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

Hi All,

Here it is — the first SOTA 2017 flyer!

And incidentally,  flyer production is now in  the capable hands of Jo Gleason. Jo replaces Demetrius Bagley who has gone on to, among other things, setting up vegan food tours in Italy and elsewhere. I’m actually a little envious, but also happy for him. Jo, meanwhile, was the AFAN scholarship winner (and I hope some of you looked into that program — too late now,I fear) in 2016 and it turned out that she had just the skills we needed. So now she’ll be a regular. Please join me in welcoming her aboard.

Wendy Guy is continuing on as our webmistress and will be  putting up the flyer and registration page as  soon as the corrections are made. And if any of you are looking for a webmistress, you really should talk to her. She handles all of the technical stuff on the website, promptly, efficiently, and mostly with a smile. Those of you who know me also know that I am the undisputed Queen of the Luddites, I simply couldn’t do this without Wendy’s assistance. So if any of you are looking for website help, email me and I will be happy to pass along her email address. Her rates are reasonable and frankly, you can’t go wrong. And yes, Wendy will be putting the SOTA 2017 flyer and the registration page up just as soon as we get the kinks out of the flyer. She is nothing if not prompt.

Sara Cartwright will be  back doing our taping. She did a superb job last year, so we’re happy.

We have a new  crew manning — actually ladying, like  why do they always  refer to people doing things as “manning” when it’s often women doing  the job?— the reg desk this year. Pam Wenzel, who also ran reg at GLAC, will be assisted by  Charlene  Preston (also known as Mrs. Sara’s Mother). I am delighted to have them aboard. Please welcome them.

We will be looking for one monitor this year and possibly two. So if you are on  a tight budget and would like to get a free conference in exchange  for doing a  bit of  work, contact  me and I’ll  fill you in. Work consists of taping and monitoring. And yes,you will get training. We are looking for people  who are prompt, pleasant, and efficient.  So  if this  STILL sounds like you, let’s talk!

Our flyer  is now online. Once again, I think people are going to have some tough choices to make in some time slots, and I don’t  think too many  will be tempted to miss sessions. That means we are going back to  half  hour breaks between session. A few years back, people complained that this was  too  long. Last year, people practically begged me to restore the half hour breaks. So they’re back.  Better for you, better for the vendors, who really didn’t get the attention  they deserved last year. And really, it only adds half an hour on to the day…

We will again be back at The Millennium. Now I know some of you would like to go back to the Falls, but there are many reasons not to. Much lower room rates (the hotel we used to use now charges $129 US a night, plus some kind of resort fee), free parking, free shuttle to and from the airport (and it will also take you anywhere within 3 miles of the hotel), decent food, and loads of restaurants and shopping right next door. And if you REALLY want to get to The Falls, there is a bus from the airport for cheap. Or bring your car. We’re not moving so we can pay more for less…

Featured Speaker: Greg Bogart

OK, enough back story. What about speakers??? Well, let’s talk about one of our Pre-Conference Speakers. Greg Bogart is a psychotherapist  as  well as  an astrologer.  He teaches Counseling Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, And he’s authored 5 books, 4 of which  I have read and enjoyed immensely. In  fact, Therapeutic Astrology still gets read every  year or  so — there’s that much meat in it. And yes, some of that meat is astrology. This will not be all psychobabble. You will be hearing  material from his latest book on dreamwork. Have  a look:

Jung, Astrology, and Dreams: An Experiential Workshop

Jung cast birth charts for his patients and also studied their dreams. Following Jung’s example, this presentation explores the connection between planetary symbols and archetypal figures and themes appearing in our dreams. We’ll consider how dreams reflect celestial symbolism while astrology reveals the internal order and meaning of dreams. Combining astrology and dreams is a dynamic practice that has the power to awaken us emotionally and energetically.  In this experiential workshop, participants are invited to share a dream along with their natal chart and transits.

Now I know some of you people.  Don’t be put off by the word  “experiential”. It simply means to experience, you know. And  this promises to be both a gentle and a soulful experience. We are very fortunate to have Greg since he rarely does small conferences  like ours.  So come and soak up some knowledge and some insight.

More Key Speakers

Greg  will be followed on the program by Grace K. Morris, a financial astrologer who has been here several times before.

And then on Thursday night, there will be a keynote by none  other than David Cochrane. That’s right — he agreed to come back. We may  eventually develop a reputation for being the conference that hosts speakers who  don’t do regional conferences.

More about these next week. Meanwhile, why not consider coming out for the Pre-Conference and Opening, even if you can’t attend the whole conference? With this line-up, you  can’t go wrong…

Stay warm and  have a good week,

Donna