Speakers

This picture has nothing to do with speakers, but I am cold and this was a 90 degree day in central Utah.

One of the most fun aspects of Canoecopia is putting the speaker schedule together. One of the worst aspects of Canoecopia is putting the speaker schedule together.

There are several reasons for this:

1. An embarrassment of riches. We receive far more applications for great speakers than we can possibly accommodate. This means saying "no" to some really, really great folks, something we all hate doing.


2. An overabundance of interesting topics. We have people who want to speak about a ton of interesting rivers, oceans, and lakes. We have to limit them sometimes as there are just not enough slots. We do repeat some but we have to otherwise people have to make too many difficult choices...we don't want that.


3. Really nice people. With a few notable exceptions (two in the eighteen years I've been doing this), everyone is really sweet. No prima donnas, no high-maintenance superstars. The irony is that the people with the most to brag about, like Jon Bowermaster, for instance, are the easiest to take care of. The few that had the highest P.I.T.A. factor* were relatively obscure folks who thought we owed them a bazillion dollars for gracing us with their presence. Needless to say, they're no longer invited. To anywhere, actually. Word got out...

So now Nancy and I take every speaker and topic and make Post-It notes. We lay them out and start moving them around. Too many kayak sessions at once...too many Canada sessions at once...to many too many too many... It's like herding cats. By next week we should have a good, solid feel for who goes where and when.

I'll throw a few teasers up here next week after I get a schedule. Suffice it to say it's gonna be good stuff.

Stay warm,

Darren

*Pain in the Butt