Abstract
The 37th Annual AFA Convention, "Jewels In Aviculture" will go down in the history of the organization
as one of the most informative and enjoyable get-togethers we've ever had. This is one of the very few conventions where we all didn't melt in the August heat. San Francisco boasts some of the best weather in the world, especially in the summer, and it was gorgeous!
The hotel was really nice, easy to find your way around and the food there was some of the best we've ever had at a hotel restaurant.
Many members arrived early or stayed late after the convention to tour the beautiful city of San Francisco and see the sights. The Golden Gate, Alcatraz Island and
the Wharf topped the list for many. Some folks made a trek to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Hearst Castle. A large group of AFA folks took a short drive from the convention hotel out to Half Moon Bay for dinner and enjoyed the sunset over the Pacific.
As I review the list of speakers and the CD with the Proceedings, I am amazed! I think AFA has always had a great lineup of convention speakers, and this year was no exception. The variety of topics was great, and the knowledge, experience and talent of the speakers was so good that even many of the old-timers were impressed. Everywhere I looked, people were engaged in enthusiastic conversation about interesting new things they had learned.
The convention speaker topics offered something for every taste and interest. AF A welcomed a diverse group this year and many topics were new and interesting. Get yourself a copy of the AFA Proceedings CD and get updated on the latest information from world-renowned aviculturists and veterinarians.
All of the AF A raffies were amazing, and one item on the Super 8 drawing in particular was noteworthy for another reason. I think just about everyone wanted to win that iPad, and there were gobs of tickets purchased. Nancy Speed generously donated the iPad, and as luck would have it, won it back! She immediately jumped up and walked over to Mark Moore and handed it to him. I can think of few people who really deserved to win that iPad, and we were all happy with Nancy's choice. Check out the other lucky winners of the fabulous Super 8 drawing-there were so many good prizes from our wonderful supporters.
There are always so many exciting goodies on the AF A raffies, and there are not enough thank you's that can fully express AF A's gratitude to all the donors. At least half of our donors are commercial businesses that off er products and feed or services to bird keepers. Our community is getting smaller and we need to stick together more than ever.
As members, you can help say thank you to our donors, supporters and vendors by using their services and buying their products, because keeping them in business helps all of us.
As AFA's first vice president, Jamie Whittaker, so elegantly stated in her Message to the Membership (Page 3 of the convention program), "Jewels in Aviculture can be found everywhere." She's absolutely right-and this convention was a treasure trove of jewels! Enjoy the scrapbook of our San Francisco adventures, and plan to attend the next convention in San Antonio in August 2012!