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all over the Commonwealth of
Virginia, and other states as well.
Experienced as a project manager,
Mason managed the clock as well,
and had us all well-informed and out
of class early enough to catch the
“Soft Opening” for our Vendors’ Night
Activities at 4:00 PM.
Vendors’ Night 2017 was a grand
affair, with the stage for our excellent
live band Significant Others, dance
floor, vendor booths, food services,
bar and even the bistro and other
tables specifically positioned
so that the view of the stage,
announcements and prize drawings
was as unobstructed as possible;
folks could wander among the vendor
booths to network without having
to walk the length of the ballroom.
Prize drawings were frequent and
generous, there were plenty of
typically graceful dance moves and
more food choices, including butler-passed
delights, than anyone could
have consumed in one evening.
across the hall and over to the Shula
347 Restaurant Courtyard for drinks,
snacks, some hands of “Texas Hold
‘em” and some cornhole matches
into the late evening.
Saturday morning opened with an
All-American Buffet Breakfast set up,
and anticipation for a pair of great
seminars beginning at 9:00 AM. The
registration table came alive again
for late arrivals and, while our helpers
from the day before all checked in
to see if they could assist, most of
that function was well under control;
however, we did welcome our newest
volunteer from the Midkiff Muncie
& Ross Herndon office, Travis Kline.
It was very satisfying to have such
a young individual come along to
help us; I see a great future for not
only the Annual Conference, but the
VSCA as well, assuming we can bring
interest from the younger folks in our
industry, including associated fields
like the defense bar.
Our theme for this Vendors’ Night;
Going Where No Claim Has Gone
Before, encouraged decoration
of booths and the attendants in
celebration of space and space
travel, both real and as depicted in
movies and television. The People’s
Choice for best depiction of the
Conference Theme was CRDN of the
Shenandoah’s Rick Wheeler who,
along with his son Sam, dressed out
in costumes of the Guardians of the
Galaxy movie series. And finishing off
the ballroom activities, and in a little
well-deserved payback for her efforts
on behalf of the VSCA, Liz Swank
of Swank Adjusting, our Vendor &
Sponsor Manager for Conference
2017, won the Grand Prize of a $100
VISA card in a drawing for those
visiting every vendor booth that
evening.
At the close of Vendors’ Night, we
all moved the party (plus a lot of the
remaining food) to the playroom