Unfortunately we (meaning CCA's Board) needs to sign a contract to reserve the space...and the contract has penalties for cancellation.... as well as incentives for participation (i.e. room nights).
I guarantee that your business dedicates and budgets resources (money, people, time)
before they've signed the contracts for meeting space, AV, food and all of the myriad things that go into running an 18,000 person convention... and
before they announce that they're hosting it.
CCA is not a business. We're all volunteers. And hosting an annual event like AquaMania is 100% optional. The point of doing something like this is three-fold:
1) To make our members happy so that they'll remain members of the club
2) To attract new members and support the growth and health of the aquarium hobby in our area
3) To gain resources (money, donations, experience) to support 1) and 2)
It's really, really hard for the CCA Board to know what our (current and prospective) membership wants...and would be willing to SUPPORT... if you don't tell us.
So please let us know!
Matt
I would say yes to volunteer and attend, but I have no idea where my own life will be in 9 months - a year. I know the pain of doing a conference, the company that I work for holds a conf. every year with 18, 000+ attendees. But we don`t decide whether to have the conference every year based on what type of support we`ll get, we decide to have the conference and get the support on the way. You just can`t expect adults to commit this early. Sorry to be a stick in the mud about it.
On an optimistic/positive note - If you believe in the cause, do it. You`ll get the help you need.