Quote Originally Posted by shutterdawg View Post
What is going on at the meet and why would I want to go? Is there a schedule of events somewhere? I saw the post on NAFA about the meet and saw this one here but so far it's all geared toward people who already know they want to go. What if I can only come for a day or two, how do I know which days to come for what interests me? Help me out here.
It's become almost an annual pilgrimage for me. This will be my 40th NAFA Meet since joining in 1966. I go to

1. Visit with old falconer friends from all over the country.

2. Make new ones (hey, the old ones were new ones, once ).

3. Listen to interesting speakers/presentations in the evenings, attend workshops, catch up and/or learn more on the national issues regarding falconry, and get insight from other falconers flying the same and/or different species.

4. Try my luck at the awesome Nightly/Grand Finale Raffles.

5. Get Meet prints, memorabilia to make sure my bookshelves and walls at home are not empty.

6. Hunt game species and/or be in country I don't have at home - great photo ops.

7. Buy stuff direct from the vendors that are there, discuss their products' uses, issues, etc.

8. Great road trip! I just punch up Bobby Seger's "Roll Me Away" every time I roll up onto the interstate highway headed to the Meet!

9. Gets my head right from whatever cares and concerns bother me at home.

10. Contribute some time and effort to the sport that has given me so much joy for so much of my life!

shutterdawg, if I only had a few days to be there, I'd pick Wed-Fri to make the nightly raffles, the NAFA Business Mtg, the Thanksgiving feast and any Thursday evening presentation, and, of course, the Friday night Banquet and Speaker along with the Grand Finale Raffle. Yes, it's expensive to go these days, but heck, you want to die having money in your jeans and no lifelong valued experiences in your heart? Didn't think so. See ya there!

Oh, and my old friends reading this, be sure and give me heck and tell me what I've forgotten that is one of YOUR good reasons (that isn't listed here) for going to the NAFA Meet.