Do you have fond memories of a past AILA Annual Conference? Have any not-so-fond memories? Were you subjected to the Phoenix Melting Butter Incident of 1996 and lived to talk about it?
We want to hear from you.
Take a stroll down memory lane and send me your all-time favorite AILA Annual Conference moment (most enlightening panel, most rewarding networking opportunity, best/worst/most embarrassing speaking experience, etc). Help us remind the veterans why they want to come back and let the newbies know what they’ve been missing – the good, the bad and the ugly.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to post your story, using the comment feature of this blog. You'll have the option of remaining nameless. Alternatively, feel free to post your full name if you really want the whole world knowing that YOU were the Day Coordinator who intolerantly stressed that attendees must shut their cell phones off as your own cell phone loudly rang mid-session.
Yes, it happened. You know who you are.
We want to hear from you.
Take a stroll down memory lane and send me your all-time favorite AILA Annual Conference moment (most enlightening panel, most rewarding networking opportunity, best/worst/most embarrassing speaking experience, etc). Help us remind the veterans why they want to come back and let the newbies know what they’ve been missing – the good, the bad and the ugly.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to post your story, using the comment feature of this blog. You'll have the option of remaining nameless. Alternatively, feel free to post your full name if you really want the whole world knowing that YOU were the Day Coordinator who intolerantly stressed that attendees must shut their cell phones off as your own cell phone loudly rang mid-session.
Yes, it happened. You know who you are.
10 comments:
There was a session several years ago--I wish I could remember when--in which someone had looked through the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and did a whole shtick on some of the weirder occupations listed there. It was one of the funniest things I've ever heard at a conference! I wish I could remember who it was, or even what conference it was. I think the panel's subject was something about attempting to keep your sanity while practicing immigration law. The session did not advance the education of immigration lawyers one iota, but the tape would be great to listen to for anyone who's ever done a labor certification.
I love attending the Saturday night party and seeing all of the people that I have just seen speak on panels in a serious manner - cutting loose on the dance floor. It is highly entertaining. The majority of AILA members should stick to practicing law and should not consider dancing careers.
I remember San Francisco 1994 arriving at my hotel just in time to see the media coverage of OJ speeding away on the freeway in his Bronco. Folks spent hours in the bar watching the sordid details. It's also the year several of us were pregnant and we bumped into each other's bellies. We've been friends since and our kids have gotten together over the years with us.
And the melted butter conference will always stand out of course. Phoenix was the only place I've ever been where there were no people on the streets during the day. We seem to have a nack for setting annual conferences in the most hot and/or humid places. Please come back to Seattle!
Orlando will be fun because I will bring the whole family, but I agree about the weather. I am anxiously awaiting Vancouver in 2008!
My favorite moment is when the AILA staff member ended up taking a swim while enjoying an evening on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Not once, but twice this daring individual "accidently" fell into the not very deep -- and not very clean -- waters of the Riverwalk!
I took my family to the Saturday Night party last year in San Antonio. My husband, 18-month old son and I enjoyed it very much. My son seemed to be the center of attention! When we got there, we had our photograph taken by the professional at the entrance. We saw it later online and contemplated a purchase. Several months later, I got the link to the AILA 60th Anniversary Video. As I was watching, I heard the narrator say, "changing face of immigration," and there was that picture of my family! It made us laugh since my husband was born in South Dakota (raised in Alabama), I was born in Maryland, and my son was born in Maryland. We certainly are the changing face of immigration - and I happen to be an immigration attorney too!
At the 1999 Annual Meeting in Seattle, I snacked on a Danish while chatting with a lawyer from Denmark. It took all of my self control not to say anything.
I remember fondly the AILA AC in New Orleans 2003. It rained 7-8 inches in 1 hour! The street in front of the Marriott hotel had a river of murky looking water running through it. I had to take off my sandals, hike up my skirt,(didn't look down), and wade through the flooded water. All because I was scheduled to speak on a panel within an hour at the other hotel. I was lucky I didn't drop my notes in the water. When my panel was over I crossed the street back to the Marriott. The sky was deep blue and the street was drier than a bone. That's New Orleans! A wonderful city.
Mary Mucha
AILA Member
Los Angeles, CA
At the Conference in Bermuda was a wet, soggy one with only one day of sun.However, in consolation, I met what are now life-long friends there.
Oh, for the days of only 300 at a conference!
One I remember vividly. At the annual conference in Phoenix, in 1996, AILA was commencing its fiftieth anniversary. A luncheon meeting for 1,500 of us was scheduled in an enormous tent with temporary air-conditioning with outside heat of about 110. Perhaps because I was the oldest past president there, I was given the honor of cutting the 50th anniversary cake. I watched it melt in front of me.
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