AT Conference - In Texas or Thereabouts

April 9, 2007

Howdy Rhavda,

Long time fer'shur .. hoping I am that all is well in your neck of the

woods. :-P

> Dear Jane,

> I love your idea about having an aromatherapy conference in Austin,

> Texas but it will not happen anytime soon in my opinion. For years

NAHA has

> been approached about having a conference in this area of the world

and we

> got turned down because there are not enough of us to make it

financially

> feasible to hold.

You are thinking NAHA and that is what most folks are used to. But it

was disgust with the antics of NAHA years back (when Jade was playing

games as the Director) that caused Linda and Graham and a few other

folks to decide to hold much smaller .. far more friendly .. and far

less costly .. conferences in the middle states.

You are a Regional Director for NAHA .. but there were many Regionals who were disgusted with Jade's activities .. so being one of

the Regional Directors does not make one smell the same way as did

some of those closer to the flag pole. Gotta make that clear now.

> Most of the aromatherapy groups are either on the East or West Coast and

> that is where they will spend their money. They will not come to Texas,

> especially when it is hot here.

In the past we have not been concerned about AT Groups .. in fact, the

Gud Ol' Boys & Gals AT Network was not specifically invited .. those

who were aware of a conference were those on this list and the ATFE

list .. and that was enough. I have customers in 50 states and the

majority of them are from California .. but 2nd to that is TaxUs .. so

there are one heckuva lotta Taxicans who are interested.

> I attended both a conference on the East Coast (2004)

I was scheduled to speak at that NAHA conference (or maybe it was the

year before) but then Jade and her cronies started playing games with

NAHA .. so I cancelled .. even though I was coming to the USA anyway

and they would have paid my airfare, I couldn't go to their conference

if I could no longer support NAHA .. so I paid my airfare. At that

time I was not only not supporting NAHA but I was of a mind to want

see them go down for the count. The name " UnConference " was

especially chosen to distinguish it from NAHA activities .. and the

first one was held at the same time NAHA held one .. that too was

planned. There was at that time .. and might still might be .. an

embargo of NAHA activities by many in the AT community.

As for costs, NAHA was a profit making non-profit .. probably still

is. But our conferences had a totally non-profit motive and there was

no kitty to feed .. no expenses.

> and one on the West Coast (2000) and the people in attendance came

mostly

> from these areas.

A good reason to NOT have it on the East or West Coast. Folks who

want it delivered to them on a Silver Platter should stay home. ;-)

If a person wants to come then having it in the middle of the USA is

the best thing .. and we don't expect 100 people to show up .. 20 is fine.

I am not sure that the location is as much of an issue as is who is

holding the conference. There was a conference in Toronto back in

1999. Toronto is not all that close to anyone .. but lots of folks

attended. The list of those who presented at that conference are

listed here .. http://www.aromamedical.com/articles/IATA.htm .. upper

right hand corner of the page .. and as best as I can remember there

were maybe 150 folks or so in attendance. By the way .. that page is

a summary of the discussions .. I still have maybe 20 copies of the

bound final after action document .. much more detail .. and I have

offered them to folks from time to time for $25 .. exactly what I paid

for them .. if anyone wants one just write me.

My point in all this is .. folks who want to come will come .. those

who need to be pushed to come will always find a reason to not come.

For the last few years many folks found reasons to not support NAHA.

> You have a wonderful idea but because of the costs involved and the

support

> needed to put on a conference you will not see one in this part of

the world

> whether it be Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, or Houston.

I believe that there WILL BE an AT Conference in Texas this year .. or

fairly close to Texas maybe. How many folks show up .. that's yet to

be determined, but for sure those that do show up will have one

Heckuva Gud Time. :-P

Two of the past conferences were held in Arizona .. I made one of them

and Martin Watt made one of them .. I came from Turkey and Martin

came from London .. and last year it was held in Alburquerque .. I and

other folks made that one. We had folks show up in Albuquerque from

Boston, Los Angeles .. Texas and Turkey.

