<html> Hi Patrick,                    In Canada the Canadian Association of Piano Technicians,  makes a point of partnershiping  with Universities and Colleges.  It can be a win, win situation. The University ends up with some of their pianos being up graded, because we also run a large component of our annual convention as a hands on technical institute.  They provide space at low cost. Much cheaper than renting hotel conference rooms, also AV aids are usually supplied at minimal cost. I could not see this working for the National, but it could work very well for many regional conferences. Having chaired several of these events, I see no down side.  In fact it helps with the organizations visibility and image. Partnerships is going to be very important in many ways, to the healthy growth of the guild. Just my thoughts on the topic. Regards Roger At 01:11 PM 7/19/02 -0400, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>On Friday, July 19, 2002, at 11:27 AM, Delwin D Fandrich wrote: <big snip> <x-tab>        </x-tab>We are trying to structure our once-a-year convention to make up for the relative lack of viable school facilities <x-tab>     </x-tab>around the country. Well, the schools certainly aren't as inexpensive as PTG's offerings, but they are there, they're high quality, and there are openings. Patrick Draine </blockquote></x-html> </blockquote> <x-sigsep></x-sigsep> Roger</html>