Full Version: Bring Rodney to America
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#1]
19 Mar 2006
To: ALL
I've seen where a few people have asked Rodney Gold if he'd come to America for next year's ARA Show in Las Vegas.
Some superficial checking of flight costs from Capetown to Los Angeles, say that it would take thousands of dollars for Rodney to make the flight; not to mention nearly 30 hours on a plane.
The longest flight I've ever taken (including connecting flight) was a 7 hr. U.S. coast to coast trip. That was as much as I could personally take.
I can see why Rodney never responded to the questions. :-)
If there's enough demand for Rodney to come to America, next year and if we could set up an educational event, with Rodney as a special guest, I'd be willing to pitch in to a "Bring Rodney to America" fund, which if not covering his full costs, would (hopefully) heavily subsidize the trip.
Of course, ultimately, that would be up to Rodney's willingness to make the trip.
Just food for thought. :-)
EDITED: 19 Mar 2006 by DGL
From: UncleSteve [#2]
19 Mar 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#1] 19 Mar 2006
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#3]
19 Mar 2006
To: UncleSteve [#2] 19 Mar 2006
Putting myself in Rodney's shoes, (if they were on the other foot) and I were being asked to appear in South Africa, I'd need a strong incentive to fork over thousands of dollars and put myself through a brutal plane flight.
Of course, I'd make sure I got one heck of a vacation out of the deal, by staying for at least a week or two. :-)
What do you think Rodney's chances of coming to America, without his family, are. Very slim my friend. Very slim. :-)
Also, very expensive.
From: LaZerDude (C_BURKE) [#4]
19 Mar 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#3] 19 Mar 2006
David,
I went to Ghana four years ago ( Accra to be exact, and it cost about $2100.00 USD. Long trip but not I did not think that was really unreasonable. ) Of course fares have gone up.......but I think it would be up to Rodney to make the decision to come and for him to figure out how.
Why did we ( you ) not offer to subsidize Peter?
Just my two cents. Want change?
From: UncleSteve [#5]
19 Mar 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#3] 19 Mar 2006
He is sure not going to make it if YOU keep making excuses for him! ;-)
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#6]
19 Mar 2006
To: LaZerDude (C_BURKE) [#4] 19 Mar 2006
I just thought if we could put on "The Mother of all Q&A's" Rodney would make an excellent panel member.
Not that Peter wouldn't have been a strong contender. :-)
I think the information we receive here, in Q&A form, is the most efficent way to give/receive information.
Having a "Live" Q&A, with a panel consisting of our knowledgeable forum members, would introduce the concept to people who otherwise, wouldn't visit the forum and encourage them to pick up where they left of (Live) by becoming forum members.
The EE outreach program. :-)
Maybe offer a substantial prize to the audience member who stumps the panel with a technical question. Naturally, I'd feel pretty secure in offering the prize, because I know the panel couldn't be stumped.
From: gt350ed [#7]
19 Mar 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#6] 19 Mar 2006
But the deal has to be that it's a one way ticket. B-)
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#8]
19 Mar 2006
To: gt350ed [#7] 20 Mar 2006
I'm just brainstorming for next year's ARA/EE Vegas event.
I want to make this year's pale by comparision.
It will be a little tough to pull off, if still I'm swimming back from South Africa. :-)
From: LaZerDude (C_BURKE) [#9]
19 Mar 2006
To: gt350ed [#7] 20 Mar 2006
But the deal has to be that it's a one way ticket. B-)
Count me in.
From: LaZerDude (C_BURKE) [#10]
19 Mar 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#8] 20 Mar 2006
You said
I want to make this year's pale by comparision.
I think, and this is "MY" opinion, that any "formal" EE event should be centered around "fellowship". We spend 11 1/2 months out of the year, learning, sharing, bantering, blaming, fighting, arguing, teaching, offering, and guiding that I believe that the EE event in Vegas should simply be an opportunity for us to get together and have fun and get to know each other.
Especially at the end of the day. I know that a lot of folks here spend time on the show floor and in seminars. At the end of the day we just want to let our hair down and have some fun with absolutely no pretenses.
I applaud you for your intention, and I fully support an EE "Live" event, but I believe that it should be seperate from ARA in Las Vegas. Let improve upon it by maybe getting a band and dancing........
Just my two cents. Want change?
From: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#11]
19 Mar 2006
To: ALL
Heh , I'm flattered that you WOULD want me out there.
It's not a problem for me to come over in terms of money, time however is problematic in that I have my own business to run and a week or 2 away from it does impact somewhat. The other reason I have never come over for a show like that is that there is very little for me to "see" at such a show or there is little advantage for me to be there.
It's fairly specialised for my type of business which is very multifacted and the whole awards/trophy business model in the USA is somewhat different to ours. We source most of our components from Europe and Asia and manufacture a very high percentage of our own stuff.
I also have a lot of knowledge in other areas , like signage , digital printing , point of sale display and so forth and my BIGGEST forte is the ability to put products together using various processes and various material and forsee manufacturing problems as well as being cost effective or working to a budget and to still maintain the aesthetics of it all. So I'm geared more to a production environment and am not sure I COULD give a huge amount of advice to folk who aren't that way inclined.
We dont have access to the product range available in the USA so thats why we often "make a plan" and do it ourselves. What I would like to do at some stage is either write a book or produce a CD , but doing this man alone is a huge mission.
