Mark,
 
Good questions.  It's nice that you ask them so I can brag!
 
First of all, we don't go to a city because there are a lot of COA members
there. We try to have our conventions in different parts of the country so
we get exposure to the shellers in that area.  Also, part of the fun of a
COA Convention is traveling to various parts of the country and shelling
and/or touristing there.  We have been to many cities around the country.
Conventions have been held in Long Island, Philadelphia, Santa Monica,St.
Petersburg, San Diego,  Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, Sarasota, Key West,
Melbourne, Jacksonville, Panama City, Portland OR, Corpus Christi, Fort
Myers, Sanibel, etc..  All had club hosts. And doubtless there are many
other clubs/areas that may want to host a convention in the future.  And
will do so.
 
But there are lots of shellers where there are no clubs, and we want to
bring COA to them.  In that listing above,  do you notice anything missing?
  Like inland U.S. locations? There has only been one inland convention in
COA's history, St. Louis in 1987.  And shelling sure isn't confined to
coastal dwellers.  These inland areas need COA also but seldom have large
enough active groups to take the host job on by themselves.  Also, several
clubs have already hosted a convention more than once: San Diego,
Sanibel/Captiva, Long Island.
 
Remember, we WANT to go to new locations.  When you have attended a
convention or two, you'll get a better idea of this. Each geographic area
brings a special flavor to the convention.  It isn't really good for the
organization to have year after year of conventions in Florida. We become
too narrow. When we went to San Diego, we were able to go shelling in
Mexico.  The Pacific northwest had some pretty exciting cool water Pacific
shelling. In Panama City, we could go fossiling in Miocene deposits nearby.
Texas had bluebonnet ice cream (right, Lucy?) and Texas hospitality.
Melbourne had the turtles on the beaches laying eggs.  St. Louis offered
Unionidae and the Arch.  And so on. Each area becomes sort of our own. And
we belong there.
 
It is true that having a host club lightens the load on COA members.  But
nothing from nothing is nothing. There is no real load on COA members
currently.  In the past, members of COA, except for the host club members,
have been purely guests at our conventions. There was no load on us
whatever.  That is the way it has been done for the past 25 years, and will
be done in the future as well. But we're trying to find out if it is the
only way. In the future, if this works, there will be work for volunteers
at selected conventions.  We won't be drafting anybody to work, never fear!
 Volunteers abound. You should have seen the crowd that stood up to
volunteer to help in Louisville at the Orlando Convention banquet in July!
It may be a lot of work, but it is also a lot of fun!  And I for one think
it is a good thing to try new stuff.
 
As for why you would want to come to Louisville, well, we have a VERY
enthusiastic chairman, and the location is central to a lot of very
populous areas full of shellers:  Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburg (where
AMU/AMS? will be held next year, on the following week) Indianapolis,
Cincinnati, Nashville, Knoxville, etc.... and these folks deserve a
convention near them.  Gene Everson has worked out quite a list of
compelling reasons why you would want to come to Louisville.  For instance,
we are home to A)  Supersheller Gene Everson and his fabulous collection
and he likes nothing better than to show it off! B) American Conchologist
C) The COA Treasury (Bobbie Houchin also calls Louisville home. D) the
Cheeseburger!  Also it is going to be as inexpensive as only Gene Everson
can make it! <G!>  Save that cash to buy shells! We are also having a
fantastic shell show at the convention, only the second one in COA's
history. And the Bourse has just about unlimited space, Gene says.
 
No shelling, you say?  Not so!  We have land, freshwater, and ABUNDANT
fossil shells.  We sit square in the midst of a vast prehistoric inland
shallow sea. And there are multitudes of freshwater mussel species...we are
in the heartland of that group!  Well, you'll just have to read Gene's
list!  I'll put it on Conch-L as soon as it is published in American
Conchologist (which is never going to happen if I don't get off here and
get back to work!)
 
Lynn Scheu
Louisville, KY, Host City of the 1999 COA Convention
"Louisville, Your Kind of Place!"
 
 >Lynn, you wrote:
>
>There is no host club. (Louisville did have a shell club until about 1990,
>but it no longer functions.)
>
>If this is the case then why have a COA convention in Louisville????
>
>I'm sure there are a few cites that have clubs and would be willing to host.
>It seems having a club host the convention would help to lighten the load on
>the COA members....mark
>
>