Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 07:30:18 -0400
From: Grace Kirkwood <gkirkwd@voicenet.com>
To: Gogoclown@aol.com
Subject: Re: New Professional Organization!!!

Arla,
Good Idea!

I really think this industry is ready for this sort of thing.  

We need to bring the manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and
decorators together.  However, I do hope that there is a place for
education and that the distributors take it more seriously.  This seems
like a good idea, but there is a lot of planning and creating that must
go into it.  It may take awhile to get established because I look at the
effort that went into the making of QBN and it was a huge undertaking. 
I sincerely hope to see this take off, but I also don't want to see
everyone be enthuastic about it as now, in the beginning stages, and
then it gets dumped on the shoulders of someone to carry it through.  It
has to be a group effort and you know how committees/group causes can
work . . .  

It needs strong leaders who are willing to devote endless hours getting
the word out and many of us just don't have time, or want to take the
time to do it. I look back on all the preperation and hours I put into
getting our PenJerDel Chapter organized.  If I had to do it over again,
I would decline. I am not putting this idea down, it is a great one and
needed in this industry, but I am looking at the long range of things in
order to keep the fire burning.  

Right now it is an idea, and a good one.  Think on it.  Perhaps we would
like to employ an already existing organization, such as the Balloon
Council.  Although they lean more toward political issues, something
like that would be a start.  I'm not so sure I would want to re-kindle
the efforts of NABA, as Mark stated, because I never saw that as an
independent plan, the bottom line dollar amount was in the best interest
of Debra.  

I think we still need to keep brainstorming about this.  We need
feedback from a lot of people.  We have already formed a great network
right here on the net and I see the willingness to grow.  Afterall, this
industry is still very young by comparison to others, such as the floral
industry.  

Grace Kirkwood
It's YOUR Party!
Norristown, PA
http://www.voicenet.com/~gkirkwd


Gogoclown@aol.com wrote:
> 
> How about PROFESSIONAL BALLOON ARTISTS ASSOCIATION  (PBAA)...acronym sounds
> better?
> 
> Arla (commenting for what it's worth) Albers