I have been a proud and happy member of the Guild for the past 4 years. I have been to 3 conferences and will probably need encouragement from my friends to go to a 4th.
I love(d) the fact of having a professional organization supporting it's membership and offering learning opportunities from successful leaders and teachers in the field. I liked studying for and receiving certifications in soapmaking; (Basic CP/HP and MP).
However, when that organization starts only looking at numbers and not quality in what it provides, then it gives me pause. Conferences in the past were relatively small; even if you didn't know people by name, you knew their faces. Lunches and dinners were friendly and social. Unless the venue had poorly defined spaces there weren't any lines and there seemed to be enough for everyone - except for the food in Indianapolis - come late and you were out of luck.....
I hated Vegas this year. The staff were not prepared for the extra 100+ attendees. There were lines for everything. The "Goodie" bags, always a highlight were a disaster- since the conference has grown so large vendors couldn't financially provide individual items for the bags. So they provided a lame program of "Choosing what you want", instead of supposedly being stuck with things you didn't want.... Well in less you were at the front of a line that took at least 30 minutes to get in the space, you got ... zip. Unless you wanted a 3x Guild t-shirt with the old logo on it. I do have a nice collection of soaping goggles for guests I suppose. Now if you were one of the first 50 you could have gotten a stick blender.
I miss the conferences where I spread my "haul" out on the bed and looked forward to thanking vendors the next day. I'm glad I got to participate in the more intimate Awards dinners. This years was more of a trade show affair. It feels very much to me that the hobbyist is no longer welcome at the Guild conference.
I'm all for growth of an organization, but if it becomes more about quantity than quality, than good-bye.
I'm happy Debbie May and WSP are taking the reins for the more intimate conference - Year 1 had it's moments, but the overall content and speakers were solid. At this point I'm thinking hard about skipping Atlanta and going back for the extended WSP event. (If you think about going, skip the hotel and find something nearby - it was a disaster). 4 days of conference and all meals for $500 is a pretty good deal. Even though the Goodie bag only consisted of a nice portfolio to take notes with, you actually received colored handouts of presentations and handy resources. The Guild stopped doing this years ago to "save trees" - nope to save $$. I wonder if next year you are going to have to print out your own conference program.......
SoapCon is always a joy to me. Cathy truly puts her heart in it and is proud to offer her hometown in Sterling KY as a venue. She finds new and engaging speakers every year - how special was it to meet Clyde Yoshida who is more personable and engaging than his YouTube videos! She works hard to make every event better and listens to the feedback from previous attendees. Fortunately her charming venue can only accommodate approx. 125 people maximum so that's it.
Sorry for the rant - I guess this has just been weighing heavy on my heart since I got back from Vegas and I could finally begin to put words to it.