# AGA Convention 2006



## CherylR (Aug 12, 2004)

If you are planning to attend the Aquatic Gardeners Association convention in San Francisco this year, you need to reserve your hotel room, like, NOW. Rates go up in a week or so, and we NEED FOLKS to reserve so we make our minimum room nights to guarantee the rates.

More info on the convention: www.aquatic-gardeners.org/convention.html

Cheryl Rogers
DFWAPC Secretary
AGA Membership Chair


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Cheryl,

Forgive me for the questions, but I'm having a hard time comprehending some of the abundance of information and would like to know a few more details and specifics. Question regarding Registration for the Convention and guests:

Is the *Monterey Bay Aquarium* 50 person limit reserved only for AGA members, do family and friends have to sign up to go on the tour also and are included in the 50 person limit? I assume the 50 person limit is due to a combination of transportation limits via bus, or Monterery Bay restrictions for the tours.

It says convention is limited to AGA members only. Does that mean guests are not allowed? What's the limit on guests and family members?

What does the Banquet entail? Is it going to be at the hotel? I assume each guest one brings is an addition $40. Does that include kids? What's the limit on the number of guests?

Thank you for your time,

-John N.


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## CherylR (Aug 12, 2004)

John N. said:


> Is the *Monterey Bay Aquarium* 50 person limit reserved only for AGA members, do family and friends have to sign up to go on the tour also and are included in the 50 person limit? I assume the 50 person limit is due to a combination of transportation limits via bus, or Monterery Bay restrictions for the tours.


Monterey Bay Aquarium only allows us 50 people. We are very close to that number now. You have to be registered for the convention to come on the field trip BUT of course you may bring a guest as long as the guest also has a ticket for the field trip.



John N. said:


> It says convention is limited to AGA members only. Does that mean guests are not allowed? What's the limit on guests and family members?


Everyone who attends the talks must be registered for the convention, however, we require only one AGA membership per household. There is no limit on guests and family members as long as everyone has a ticket who watches the presentations.



John N. said:


> What does the Banquet entail?


We eat, drink, and are merry. Erik presents the 2006 Aquascaping Contest winners. There is another talk by Troels Anderson. Then "The Iron Aquascaper Contest" occurs before your very eyes.



John N. said:


> Is it going to be at the hotel?


Yes.



John N. said:


> I assume each guest one brings is an addition $40.


Yes.



John N. said:


> Does that include kids?


Ya got me there. Lemme go ask.



John N. said:


> What's the limit on the number of guests?


No limit to my knowledge. You keep asking about limits. It's scaring me. Just how many people are there in your family? 

I'll give you some examples.

Example # 1. John wants to attend the AGA convention. He wants to go on the field trip, attend the talks, and go to the banquet. San Francisco is such a great place, he wants to take the wife along for a romantic getaway. John's wife Mary wants to go to the MBA, and the banquet sounds nice, but she has no interest whatsoever in planted tanks and would be bored to a stupor during the talks. So she will go to museums and shopping while he is at the talks on Saturday. John will need 2 field trip tickets, 1 convention registration, 2 banquet tickets, and 1 AGA membership. John is particularly excited about the membership because it gets him four shiny new issues of the magazine, The Aquatic Gardener, as it is published over the next year. 

Example # 2. John wants to attend the AGA convention. He wants to go on the field trip, attend the talks, and go to the banquet. John's wife Mary is also interested in planted tanks. She will make John's life pure hell if she doesn't get to go, too. John will need 2 field trip tickets, 2 convention registrations, 2 banquet tickets, and 1 AGA membership.

John & Mary had better hurry and reserve their rooms at the hotel, too, because the fabulous room rates that the AGA arranged will expire soon. They know that clicking on the link at the AGA web site is the best way for them to get the fabulous rates and for the AGA to get credit for their stay.



John N. said:


> Thank you for your time,


No problem at all, John. I'll get back to you on the kid thing.

Cheryl


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Cheryl, you are too funny.  I think I got it.

John needs AGA membership *$32*

Everyone I bring to attend the convention/talks must pay $*59 each.*

If they want to go to the Aquarium Tour it's *$35 each*. What if John, Mary and crew decided to drive themselves to Monterery, can we just RSVP and pay the the entrance fee of $22.

Unfortunately, money doesn't grow on trees so the banquet might be out of the cards for me and my 3-5 guests (2 kids if they're lucky). 

Different note, is there a ship schedule of the 4 magazine/journal publications for the year?

-John N.


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## CherylR (Aug 12, 2004)

John N. said:


> John needs AGA membership *$32*


Well, if John wants three back issues along with his four new issues, he can pay $32. But a single one-year membership without back issues is only $20 for US, Mexico, and Canada.



John N. said:


> What if John, Mary and crew decided to drive themselves to Monterery, can we just RSVP and pay the the entrance fee of $22.


You can do that, but you won't be able to enjoy the lovely snacks or the behind-the-scenes tour of the MBA. They have been very strict with us. The fee also includes transporation for out-of-towners.



John N. said:


> Unfortunately, money doesn't grow on trees so the banquet might be out of the cards for me and my 3-5 guests (2 kids if they're lucky).


I hear you. I'm still checking on the kids thing.



John N. said:


> Different note, is there a ship schedule of the 4 magazine/journal publications for the year?


I try to mail it in the middle of each quarter.

