A review of the Phoenix RG by Mark Hutchenreuther
When the Hassayampa Inn first flaked out, Robert immediately started informing us via the Internet, using both e-mail and the web page for the RG. I also got a phone call from Paul Beetham, past LocSec. They had worked out a deal with a Holiday Inn in Phoenix, and would move the RG rather than cancel it. The irony is that it was the very Holiday Inn were I went to my second RG, and first Phoenix RG, with Burt Meserve back in 1990.
Since the original hotel in Prescott was to have provided hospitality, that had to be cobbled together. I volunteered to bring local wine to quench our thirst, and ended up being part of the committee. My room was called Napa Valley (although it should have been Edna Valley, since that is where the wine actually came from). I opened for business during certain times and shut down when it was time to sleep. Bill Rouse's room is where the beer was, and Robert & Cindy's held the food. Outside was a laptop and monitor running a PowerPoint show of the ever-changing program.
Most of the scheduled programs were presented at the new location, including my rock painting workshop. I had spent some time roaming around SLO County looking for flat rocks, at places suggested by a Cal Poly geology professor in a weird e-mail we exchanged. Krista thought taking rocks to Arizona deserved some sort of "Coals to Newcastle" thing, but I wanted to be sure I had what I needed. And some of the Arizonans agreed with my plan. The workshop itself was a success, and will be repeated at other RGs.
Last year at this time, Phoenix was afflicted with apathy. This RG crisis seems to have pulled them out of that, a very positive sign. They may yet move the date and location of their RG, but it will not be because of the hotel.
It was a small, intimate RG, a very appropriate one for the Thanksgiving holiday. Way to go Phoenix, I'll see you again next year, whenever and wherever you may be holding your RG. But do lose that 3000-piece jigsaw puzzle that none of us could finish!
DISCLAIMER: I am retired, which means these really are my opinions. Isn't that a scary thought...