I have recently received a lot of queries regarding the 2nd Annual National Contestors Convention. There are many factors as to why a new convention has yet to be planned, but the main one is money.
I would like to plainly address what happened in the past and what is being planning for the future.
Big events, such as a contestors convention, require seed money. Since it was the first convention, and I believed so strongly in bringing the fun and excitement I experienced at the American conventions to Canada, I lent the Canadian Contestors Association (CCA) $3,500 to cover the initial start-up costs.
Since the convention didn’t attract as many attendees as budgeted for, the convention lost money. I covered all the losses out of my own pocket. When all was said and done, I “lent” the CCA $10,000.
In the original budget, had we had enough attendees, there would have been enough seed money left over to begin planning the next convention. The convention would have become self-sustaining. Since that did not occur, and I was publishing the American Edition of my book, I did not have the funds to reseed a second convention.
After meeting with the other directors of the CCA and contest management industry experts, we came to the conclusion we need to make the CCA sustainable before planning another convention. That means defining the benefits of membership, first to the public, and then to corporations. Once the CCA has been firmly established as a thriving association, we can then begin to plan the next convention.
A questionnaire is being created by the CCA for potential members. Depending on the results, the CCA will either move forward, seeking corporate members and planning the next convention, or it will fold.
Please fill out the questionnaire when it is made available and help define the future of contesting in Canada.
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