Cheryl


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## Erik Olson (Dec 2, 2004)

A few additions/corrections...

1. The banquet, as far as I know, will not feature a second talk by Troels, just the Iron Aquascaper spectacle, and the aquascaping contest awards presentation (which thankfully I'm only the MC for... the real talking is going to be by the judges, at least two of whom will be there that night).

2. If your guests aren't actually going to see the talks, they do not have to pay the $59 registration fee. That wasn't mentioned here yet. Some families come to conventions as part of a larger vacation, and everyone else runs off to the city while Mom watches her nerdy fish talks, then they all regroup and do the banquet on Saturday. Anyone is free to browse the vendor room and outside areas, and attend the auction.

- Erik


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

This is all starting to remind me of those commercials...

AGA membership $32

Hotel Accomidations $200

Tickets to AGA Convention $59

Weekend at the Convention, Banquet, Tour, Talks, Ect... PRICELESS  


You guys who get to go are so lucky.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Thank you Cheryl and Erik for the clarification.

I was just about to ask if the vendor rooms were "free" but it looks like they are. What typically is showcased within vendor rooms, or simply what's the highlight of seeing the vendors? I'm imagining people tabling with pamphlets of their products.

At the moment, I'm not entirely sure if those talks are of interest to me, and I just realized that the Sheraton is in the southern area of San Francisco, and away from the main area of Market Street, China Town, Fisherman's wharf, etc. which take about 30 minutes via BART to get up north, and lots of walking thereafter.

Can Convention registration, and AGA AGA registration be purchased "at the door" if John and/or company decide to change their mind?

Sorry about all these questions. I'm sure you have been answering alot of the same ones over and over.

Oh FYI for those visiting SF, check out breakfeast/brunch at the Cliff House. Food is great, and there's a great view of the ocean. Great place to hang out at the beach with family, and have some good eats.

-John N.


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## CherylR (Aug 12, 2004)

John N. said:


> I'm imagining people tabling with pamphlets of their products.


There will be some of that, certainly. But I don't know if this is typical, but our vendor room is usually pretty interesting. The vendors tend to send scientists, not salesmen. So you can learn as much in the vendor room as in the talks!



John N. said:


> Can Convention registration, and AGA AGA registration be purchased "at the door" if John and/or company decide to change their mind?


Sure.



John N. said:


> Sorry about all these questions. I'm sure you have been answering alot of the same ones over and over.


Not really. And by answering them in this forum, we can help a lot of people at once. If *you* have a question, you can bet that 20 other people have the same question.

Cheryl


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## CherylR (Aug 12, 2004)

Here's the latest e-mail blurb from the AGA. Those of you who are already members, you already got this.

Greetings from the Aquatic Gardeners Association!

Less than two months remain until our big AGA convention in San Francisco the weekend of November 10th, and less than a month is left to book your hotel room!

You may have heard some details of the convention already: We've got seven great speakers on topics ranging from basics to heady science, from aquascaping to invertebrates. We've got a big banquet on Saturday night
featuring the first ever "Iron Aquascaper" challenge, where contestants will have to improvise an aquascape on the spot. There's also a hospitality suite that will be open every night to hang around and talk shop with other planted aquarium hobbyists, and a vendor room where you can visit some of the manufacturers.

All day Sunday we hold the aquatic plant auction! If the auction is anything like its two predecessors, it will be the largest auction of its kind in the US this year! We're already starting to get word from the manufacturers who will be sending us donations...and not just "ho hum" aquarium stuff either! One of the largest growers of aquarium plants in the US is sending a big shipment JUST FOR OUR AUCTION. Online e-tailers dealing in specialized, more esoteric plants, high-quality lighting and filtration have also committed.

And just this week, Ray "Kingfish" Lucas as agreed to bring and auction dry goods from his cadre of sponsors, including a 46-gallon bowfront aquarium. At a lot of conventions, the aquarium is sitting there on display with very little hope of being crammed into your luggage on the plane. But this year, there will be a magic envelope that turns itself into an aquarium at your local fish store. :lol:

Anyone can come by and bid in the auction on Sunday (tell your friends in the Bay Area). But registered convention attendees may also BRING plants and plant-related items to sell! The split is a generous 70% for the seller. You must be an AGA member to attend the talks, but your $20 dues also buys you a subscription to our 44-page full-color quarterly journal, "The Aquatic Gardener."

Sound interesting? Visit our convention website at AGA: Annual Convention for more details, including registration information. Or, download a trifold brochure here:
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/AGA2006_convention_brochure.pdf.

Please help us spread the word about the convention by printing flyers and/or bookmarks and taking them to your local fish store or local club meeting:
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/AGA2006_convention_flyer.pdf
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/AGA2006_convention_bookmarks.pdf

Regards,
Cheryl Rogers
AGA Membership Chair/TAG Senior Editor/DFWAPC Secretary


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## CherylR (Aug 12, 2004)

bump. hotels rates go up October 12. It's a great hotel for $99, so make reservations this week.


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## gnatster (Mar 6, 2004)

Looks like I'm going to be able to attend. Intend on making all the requisite reservations by Friday.


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## CherylR (Aug 12, 2004)

Great! I was able to get a great deal on an airline ticket last week because prices dropped suddenly. I like Booking Buddy www dot bookingbuddy dot com beause I can see all the prices from all the online vendors.

Cheryl


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