Hello Everyone, I wanted to send out a letter to everyone immediately after the convention but instead was thrown into a heartbreaking situation and lost a family member. I have JUST returned home today after days on the road getting from Vegas to the wake and funeral and now am finally home. It will feel good tonight to sleep in my own bed tonight! I want to thank everyone who came to Las Vegas to participate in the convention. The most positive result of the convention is that we have been told time and time again that it was an event that made everyone feel like they were part of a great "family"! We were truly looking for ways to make everyone feel at home and comfortable, no matter what their skill level. As with all first time events we learned A LOT and have many things we want to work on or change. Of course, the most obvious is the schedule. I opened up a pandoras box while watching the forecast days ahead and fearing that I would have several teachers unable to make it. I chose not to send the brochure to the printer so I could make a "perfect" schedule when I new exactly who was and wasn't going to be there. Big Mistake!!! Since it wasn't printed, several people made requests for changes and I also tried to "keep everyone happy all the time" which is impossible. I realize that everyone would have appreciated the completed program up front and if there were changes to be made then just set out daily notices. Trust me, I gave myself several lumps for this one and took a few, too. Either way, I made a mistake and learned a an important lesson. Not printing it ahead caused schedule issues but also kept me from sharing a very special back cover dedication with all of you. Most everyone from past conventions are familiar with Cynthia Keeler (former producer of the FPBAC) and her mother, Laurie. Laurie passed away in December after a tough battle with cancer and we had the back page dedicated in her honor and as a thanks for her many years of helping with the convention. She will be missed. Our other big snafu was with the competition. I made a quick decision to not have the teachers do a full body painting competition since most of them had the weekend competition on their minds. This was a great idea as it helped teachers and allowed me to realize we want to highlight more attendees than teachers. Our helpers (and Sweet Loretta who took charge of the competitions!) put together new sheets so we could have 2 separate competitions on Thursday. We ended up with two number 12 contestants and then....awarded the trophy to the wrong person. I spoke with the attendee who was awarded the trophy on Saturday morning and apologized for our mistake. She was VERY understanding (thank you, Maria) and wanted to make sure we honored the real winner. I have the trophy and am waiting for the 5 x 7 print of the painting that KARA ANDREWS did, who is the actual FIRST PLACE winner. I will share all the winning pics with you in another letter. The amazing thing is that I know Kara hasn't been feeling well and still completed a magnificent, award winning piece! Way to go Kara and I hope you have gotten somemuch needed rest this week. All in all, we had a great time and we have OVER 8,000 PICTURES and 35 HOURS OF VIDEO to prove it!!! I would like to give specific thanks to a large group of people, but will reserve that for another post. For now, thank you so much for your support and know that we are already working on next year's event, complete with positive changes and new ideas to make it even better. Love, Karen Owens Face Painting and Body Art Convention
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