[Bristol-Birds] All is quiet and we rest from the TOS/VSO weekend.
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 23:10:35 -0400
All is quiet at the Johnson City convention center where a large
turnout of birders from several states converged for a long weekend
of birding and fellowship. It was the joint state meeting of TOS/VSO.
At this late hour, many birders are still on the long roads home and
some with still more yet to drive.
The 10-member Memphis TOS group said they could drive to
Illinois or the Canadian border and be closer to home than come
to Johnson City and the Southern Blue Ridge.
Certainly many others from Alexandria, just outside the nation's
Capitol and those from the edge of the sea in Virginia, came a
long distance.
The turnout of birders and their guests was 184 -- the largest number
ever to attend a TOS or VSO meeting.
Mac McWhirter, TOS treasurer from Memphis, said the meeting in
Johnson City was the best in his memory. Martha Waldron and
Susan McWhirter, along with Dick Preston offered high praise.
Norris Ford and wife, Janine, from Roanoke, called it the best meeting
they have attended. Norris, the long-time President of Dominion
Bank in Bristol Virginia (known now as Wells Fargo) termed it
tremendously organized and very professional. Teta Kain, whose
idea the joint meeting was, said it lived up to all expectations and
was better than anyone would ever have imagined for any VSO
state meeting. The compliments continued and many of our birders
heard praise.
BBC took advantage of its many positive and creative thinkers who
shared over and over in the concepts that might make this meeting
very special. They teamed with positive thinking imaginations to make
as much happen as possible and not get trapped in the least common
denominators. Down the stretch they worked harder, smarter and
faster to reach reality. They achieved it all with time to spare. The
entire event came together days ahead of schedule.
More than 30 BBC members participated. Most of them knew three
years ago this appointed weekend was scheduled. They held the date.
They made it one of their priorities. We also gained back several
members who had been distracted or faded away. They came to share
with us and some worked hard to help us succeed. They paused to
promise they were back with us. We welcome them with open arms.
We missed them.
Not enough can be said about our members who rose above the
din of the hour to make it happen with grace and strength.
Roy Knispel helped negotiate the contracts and orders and attended
meetings with the hotel convention center management. That
followed his search among Johnson City area venues to find one
that would well serve our needs. He attuned the meeting sessions
and led field trips.
Michele Sparks grasped the event plan several had tediously
crafted. She went at it with few reservations. She was given the
endorsement of full authority to manage our floor interest in the
convention center and did it all without strife or stumble. The only
thing she had to prove was it would work and she would make it.
She did.
Dave Worley wired us to the max with hundreds of feet of electrical
distribution, video cable, sound systems, digital projection, computer
management for our overhead information screen and orcastrated
three digital projectors driven in sync on three screens for the banquet
program. It was beautiful. It was perfect. Birders had never seen
anything like it. They had never seen a state meeting with balloons
decorating the hallways -- earth colors to beat it all !
When the doors opened to the Taylor Ballroom banquet hall, birders
walked in with wide-eye awe of the 100 feet of wall space glowing
with sprawling beds of Catawba Rhodendron from high atop Roan
Mountain projected in a glow of pink on three screens beneath the
dimly lit ceiling lights above a floor full of tables with candles encircling
tiny bird houses painted by Jacki Hinshaw, Rick Knight and Michele
Sparks.
It was an opening volley not soon to be forgotten by many. It was
Worley's best moment of the weekend which saw him provide audio
and visual to speaker after speaker for all types of events during the
weekend. Digital projectors were everywhere.
The Friday morning load in crew of Michele Sparks, Dianna Worley, John
Moyle, Janice Martin, Fred Martin, Faye Wagers and a host of booth
workers, convention center crews and such kept pushing everything into place as
trucks moved thru the loading areas and arms full of merchandise, books,
artwork and art items carried and dollied. Panel after panel went up
one at a time and as many as four persons worked to get the lighting
all rigged and in place.
It was a thrill when the hotel crew climbed atop the roof of the convention
center portico and hung Worley's banner which welcomed birders from
TOS and VSO.
Janice Martin and others set up the check in and registration table to
distribute name tags. Michele Sparks set up and organized vendors
and those who had displays from TOS and VSO as well as the BBC
information table, Tennessee Wildlife Resources display and all types
of documents, handouts, schedules and sold BBC books. Gail Williams
helped Sparks and Martin and distributed abstract program handouts
at the afternoon Scientific Paper Session. Ellen Parker also assisted.
Patricia Wagers helped with the registration table as did Lois Cox and
Wilma Boy.
Mike Poe managed the layout and printing of an excellent design of
a name tag which was color coded with the state of membership
affiliations by TOS or VSO as well as the state logs, persons name
and where they were from. He ordered and had shipped 200 top-loading
name tag holders. Each holder contained your banquet ticket behind
your name tag.
