International Butterfly Breeders Association
November 1, 2, 3 & 4, 2007
Butterflies & Buffalo – An Convention Thoughts The former 2007 Convention pages can be found in the Website Archives in the Members Section.
Convention Thoughts - items posted to the IBBA Mailing List I've got about 30 minutes before I head off for the banquet and auction... so here goes: Today has been fantastic! There were six speakers today. SIX speakers who taught us how to make money growing butterflies, expand our businesses, do knockout displays, design great websites and blogs and much much more. Tonight we are going to have a blast eating Iowa State Fair Food, while we buy cute little things in the auction. This is unique and so very cool. Everyone should be very proud of this convention. I am very happy for Kathleen, Maggie, Fran, and Kathy. Their hard work really paid off in a big way. Thanks also to all of the wonderful speakers. You guys have been great. Tomorrow promises to be equally rewarding. Wishing you were here while hoping to see you at the next, Zane
Wow, the convention has come to a close. As I write this Maggie is downstairs leading an IBBA workshop for wedding professionals. What I saw of it was very professional. I'm very proud of Maggie. She was asked to lead this workshop at the last minute when Kathy's dad was hospitalized and she realized that she couldn't make it to Iowa. The new power point presentation is very nice as are all of the props. Maggie is dressed very professionally, as you might expect since we are reaching out to pros. Earlier today we had a great presentation on customer service. The audience laughed, worked in small groups, and added to the discussion. It was a wonderful way to end the lectures. Everyone who attended it has a competitive advantage over anyone who did not. That is why we have conventions. The IBBA is Growing Up! The last thing that we did was our member's forum where the president spoke about the last year, Board members shared their thoughts and the entire board answered questions from the members. Can you imagine us doing that just a few years ago? It was a friendly and enlightening discourse. I am so proud of this association and the path we have taken. We aren't perfect, but we maturing into a real professional trade association. I want to thank all of the folks who worked hard to make the convention, auction, and WOH raffle and auction such a success. I also want to thank my fellow board members for a job well done. Goodbye from Iowa. I hope to see you in Costa Rica! Zane
Special thanks to the Wings of Hope, Inc. Board including Linda Rogers who worked behind the scenes to assign and keep track of all ticket sales, promote the auction and raffle on several list serves; Kathy Marshburn for assisting Wings of Hope, Inc. in organizing many of the details and giving us creative ideas for the method of auctioning, and Alicia Baylor who had the final responsibility for selling more tickets, setting up the Display Table and conducting the raffle at the Convention, coordinating her information and confirming it with Linda and overseeing the Silent Auction at the Convention. It was a mob scene at times and she juggled many responsibilities. She has taken pictures of the lovely Butterfly Lover's Baskets and will send them when she returns home. Thanks to all of you who supported Wings of Hope, Inc. with the raffle and silent auction and your fabulous donations. Melanie McCarthy Treasurer, Wings of Hope, Inc.
I want to post a big thank you to Kathleen and Doug Ziemer for putting together a very entertaining and informative IBBA convention in their native state of Iowa. For those that did not attend, you missed a good one. Our pres., Zane, and our "grandpappy," Rick Mikula, have teamed up to become quite the comedy team although I am not sure who is Abbott and who is Costello, more like "little costello" and "big costello," but nevertheless, they were in, as usual, top form. The field trips were fun and informative, the dinners were delicious, the presentations were very good, the auction made money, the raffle for WOH made money, and, as usual, I have had to take today off recover. Thanks again Kathleen and Doug, few know how much effort goes on behind the scenes to put on the show. The only complaining I heard was that the Cornhuskers, Cyclones, and Hawkeyes were all losin' and there will be plenty of job openings for athletic directors and football coaches in the midwest come January. Dale Dale McClung
Hi! You just know I’ve been resting most of today but I’ve enjoyed the pictures Dean sent and will be sending some I have. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Zane and Maggie Greathouse and Renee Cooke and Kathy Marshburn for all their help. Additionally, Alicia Baylor, Gloria Brons, Dean Kirkwood, Fran LeMasters, and Dan Staehr. A special thanks to Rick Mikula. No convention works without him. It was great to see Dale again, along with Bob and Betty Heriford and Bobbie and her mother. I enjoyed meeting the new members and putting faces with names, including Kathy Huxford and Mary Bird. What a cutie she has for a son! Nikki Camp will be a great addition to our family as well as George and Ann Ladd and Stewart and Jean Hardy. Our future looks very good! I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves in Iowa and hope to see each of you and more in Costa Rica. Love to all - Kathleen Ziemer
Our thanks go to Dean Kirkwood for posting the following photos and descriptions.
The results are in, and we at Wings of Hope are EXTREMELY happy to announce that through your generous donations by giving to the Butterfly Lovers Baskets, purchasing raffle tickets, and Nigels’ consultation, we were able to raise $2,515.00. This will go a long way to help defray the cost to operate Wings of Hope. Thank you Thank you and Thank you again. Many Blessings to you all, Butterfly Lover's Baskets Raffle The lucky winners of the two Wings of Hope Butterfly Lover's Baskets were:
(Click HERE for a reminder of the donated items.) Silent Auction The winner of the Certificate for one year of Nigel Venters' Butterfly Consultancy services was:
(Click HERE to see the Silent Auction page.)
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Anne Collins
