I was going to keep quiet on this subject, but then Tom Polk mentioned,  in
regard to  the Salt Lake City conference,   that:
 
>> I am taking some ques from the SAA conference to help us.  
 
Tom, please. please don't take too many ques from the SAA conference.   I'm
so proud of  SHA for finding reasonably priced conference hotels and so
perplexed over SAA's  indifference to the financial situation of many
archaeologists.  I think SAA's track record on outrageously expensive (yet  
tacky) hotel venues is awful.  ( for example: Opryland and Disneyland).     
So, If january lets us get affordable rates at great hotels, please let
stick with the plan.  
 
        I loved the layout of the hotel.  I thought the centrally located 
area with tables was brilliant.  You could find whoever you wanted to talk
to, and find a place to sit down and gab.  The reasonably priced hotel food
was a real pleasant surprise also.  The tours were great, and I loved the 
reception in the museum.   Did that exhibit have neat stuff, or what!   
(however, many of us would have been a lot happier if  the organizers  
would have shared their plans with the hotel concierge!  Specially tour  
info.  & pick-up  plans  for  day one  before the registration desk opened)
 
 
         And  EVERY year, I'm upset with scheduling and upset  because
popular sessions are being held in small rooms.   Does the board get feed 
back from the room monitors?   Seems like a little bit of  record keeping 
and analysis of  which session organizers and topics attract the most
people, might be beneficial.   I know there are some regional differences,
but there are some overall trends also.  I think we are getting too big,
and too fragmented into specialities for institutional memory to handle
this.   
        Hey, are we going to get a bus tour and introduction to research in
the LDS library?  Hope so.
Linda Derry, [log in to unmask]