Poe also produced the overhead video screens of the schedule of
events which ran for days in the main convention center lobby.
In addition he put up a website of information about the meeting
on the internet.
All of the commercial booths reported unexpected high and very
satisfying sales. Buteo Books realized almost $2,000 in book sales.
They brought two cases of pre-ordered books which people emailed
and called in to ask them to bring incase they were interested. Allen
Hale, owner, said every book brought for the preview was claimed
and sold. In addition, two other crew members of Buteo Books went
on with the company truck to Maryville, TN and participated in another
successful book adventure. He termed his involvement with TOS and
VSO in Johnson City not only profitable but well beyond the expected.
Mahoney's of Johnson City surprised themselves. They manned their
booth with two store employees and sold almost everything you could
imagine. Outdoor sun hats were popular. They had a table full of
binoculars including SWAROVSKI. They were pleased to
sell three pairs of binoculars. Most surprising was their stable platform
kayak they showed off from a truck in the parking lot. A boat you can
bring quietly into even the shallowest of water to bird. They sold all
kinds of shirts, polar bottles, sunscreens, camel packs and even put
their lotions on sale at the end and caused a big run on them.
The convention hallway was packed with birders arm to arm who
were thrilled with the open reception food selection, which included a
very nice array of fruits and meats. The cash bar was busy as a
waterfall and there was much rave about a new beer well enjoyed
but not previous tasted. Everyone loved it! We did ourselves proud.
Dr. Andy Jones' opening night talk about who keeps changing your
field guides was a big hit with more than a hundred birders filling the
room. They were astonished to learn that the Yellow-breasted Chat
actually has been determined not to be a warbler after all. Even our
Scarlet Tanager and Summer Tanagers are not even tanagers. We
just never knew any better when field guides began.
Many birders, led in field trips by Joe McGuiness to Big Bald Mountain
and Rack Cross to Roan Mountain, went in search of the Northern
Saw-whet Owls and did not get back to their hotel until midnight.
After a schedule of business meetings, board of directors, paper sessions
and such, the banquet had a full house to hear Dr. Fred J. Alsop III dazzle
the audience with the three-screen projection show and talk about birds of
Tennessee and our mountains. He was followed with Jen Connors and
Michele Sparks organizing a 16-gift door prize give-a-way which was drawn
and called by Wallace Coffey with Jen and Michele running gifts to the many
happy winners. At the end, the crowd picked up and took home the many
beautiful and neat decorative bird boxes made by Jacki Hinshaw and team
and placed on each table.
The Friday buffet was delicious, well presented and held up to the end.
The food selection was made by Ellen Parker and Michele Sparks. Janice
Martin met with the Executive Chef, hotel management, Roy Knispel and
Wallace Coffey to help determine the actual amount ordered.
The cash bar in the half-hour social just before dinner on Saturday was
more than busy.
John Moyle and Dave Worley collected banquet tickets at the door.
The two states conducted a brief business meeting and presented several
awards.
Before the lights went out on the convention center floor Saturday night, the
load out crew of Michele Sparks, John Hay, Rack Cross, Dave Worley,
Vicki Henderson and Janice Martin cleared the doorways and closed the
door on the last truck and van at exactly 11 p.m.
The entire weekend ran on time. The Friday night speaker's program
actually started a little early. Otherwise, all the food, drinks, sessions and
doors opened on the minute. Water stations with cups and ice water were
located everywhere and in abundance.
Rick Knight organized an array of highly-popular and enjoyable field trips which
went well into the mountains to include Hampton Creek Cove, Roan Mountain,
Big Bald Mountain, Shady Valley and Unaka Mountain. The weather was
comfortable and everyone was thrilled with the many mountain birds seen and
heard on their breeding grounds. They cannot be found breeding in the lower
elevations of either state. They were timely, well received and everyone had
nothing but fun and praise for the field trips. They spanned three days.
Half of all the birders who had more than 111 room nights at the Holiday Inn,
checked in on Thursday night in order to get out at daylight Friday to begin the
first of three days of birding. As they arrived Roy Knispel and Wallace Coffey
spent six hours Thursday greeting birders, handing out printed information,
answering questions of all kinds, pushing baggage carts into the driveway and
helping haul luggage into the hotel lobby and to the elevators. That was
much appreciated by long-traveled and weary birders.
But the Bristol Bird Club more appreciated all they did to travel so far and do
so
much to make our joint state meeting of TOS/VSO such a success,
(If anyone was inadvertently omitted, we are sorry and will make good if we
learn
who was left out of this list accounting.)
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- » [Bristol-Birds] All is quiet and we rest from the TOS/VSO weekend. - Wallace Coffey
