Sorry if this thread has already been done (i couldn't find it) or if its in the wrong forum.

Are there any plans for a national 3fc conference in the future? I think it could be a fantastic way for people to come together for a few days, and also possibly have workshops/speakers on various topics as well as some physical activity inclusions.

Thanks.

Wouldn't that be just the most amazing event!? Your post caught my attention.

I know that in the Weight and Resistance forum we have talked about this as well. How much fun it would be for all of us to meet somewhere to share our lifting skills and stories in person.

EXCELLENT IDEA!!!!
ooooo please someone schedule this!!!

Anyone?! Any mods actually checking this forum?

It's great to see others interested as well!

That would be AWESOME! The board is so motivating, imagine how motivating everyone is in person!! There are a lot of people here with a lot of knowledge, so the workshop and speakers idea is great. I'm totally in!

The mods definitely do read the posts here. Unfortunately, we're an volunteer squad, and planning something like this would be, well, quite an undertaking. But lots of members have planned local meetups and etc with a lot of success.

Hi Manda, thanks for the response.

I can definitely understand that this would be a huge under-taking and potentially consume quite a bit of resources.

There is another forum that I have been a member of for approx. 10 years. They also had an all-volunteer staff (they have a large following just as 3FC has), and they had great national conferences (in addition to the regional meetings that individual members scheduled).

In the future, if you all ever want to do it, there are many of us that would love to be a part of it!

I think soliciting assistance from very dedicated and interested members could be really beneficial (also I could connect you all with the admin of the other forum for maybe additional resources if it ever became of interest). A national conference could also be a way for 3FC to raise some money.

In any event, thanks for responding. And thanks for all that you all do to help 3FC remain as great as it is!

one of the big problems with setting up a national [or even a regional] conference is MONEY. even with members paying for their own transportation and rooms, there's still the conference venue to rent - with extra meeting rooms to rent, meet-and-greets, food and beverages, side trips. There's also the agenda - do we have presentations with Q&A? round table discussions? other formats? that adds in audiovisual expenses. and how many rooms do we need to schedule to put everyone.

if even 10% of the folks who are registered on this site show up, that's about 10,000 people.

again, it's not an impossible task but it costs a lot of money and time in organization. one of the great things about 3FC is that it's free to members. and that's the way we want to keep it.

other organizations charge dues [does that other one you mentioned have any charges for members?], and that would go a long way to defraying costs, but that's not what we're all about.

now, having said that, there ARE a lot of very experienced people around here - even more than a few meeting planners i suspect. there's no doubt that we have the expertise, but unless we charge attendees several hundred dollars - over and above their transportation and lodging costs - this will be VERY hard to pull off.

Hi there, I hope this thread is not being taken the wrong way. Again, I certainly understand that it takes a lot to pull off something like this. I was a conference planner (planning statewide as well as national conferences) for years and understand all of the expenses that go into holding a large event (as you mentioned there are a lot of 'other' expenses than most people would even realize). This is simply a suggestion that many of us have been interested in.

No, the other site does not have dues or charge fees either. It is totally free as well.

Again, this is simply a suggestion for the FUTURE. That's all.

There have been a few attempts in previous years (not by 3FC but unofficially by members) but the plans were too chaotic to pull off and few agreed on times and places. There were more complaints than support for such an event

However, a lot of the individual forum groups have arranged small meetups that have worked out very well. We try to encourage that when possible

Has anybody ever thought about planning just a meet-up instead of a conference. Everybody pay their own way for room and board and just plan some outings??? It'd still be a large undertaking, but way more cost-friendly. It could even be some type of event, like a 5K or something, if people were interested. The first thing that popped into mind was the 2 mile walk my team does for Autism every year. Anybody interested in a trip to Atlanta in May is more than welcome to join our team!!!