Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 12:36:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Nelson <nelson_mr at yahoo.com>
Subject: [WSFA] DC in 2011 Worldcon Bid Update
To: WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net
Cc: wsfa-forum at yahoogroups.com
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

It occurred to me as I was reading the pdf of Alexis'
tale that I have neglected to keep WSFA informed on
the status of the DC in 2011 Worldcon bid.

First, to clear one point up.  Bob MacIntosh and I
used the "Official Meeting & Destination Planning
Guide" available on the DC Convention & Tourism
Corporation web site at washington.org to look for
suitable Worldcon sites in the DC metro area back
in 2003.  We reviewed and rejected Crystal City
long before Lee ever heard of the bid.

Back to the bid.  To put it bluntly, I terminated
the bid because I didn't want to run it.  It's true
that we aren't much closer to seeing a convention
center hotel built than in we were in 2003.  But I
think I would have tried to terminate the bid even
if Mayor Williams had invited us to dig the first
shovel-full of dirt at a ground-breaking ceremony
for a shiny new hotel.

Regardless of what someone once said of me, I am not
a cunning mastermind and I would have been an awful
bid chair had I decided to continue the bid.  So this
past spring when another group decided they wanted
to bid Seattle for 2011 and contacted Peggy Rae, I
decided to let them have 2011.  Me.  Bob and Peggy
Rae knew I was thinking about postponing the bid to
another year, but I decided on my own to end the bid
and hand over 2011 without consulting the other people
involved in the bid planning process.  A number of
people are probably still pissed at me for my tackless
handling of the situation.

The original plan was to hold another bid party during
L.A.con IV and do some quiet recruiting and orginizing.
over the year before Nippon 2007, we would have started
holding meetings to form a real committee and elect real
officers.  We would then formally announce the bid at
Nippon 2007 and run bid parties for the next two years
until the site selection voting at the Worldcon in 2009.

I panicked at the possibility that I might actually have
to chair a Worldcon bid -- sure it all looks like fun
and games... until someone goes crazy!  If someone else
thinks DC will ever have a convention center hotel or
wants to organize a DC bid for some other location, Bob
is holding onto the remaining bid funds.  I would be
happy to help somebody else to run a DC Worldcon bid.

I really hope some reasonably compentent person decides
to start a valid DC Worldcon bid.  I think DC would be
a great place for a Worldcon.

Michael

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