dividing your life into planetary periods called Dashas. In this talk Ronnie will show you how to apply them to your own system of astrology, as well as make your own predictions concerning births, marriages, career, health, money, and spirituality.
And in case you’re not familiar with Ronnie’s work, here’s her bio:
Ronnie Gale Dreyer is an internationally known astrological consultant, lecturer, and teacher based in New York City, and has spoken for conferences and astrology groups around the world. She is the author of several books, including Vedic Astrology, Venus, and Healing Signs. Ronnie received her MA from Columbia University in South Asian Languages and Cultures.
Although Ronnie is perhaps best known as a Vedic astrologer, she has extensive experience in Western astrology as well. So don’t be afraid to give this lecture a try. It’s not just for Vedics.
Last but not least, we have a couple of pages on Facebook — SOTA Astrology Conference and SOTA 2015 Astrology Conference (event). Please check them out and like them. Also note that the latter page is a good resource for those of you wanting to find roommates, find rides or riders, or find information on nearby attractions.
OK, that’s it for this week except for a request to please share SOTAnews with your friends. Our advertising budget is miniscule. If YOU spread the word, that’s more money we can spend on the program. It really helps! Thanks in advance!
Best,
Donna