Ever since we got back from our trip to New Mexico in mid-March I've been working on a big public event for people who live and work with dogs. We'd arranged to bring a world-renowned dog behaviourist to Victoria for a weekend of seminars we were calling Dog Speak: Deciphering the Canine Code.
It's actually quite a big deal to organize something like this. There's the venue, the AV equipment, the tickets, the posters, the newspaper ads, the press releases, the airline flights, the hotels, the catering, the volunteers.... Well you get the picture.
It's actually quite a big deal to organize something like this. There's the venue, the AV equipment, the tickets, the posters, the newspaper ads, the press releases, the airline flights, the hotels, the catering, the volunteers.... Well you get the picture.
So yesterday morning everything was done. A buzz had been building in the dog owning community and we had lots of registrations for the seminars and people were excited about coming to the Friday night talk. All was well ... until our presenter ended up in the hospital.
By the end of the day her malady was diagnosed as something like the Norwalk Virus, and it was clear that our speaker would not be coming to Victoria this weekend.
UHHH. Quick change of gears. Instead of coasting into a fun weekend with everything coming together we've been doing damage control to retain our credibility in the face of a CANCELLATION. This involves refunds, emails, apologies and phone calls. Tomorrow night I'll be at the venue of the lecture with a fist full of $20 bills to give people refunds on the advance tickets they've purchased.
The only upside is--at least my weekend is free now.
Oh My Goodness !
ReplyDeleteWhat sad news. But sometimes life happens but what a disappointment and such a hassle.
This sounds like such an interesting event. I would have loved to have been able to go.
cheers, parsnip
Oh, what a shame! The worst nightmare of all for event organizers.
ReplyDeleteHi Joanna, What a disappointment! It must be heartbreaking to do all the preparations and then have the whole thing fall apart at the last second. I am so glad that I have just a tiny bit of good news for you. You won the draw for the book the Untamed Garden! Congratulations!! If you want to email your address to me, I will get the book off to you in the mail. My email address is jenc_art@hotmail.com
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