Editing C14 Postmortem

In the wake of the "wrong direction" we (and others) felt Cx had taken with C11, 12 & 13, it was put forth that "Convergence has jumped the shark." Xany then suggested we do a snarky bid with that as the theme. Embellishing upon this, TheOneBob offered to don the alter ego of TheOneFonz and perform the jump. [Editor's Note: Better him than me, photographic proof to follow].

In the main, this all fit well as a "back to basics" / Kegger Contingent-style bid, eschewing the Gothapalooza aspect that had tainted the previous couple of iterations.

The Hyatt was the main storage facility for all the freaks for the weekend, as well as the venue for Saturday night's events.  Their staff was '''outstanding''' (this point simply cannot be emphasized enough from a planning and execution standpoint); guest relations issues, primarily due to elevator maintenance and occasional room-key demagnetization being met with less-than-perfect customer service were present, but seem to be of the "very minor" sort.  Despite sharing space with a very large professional body-building competition, there were no real issues from the organizational side of things that I could see.

Whether I needed to clear up a misunderstanding about our space needs or just had to have an extra extension cord, the staff at the Hyatt, after going out of their way to give me their business cards, contact info, and locations where I could find them if need be, their answer to pretty much every request made of them was invariably, "Sure, give me about five minutes." ''This, more than anything else, is something future committees should strive for - an excellent working relationship with the hotel and venue, especially when that staff is competent and professional throughout.''  Anecdotal evidence suggests that even potential trouble spots were met with good-natured equanimity on the part of the Hyatt's staff - a bottle of absinthe was taken out to the pool area, and rather than insist it be gotten rid of, the security agent came back with a handful of plastic cups, so that Cx-style shenanigans could continue while still complying with the hotel's policy.

Had undergone extensive renovations in the year leading up to C14, and wasn't completely finished.  Easygoing to work with, but not on a par with the Hyatt or Convention Center in terms of professionalism or execution.  Some details were lost in translation or difficult to get answered, or left until the last moment.  When dealing with a smaller, private venue as opposed to a large, corporate entity, organizers need to be more pro-active and may need to verge on "nagging" to make sure everything that is supposed to happen does so.

Saturday Night: Bands & DJs

Professional to deal with, though obviously accustomed to much larger and more organized/structured events than Cx.  Didn't go out of the way to make us feel like amateurs, but I sure did merely by comparison.  This differs from the "handshake deal" feel of working with the Hyatt and Cuban Club, but is understandable, as they are a large municipal facility.

In taking over the role of VC, my role as the Assistant was no longer filled. This is something I definitely regret, as there are times where I needed to be in two places at once, or simply was too overwhelmed with other issues and couldn't get timely messages sent out to people. The extra assistance can make all the difference in the world when it comes to keeping everyone "in the loop" and stress levels to a minimum. I definitely suggest that anyone acting as VC for a future Convergence should make certain that they have an Assistant Volunteer Coordinator as well.