<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Apr 24, 2007, at 8:50 AM, Conrad Hoffsommer wrote:</DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="5" style="font: 16.0px Helvetica">Dave, et al,</FONT></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="5" style="font: 16.0px Helvetica">It may be time to shift this very interesting discussion to PTG-L. I'm not saying it shouldn't be discussed, just that this general list may not be the most appropriate venue.</FONT></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="5" style="font: 16.0px Helvetica">My 2¢...</FONT></P> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR></DIV><DIV>Thank you, Conrad, for your respectful suggestion. Because I know the kind of man you are from reading your posts for five years, I take anything you say humbly and seriously. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-style-span">At the same time, I don't know if relegating, if that's the word, this very interesting and <B>important dialog </B>that, in my view, speaks to an issue which is crucially relevant to the organization as a whole and the atmosphere in which it operates.</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-style-span">Take, for instance, this list. It has incredibly, massively, enriched the professional and personal lives of many hundreds of people, and it has been a profound change agent for what corporate America is now trumpeting as "radical transparency," which is simply telling the truth about what you produce, how you produce it, who helps you, and being open and flexible to feedback and constructive criticism---something that list heroes like Ron Overs, Dale Erwin, Ron Nossaman, P.R.Jones, David Hughes and many others have been practicing for years. Most, if not all, of the active list participants are in the Guild. Is there acknowledgement, affirmation, recognition, collegial conversation, collaborative visioning, hanging out----any of that taking place on the part of leadership of PTG vis a vis the Pianotech list? </SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-style-span">Our list contributes an important part of the Journal every month---at least. It's an immense public piano resource, and has, I believe, raised the bar of piano service some, and will continue to do so as cyberspace becomes more and more omnipresent. If a good friend of yours was doing something really good and worthwhile, and that helped you as well, wouldn't it feel good to praise and recognize that person---tell them "good job?" Why don't we as an organization simply practice the Golden Rule?</SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-style-span">Small exhibitors, most of them Guild members, should be deeply encouraged to come, and be subsidized, through lower fees, by the higher fees of the big boys. This is just wise leadership; every <B>good</B> niche market knows how to make it easy for the "custom" guys to sell their stuff--<B>-because their stuff serves the quality, the high end, and that's what serves and drives the whole piano business.</B> </SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-style-span">This is not rocket science; it's common sense. There are people in our Guild who know without question how to operate from this sensibility---I understand that both the northeast and the northwest regional conferences are consistently successful in every realm, and exhibitors feel respected and treated with the true regard they deserve. Why can't we replicate that on the national level, at our biggest, and best, and most memorable conference? </SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-style-span">I am sad. Really. I'm proud of the PTG; I think it's the highest quality continuing education in the world. I want to feel good about my participation; I will teach and exhibit at conventions for the rest of my life, and plan to become involved with the Foundation (more than just monetarily) in the near future. I want only the best for the Guild. Part of that pride and desire compels me to ask sometimes difficult and public questions. </SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>If nobody reads the PTG-L, then the effectiveness and impact of my posting there is zero. This is sent with humility and respect.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>David Andersen</DIV><DIV>Malibu, California</DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-style-span"> </SPAN></DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>