This was my 11th AFM Convention; my first was in 1995. This, like the previous 10, was run in a competent and professional way But I do have a few suggestions for improving things in 2022.
The first is to consider moving. I'm not sure that the reasons that led the AFM to the Riviera and Las Vegas in (I believe) 1993 are still valid. Lots of places are now as easy and cheap to get to as is Las Vegas. And, while the Westgate's room rate is reasonable, everything else there is way overpriced. Worse, the dining options are extremely limited. Not only is the hotel very short on casual dining options that don't require waiting in long lines, but it's way too far to walk to anywhere else, especially given typical daytime temptations in Vegas in the summer. Yes, it's possible to take the monorail to other hotels and other options, but it's hardly convenient.
Frankly, until the last two conventions at the Riviera, when the Riv was in a death spiral, it was a better venue for the AFM than is the Westgate. I'd like to see us get back to something as good as the Riv used to be. It doesn't even need a Splash Bar.
The second regards presentations. As I suggested in one of my posts, this convention seemed to have too much time for too little content. That's not the AFM's fault; there was no way to predict that the volume of legislation proposed, and in particular the volume of resolutions, would be so low. But the balance between legislation and presentations has shifted dramatically. I went back to look at the article I wrote for Senza Sordino about my first convention, and was struck by the emphasis on how much the convention was dominated by legislation.
Presentations are often boring, and risk draining energy from the room and the delegates. There were some really good ones; the ones from the orchestras (Ft. Worth, Lyric, Chicago Symphony, and Boise) were all good, and, in the case of Ft. Worth in particular, quite inspirational. And David White was just as wonderful as he was in 2016. But the ones that used Powerpoint were generally pretty boring. I think asking the presenters to let the Powerpoint presentations be put online (and of course many delegates would be able to access those in real time) and not discuss the data in their remarks would save time and keep the delegates' interest (and energy) levels up.
My last suggestion is a little more personal. The AFM didn't live-stream this convention, unlike the past two, and I suspect that's because viewership was low. AFM conventions are, even at their most lively, not very interesting affairs. They resemble an old description of the pilot's job - 99% boredom and 1% terror. So not live-streaming the entire 4 days seems reasonable to me.
I've been live-blogging conventions since 2005 in an attempt to provide some real-time coverage to the membership. It's always been hard to both blog and participate, and it's not getting easier (not to mention more stressful on certain bodily functions it's not polite to mention in mixed company). And I may not be there in 2022.
But I know there remains a hunger amongst the more engaged rank-and-file to know what's going on in real time, which this blog has filled to some extent. No doubt there are legal questions raised if the AFM tried to do - or paid someone to do - what I've done. But I think it's worth considering hiring a freelance labor journalist to do it with the proviso that it wouldn't be an official record. In 1995, people simply didn't expect to know what was happening when it happened at things like AFM conventions. Now they do. The AFM should meet that need.
(later p.s.) It occurred to me after I wrote this that there were at least two other solutions, both cheaper. One would be to publish the minutes at the same time they are distributed to the delegates; i.ie the next day. The AFM has always put out the previous day's minutes the following morning for the delegates to read. While they tend toward the colorless, as is entirely appropriate for official minutes, they are an accurate record of what actually happened. With the list of Recommendations and Resolutions in hand, and with the addition of the AFM putting the official program online as well, rank-and-file would get a complete picture of the official actions of the Convention in real time.
Another potential solution would simply be to take the video captured at the Convention (there are at least three video cameras running during meetings which feed the Jumbotrons at the front of the room) and put it up on Youtube for the next day.
But, having said all that, I think congratulations are still in order to the AFM, and in particular AFM staff, for having done such a good job. I've helped put together two large meetings - the Unity Conference in Las Vegas and Unity II in Ottawa. It's a huge job, and I'm always impressed by how well the AFM does it.
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