<html> Mike,     Like it's been said, there are reasons, and there are excuses. A lot of good people won't be there for good reasons. On the other hand......... There once was a fellow that tried to borrow his neighbors lawn mower. The neighbor said "Nope. We had soup last night for supper." The fellow said "What!?! What the heck has THAT got to do with it?!?" Neighbor said "Nothing, really. But I don't wanna lend my mower, and ANY excuse is ANY excuse." Again, there are reasons that some of our friends won't be able to attend. Judge not...... Guy Nichols, RPT At 08:19 PM 6/10/02 -0400, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>It would be interesting to poll PTG members (both associates and RPT) as to why they don't attend national conventions.  After going to seven, I seem to see the same faces year after year.  Curious......   My picks for reasons folks don't attend conventions.     1.  Not interested     2.  Costs too much     3.  Too far away     4.  I know enough already     5.  I'll lose too much business when away     6.  I'm shy and not a good mixer     7.  Can't get away     8.      9.                               YOUR CHOICE......     10.                     Mike Kurta, RPT               </blockquote></html>