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Guys, I can't thank everyone enough for their involvement in the run up and execution of this convention.
It was a highly successful convention. We had more people than *I* expected (Lou may have his own opinion) who would come to "flyover territory" to enjoy their mandolin buddies, the workshops and performers.
As I said at the banquet: Linda Ingham's advice based on the 1999 convention was extremely helpful. We really tried not to load people too heavily or cause any burnout. Hopefully those who helped, and those who attended feel inspired to be even better mandolin players and will inspire us all in the orchestra in the coming years!
Jean did a fantastic job working with Vicki to prepare and execute registration. She contributed information about Minneapolis businesses and services for the convention program, purchased the picks, selected and purchased the badge holders and helped in the convention bag production line.
Ronda Zimmerschied and Sue Hopperstad sat down with me in a coffee shop in Columbia Heights one cold February night and came up with the concept for the convention logo. Sue carried that forward onto the polo shirts that we sold (there's one size small left, so if you want one, let us know quick!) Ronda and her partner Mel selected the convention bags and handled the process of negotiation with the company that produced those. They looked GREAT and were very functional, not to mention REASONABLY PRICED (I think I recall Mel had some kind of discount we benefitted from?)
Jim Dostal did the tough job of reaching out to vendors and getting their presence at the convention and keeping them happy once here. I think we had just the right number and right mix of vendors offering some great merchandise.
Daryl Clark helped with publicity, writing Mandolin Journal articles, which was greatly appreciated. Myrna Mybus collected and edited artist bios for the Convention Program.
Jack Litzau excelled as our Sound Coordinator, locating Paul, our sound technician, who did a fantastic job of preparing (using the MMO as a test subject) and executing sound during the convention. Max Dingman was their erstwhile assistant during the convention - moving equipment, placing microphones and being ALL over the place assisting in that capacity.
Gary helped me a great deal in covering the workshops - getting handouts to the workshop leads and making sure that the rooms were in order and the workshops began and ended on time. Steve Maxwell was ready and willing to serve, and I think I just didn't come up with tasks for him due to my own limited brain capacity, but I appreciate his willingness and interest.
Nancy Hendricks helped us during concerts and probably did some stuff for Vicki in the office that I wasn't aware of. She distributed programs and helped me with photography during the big concert.
Dave Ingham helped with assessing our printer options by getting quotes from various sources. We ended up going a different route, but no matter - his efforts were very useful in the decision making process.
And, speaking of printing, Ronda beautified a very rough version of the Convention Program and then got her employer to produce the programs FOR FREE! Given that we had quotes of over $600 to do this, this was a huge savings for the CMSA.
On to music - I received a number of compliments about the MMO's performance. It is very cool that we played an entire set of locally composed and arranged pieces that were warmly received by our audience. There was a definite Minnesota flavor to our numbers and our performance. Above Average in all respects!
Lon Hendricks did a wonderful job MC'ing the open mic performances. People really enjoy his humor and banter.
I would say "in addition" but, this is Lon's main contribution....I really appreciate his leadership style for the orchestra. He excels at making our orchestra a low pressure, warm and inviting place for musicians of all levels to come and build their mandolin and guitar skills and get out in front of people multiple times each year. And, after taking Stefan Squarzina's conducting workshop in Italy and having to stand in front of people and do a VERY rudimentary attempt of conducting, I have a whole new respect for how challenging that job is! Not to mention selecting our repertoire and arranging pieces for us!
We are a very fortunate group. I'm sure there are mandolinists elsewhere who'd love to be a part of our group if they were near us.
If I forgot to mention someone, please pardon my lapse and remind me and I will thank you publicly in an update to this blog.
I have very much enjoyed my, I can't really recall, but, I think I'm at 7 years now, with the Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra. What a TERRIFIC group of people dedicated to making mandolin music!
With love,
Dotty
Sunday, October 7, 2012
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5 comments:
And an especially big thanks to you Dotty! I know you started putting in time way back at last year's convention—paying attention to specific details—what seemed to work, what needed improvement, etc. asking for input from others and taking many notes. We couldn't have asked for a better convention chair! All if your hard work, dedication and organization paid off. I honestly think this was one of the smoothest-running, balanced conventions I've attended. Thanks to everyone—I thoroughly enjoyed myself and hope everyone else did too!
Most definitely: a huge thank you to Dotty for taking on role of local host committee chair for the convention -- she did a great job!! I heard many positive comments from attendees on how well everything was organized and how much they were enjoying the convention. It was Dotty's leadership along with some willing helpers which made this happen.
I would like to thank the MMO volunteers who staffed the registration table: Jim Dostal, Steve Maxwell, Linda Ingham, and Sue Hopperstad. I am also extremely grateful for all of the work done by Vicki Chouinard in support of the registration process. Her experience from prior conventions was extremely valuable and her willingness to work endless hours supporting registration, raffle sales, and T-shirt sales allowed me the opportunity to be more involved in the convention than I had expected.
I would like to "ditto" all the previous comments - especially Dotty's comments about Lon.
I would like to add that I felt our performance at Friday's concert was one of our very best. What a great time to pull out a great performance.
Jean, agreed...Vicki C. went Above and Beyond in many respects leading up to this convention. If Lou/Vicki lived in a different city, that would have been more difficult, and my job (and yours as MMO volunteers) might have been much more demanding.
I figure if Lou needs to press gang some of us (me at least) on some of Vicki's "honey-do" list to knock out a bunch of his pending chores, I'm happy to do so...as long as there are brownies involved!
;)
Agreed--this was a fabulous convention, and Dottie played a big part in our success. We are in your debt! Of course, we do have a great group of people--well "above average".
I felt that we didn't seem to over-burden anybody (other than, perhaps, Dottie and the Chouinards), due to excellent planning.
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