The support needed is next to nothing .. last year we simply drew up a

one sheet list of who would speak on what and we did it .. it was not

a Dawg & Pony Show .. folks sat around & listened and asked questions

and it was a good thing .. same as in years past. If we wanted to

have a Dawg & Pony Show we would have had to start the planning around

18 months ago .. you know that is a fact.

As for costs .. there probably will be NONE to be paid .. no speakers

expenses are paid. NAHA pays air, hotel, food, etc., for speakers.

Our conference is one of those " Come on down y'all " kinda things. ;-)

There was $30 a head cost last year because we booked a classroom in

the University of New Mexico .. but at the last minute we decided that

we were happier doing it in the complex where we were staying .. so we

cancelled but they would not return the money. It is possible that

the conference this year will cost $0 per head .. folks just pay for

their own " getting there " and then lodging, chow and whatever.

> I am the North Texas Regional Director for NAHA and I have difficulty in

> even getting people together for a regional meeting and would have more

> of a problem trying to get people involved on a state level.

You and I are buddies so I know you'll not take this personally .. but

if I lived one block away from where NAHA was holding a conference I

would not go .. and I know a heckuva lotta others who feel the same way.

> Remember Texas is a big state and each part of Texas lives in its own

> little world. ;-D

Dang .. California is another country all together and those folks

came to Arizona twice and to Albuquerque. ;-)

> I hope that this information helps.

If it was a NAHA type Conference we were planning it would be very

helpful but since that is not what we are planning, it provided a

springboard for explaining what our Conference is NOT. ;-)

> Rhavda Emison

> Scents of Success

> Arlington, Texas

Y'all have a good one .. and see you at the Texas (or thereabouts) AT

Conference this year. Maybe the group will decide to hold it in some

exotic place .. like maybe " Cut & Shoot " . Lots of folks probably

spent their entire lives wondering what it was like in " Cut & Shot " I

would sho'nuf be game to have " it " there.

Actually, " AT Conference " sounds kinda boring. I am sure folks can

come up with something a bit more catchy that that. ;-)

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

April 9, 2007

Dear Butch,

It is great to hear from you and your opinions. I am well aware of

your views on NAHA as they have not changed in the past few years. However,

if you want to change NAHA then you should become a member again and run

for office so that changes can be made. The reason that I joined NAHA years

ago was to help make a difference. I don't believe that I have been able to

do much on a national level since I don't care for the politics of many of

the upper people involved but I can make a difference on my local level by

trying to bring people together who love aromatherapy and want to talk

about it. I do not agree with everything that NAHA does or says but I can

take a stand to try and change things rather that complain about the

problems and do nothing. By the way I spoke at a NAHA conference several

years ago and my way as well as my hotel and food was not paid for by NAHA.

Your experience with them paying your way must have been several years

before.

Are you also aware that Aromatics In Action is another aromatherapy

organization started as a result of the NAHA politics? I joined them

because they are young and vibrant and need to be supported if they are

going to make a difference in our community. Last fall they had a

conference planned but it didn't make because they did not have the people

needed nor the support and money needed. Money, contrary to what you are

talking about does make a difference for people who want to attend. Not

everyone is you or Martin Watt.

I am coming in on the tail end of this thread due to bouncing my

messages for the past week so if there are other conferences or

organizations out there, please share the information with me. Thanks.

Maybe you might even think about putting together a conference where you

are going to be living. I am sure that it would be a great success for all

involved.

I am glad that you have your opinions and I am glad that I have my

opinions. We both have our opinions based on our past history with NAHA and

other organizations or rather lack of organizations because people often

chose to complain from afar and help tear apart an organization that could

be rebuilt if those people wanted to really make a difference and change

things. Isn't it great that we live in a country where we can express

differences of opinion without problems?

I'm glad that you are back at full blast. I look forward to your

emails. They are always so insightful and interesting.

Take care and have a great week! I look forward to seeing you at the

next aromatherapy conference in Austin.

Regards,

Rhavda

Mother of a future Marine Air Pilot who will graduate from the US

Naval Academy

on May 25, 2007.

Semper Fi

Original Message:

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Butch Owen butchbsi

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 04:02:41 -0000