Obviously , if someone WAS kind enough to send me a ticket and organise accomodation etc , I wouldn't say no and would be more than willing to host a seminar (along with other specialised folk) as a form of "repayment". The idea is to involve laser mnfgrs , material suppliers and other interested folk who would reap benefits from this to put together some form of "workshop" or roadshow , but the problem of competition would arise. For example I am not in favour of CnC machinery that uses a no feedback stepper motor in their motion systems so whoever produces that type of machine would NOT like what I say. Other problems arise in terms of that I feel that some manufacturers of substrates are ripping us off and that one can easily make equivalents or better at a fraction of the price , those guys are also not going to like what I say. I'm also not conversant with tax laws and USA legalities so my business advice might not be all that relevant?
If I could sell my business , It would be a different story , I would love to semi retire and work with various mnfgrs and suppliers on new ideas I have , strategies , market direction , materials and so forth and supplement my income by touring and lecturing or consulting , but I don't think thats going to happen soon:)
From: JHayes55 [#12]
20 Mar 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#8] 20 Mar 2006
David - Interesting thread.
I agree that I would love to meet and talk with Rodney, probably more so from the sign side of things. No doubt a book or CD from Rodney would be great. But Rodney does make some strong points in his reply - he has a wealth of knowledge to share but the difference in markets, products, laws and even raw materials vary quite a bit.
Chuck brings up some very good points in his post on this subject. Is the end of a long day the best time to have an educational event??? Does a larger group make a get together better?? Is the short time we have together of an evening the optimum time to offer adult learning?
I applaud your enthusiasm for wanting to help people grow in their knowledge base of our industry. My question is - How much can the brain absorb in such a short amount of time.
The reason the forum works so well is people can get (in most cases) specific questions answered quickly and by (in most cases) several people (points of view). This approach is very good for adult educaiton, - think of it much like using a rifle with a scope - very much to the point and on target. Immediate need (question), immediate response.
I am all in favor of educational events - you can always count me in - I personally believe in taking as many of the classes offered a the ARA show as possible. I have never failed to lean something at each one I have attended. Some are exceptional enough that I have taken them more than one year. My personal feeling is if your listening and open minded something is going to be new and rewarding to learn.
My question is - Do went want to turn the LV EE event into an adult educiton event or do we want to have the time to enjoy each other socially? I am not opposed to either one - just feel that there is a time a place for both.
As Chuck says - thats my "two cents worth" - and you may well deserve change.
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#13]
20 Mar 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#8] 20 Mar 2006
David,
You are getting some good candid advice here.
I think that the ARA Show in its current format offers no shortage of educational opportunities. Even though this is the most heavily attended industry gathering, I believe an EE educational event will find its attendance a bit diluted, primarilly because there is so much going on already.
I believe your efforts will be better served by hosting a stand-alone event at another time and place, without the distraction of a trade show? Of course, an educational event like this will require an all-important social gathering. :-)
From: RALLYGUY (RALLYGUY1) [#14]
20 Mar 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#11] 20 Mar 2006
Thanks,
Brian Genrich
Rallye Productions Inc.
1-800-236-2036 x112
Custom cut, or sheet stock Sublimatable metal,
Screen printing, and other digital print services.
EDITED: 20 Mar 2006 by RALLYGUY1
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#15]
20 Mar 2006
To: ALL
I wasn't necessarily suggesting working outside of ARA for the EE panel idea. ARA is always looking for guest speakers, etc. to present ideas for seminars and classes.
That was one idea.
I agree with the feedback, that the Vegas social event should remain just that.
The stand-alone EE Live! events that we're proposing, will be a combination of business and pleasure, which will most likely be two-day events, to make it worth people's travel time etc.
From: John (ICTJOHN) [#16]
20 Mar 2006
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#13] 20 Mar 2006
David(s),
Do I hear the Midwest EE event raising it head????
That format could easily use some educational topics without overloading people's minds after being on the trade show floor and in seminars all day long. A light social event later in the day/evening would top off the EE experience.
;-)
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#17]
20 Mar 2006
To: John (ICTJOHN) [#16] 20 Mar 2006
The Midwest event will be the first, of what I hope to be others, which we'd like to put on around the U.S., especially in areas where educational events aren't often held.
If they turn out to be a success, I'd also like to take the "show" to other countries (long term daydream).
Neither will happen, until after we become a subscription-based site, which is slowly, but surely coming together.
As promised, the annual membership will be very comparable to a trade magazine subscription.
From: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#18]
20 Mar 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#11] 20 Mar 2006
It may take some teeth grinding and a bit of frustration that you have to keep to yourself, tut these things can be overcome.
Delegate. Pick a few of your best employees and delegate some areas to them, using the best fit of abilities to the jobs. For someone so hands on and successful it will be difficult, but will end up very rewarding. If I was able to delegate in my last few jobs, anyone can learn to do it. I am a perfectionist, and used many antacids for quite a while while getting it setup. But guess what, the people that get the responsibility became far more of a perfectionist than they were before getting the responsibility. Let people grow to their potential and they will surprise you, and give you the time to go farther yourself.
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#19]
20 Mar 2006
To: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#18] 20 Mar 2006
That is well spoken and so, so true. Now, it's time for me to pull myself off the equiment and act on that advice.
From: LipChip [#20]
20 Mar 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#11] 20 Mar 2006
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