<p dir="ltr">Wes,</p>
<p dir="ltr">Holding the convention over Memorial Day weekend is a major issue for me.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It's not just about candidates campaigning. The volunteers, party members, county and state party leaders should be out supporting their candidates. In many states that is exactly what they have been doing.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Making them choose between supporting their candidates on an important campaign weekend or attending the national convention is just wrong and flies in the face of our number one objective (as a political party)... getting Libertarians elected to office. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I will vote No one any convention that is scheduled during an important campaign weekend.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In Liberty,</p>
<p dir="ltr">Evan McMahon<br>
At-Large Representative<br>
Libertarian National Committee</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="mailto:evan.mcmahon@lp.org">evan.mcmahon@lp.org</a><br>
</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Sep 2, 2014 11:15 AM, "Wes Benedict" <<a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<div>Dan, I'll just list several areas where
I see large savings potential without looking up all the details
and writing up a formal report. I believe a formal request would
have to come from the chair, the LNC, or a convention committee.<br>
<br>
1. Choose a hotel that offers reasonably low pricing and terms.
For example, in 2014 and 2012, staff recommended lower cost hotels
than were chosen. There was a much lower cost hotel in Las Vegas
(but still good quality). But still convenient to fly to for most
of the U.S.<br>
2. Memorial Day weekend conventions typically cost less than other
weekends. If candidates are too busy campaigning, that's fine. I
think the extra attendance at Memorial Weekend conventions is
higher than the loss of candidates who prefer campaigning.<br>
3. Shorten the convention a little (as Mr. Olsen suggested). <br>
4. Those lunches and dinners cost like $40 to $80 per person at
the hotels we've been choosing. Yet, we don't usually have a food
and beverage minimum that requires us to buy as much as we do, and
could choose hotels that minimize that.<br>
5. A/V costs could be cut significantly. $10k+. Use the screens
in some of the breakout rooms that LPHQ has. Use a single screen
at the front of the convention hall.<br>
6. Those vertical state delegation signs used in Columbus cost
about $2,500 but we already had a set we could have re-used. Now
we have two sets.<br>
7. Let staff make the convention website--which doesn't take long
(we did that this year), but not in prior years.<br>
8. Cut back on the speaker travel, meal and hotel expenses. You
can get decent speakers for free or at lower cost. And you can
have fewer meals and meal speakers. That way delegates can mingle
more, or go to training sessions. You could probably sell speaking
slots in some cases. <br>
9. Keep staff travel expenses to a minimum. That was done very
well this year. <br>
10. Printed material costs could be cut in half by printing
earlier at low cost printers instead of at the last minute at
FedEx-Kinkos. <br>
11. Staff tends to not like spending lots of money because we have
to raise most of it. Non-staff convention organizers have
typically been given authority to spend without oversight on many
expenditures. With more oversight, suggested savings can be
proposed.<br>
12. "Right-size" the space. Which means be open to reserving a
slightly smaller space. If attendance starts shooting through the
roof, then let half the states sit in "class-room" style seating
(with tables in front of each row of chairs), and the other half
of the states sit in "theatre-style" seating in the back third of
the room (no table in front of them--you keep your papers on your
lap or under your chair).<br>
<br>
It all adds up fast. If all of the above were done to a
significant degree, perhaps a $40,000 convention could be done.
But I'd keep the budget at $60k to leave plenty of wiggle room. <br>
<br>
If staff were formally requested to provide a convention proposal,
I'd start by brainstorming with Robert Kraus about where a few
good cities might be with potential for low cost venues (still
nice national chain hotels--but ones with lower than average
prices), then I'd pick a few good hotels from those cities. That's
not been our process recently. It's more been about selecting a
state or city. Then picking a hotel. Cost has been further down on
the list of priorities. <br>
<br>
Yes I'm too busy, but hopefully this email has the potential so
help save at least $10,000 to $20,000 in future savings. <br>
I'm fully expecting the LNC to steal all of my ideas above and not
stick staff with putting on the convention. : )<br>
<br>
<br>
<div>Wes Benedict, Executive Director<br>
<small><small>Libertarian National Committee, Inc.<br>
<b>New address: 1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314</b><br>
<a href="tel:%28202%29%20333-0008%20ext.%20232" value="+12023330008" target="_blank">(202) 333-0008 ext. 232</a>, <a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a><br>
<a href="http://facebook.com/libertarians" target="_blank">facebook.com/libertarians</a> @LPNational<br>
Join the Libertarian Party at: <a href="http://lp.org/membership" target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a></small></small><br>
<br>
</div>
On 9/1/2014 9:16 PM, Daniel Hayes wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>Wes,</div>
<div><br>
</div>
I am a little lost here..Not sure where Mr Olsen’s referenced
email is. If there are blatant unneeded expenses then please
share those here with us Wes. Consider this a formal request from
the District 7 Regional Alternate for the information.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Daniel Hayes</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>On Aug 31, 2014, at 4:07 PM, Wes Benedict <<a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>>
wrote:</div>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<div>I'm confident a survey of
members would show people would prefer shorter
conventions. (I think that's what Mr. Olsen is
suggesting below.) I don't recall that question being
asked in a survey in recent years. But I do hear the
complaint quite often that the conventions are too long,
too boring, too much parliamentary theatrics, and too
expensive. Shorter would be less boring and less
expensive. Training could more easily be fit in before
the convention for those that enjoy hanging around for
more days. And for those that try to squeeze in local
sight-seeing, a shorter convention would make it easier
for delegates to join their families. One less average
hotel night per convention would be a great goal.<br>
<br>
LP Texas had over 300 attendees at its 2014 convention
at a cheap venue. I don't know the total budget, but I'd
like be interested in knowing. And I'll take a guess it
cost $25,000. <br>
<br>
The 2014 national convention in Ohio cost over $120,000.<br>
<br>
I'm pretty confident Robert Kraus and I could design a
pretty good 2018 national convention for 400 to 700
delegates that cost $60,000. That's because he and I
know of a lot of costs at the 2010, 2012, & 2014
conventions that could have been reduced or avoided. <br>
<br>
$60,000 versus $120,000. Our services and advice are
available upon request (but preferably not this coming
week due to other priorities).<br>
<br>
<div>Wes Benedict, Executive
Director<br>
<small><small>Libertarian National Committee, Inc.<br>
<b>New address: 1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA
22314</b><br>
<a href="tel:%28202%29%20333-0008%20ext.%20232" value="+12023330008" target="_blank">(202) 333-0008 ext. 232</a>, <a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a><br>
<a href="http://facebook.com/libertarians" target="_blank">facebook.com/libertarians</a>
@LPNational<br>
Join the Libertarian Party at: <a href="http://lp.org/membership" target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a></small></small><br>
<br>
</div>
On 8/31/2014 1:21 PM, Norm Olsen wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">The schedule of official business of the
2018 national convention of the LNC shall consist of 2½
days, commencing on the morning of Saturday, May 26,
2018 and adjourning by 2PM on Monday, May 28, 2018.</blockquote>
<br>
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