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ProZ.com powwow: Vancouver Powwow 2010 - Meet and Greet
October 10, 2010, 9:00 am
CanadaVancouverIn personEnglish
My name is Tom Groendal. I recently moved to Vancouver. Until April of this year I lived in Osaka, Japan. I hosted 4 powwows there and found them to be a pleasant opportunity to get to know a few translators, agents, etc., make connections and complain about my boss! (The worst part of self-employment)
- Who
I will open this up to translators/agencies in the Vancouver Metropolitan area. If it grows beyond our capacity, I will cap participation on a first come first serve basis.
-What we'll do
I am not planning any group discussions or other organized activities for the first Powwow, just a simple chance to get together. I will provide some discussion questions as conversation starters and hopefully we can do self-intros. I would simply ask that people bring as many business cards as there are participants.
*Find out your Proz number as well, so I can record your attendance!
- Guests
If you are bringing a non-Proz member or anyone else that is not listed on this site as attending, please be sure to let me know by e-mail or phone ahead of time so I can update reservations.
- STIBC
I will also contact the people at STIBC and ask them to be available and bring some materials about their organization. I believe it is the primary if not only BC based professional organization in our field.
- Food
Drinks and food will be purchased individually.
- Me
If for some reason you want to know who I am, you can find more information at www.qolity.org
Make sure you sign up! I can't guarantee seats for anyone who doesn't. Depending on the number of participants we get and your suggestions, I am open to changing the venue too. I'm bringing 2 persons
Yes thanks am happy to attend. Please note I will be bringing my wife and 18 month-old son who is very cute and should be no problem so would you please check we can have a highchair for him. Thanks.
Nando is fine for me. Steamwork? eh... just so-so. Anyhow, it is difficult to pick a food to meet everyone's taste, isn't it? I will suggest an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant.
I am leaving town next week and need the weekend to finish a few things. I am very sorry to miss this event. If my desk is cleared by Sunday afternoon, I might just dop by! Have fun, and thanks for organizing it, Thomas!
Of all the great places to meet in Vancouver, why Nando's? It is so disgusting! if you would like, I can give you a list of great restaurants with facilities for a meeting.
Michael
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I am glad to see the quick response to this event. I have also received many kind e-mails from folks that won't be able to make it, but might be able to if I or someone else decides to make another Powwow in the future. As for Nando's, it just happens to be close by and affordable. I personally rather enjoy the food, but I am not attached to the idea. When I did Powwows in Osaka, the cost of participation was often a concern. I am no expert on Vancouver, but I thank you for your sugges... See more
I am glad to see the quick response to this event. I have also received many kind e-mails from folks that won't be able to make it, but might be able to if I or someone else decides to make another Powwow in the future. As for Nando's, it just happens to be close by and affordable. I personally rather enjoy the food, but I am not attached to the idea. When I did Powwows in Osaka, the cost of participation was often a concern. I am no expert on Vancouver, but I thank you for your suggestion by e-mail. As we get close to the date and the level of interest is clearer, I'll reconsider the location and perhaps we can throw a few choices up for people to choose from. I also wrote a blog post about Powwows in general today if you feel like reading it, http://www.qolity.org/?p=196 I am starting to look forward to meeting you all already. Tom ▲ Collapse
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Based on suggestions you all have made and some strong negative reactions to Nando's, I will check out what would be involved at Steamworks, and at La Terrazza Restaurant. Also, when planning these things in Japan it was standard practice for me to come up with a common price (usually an all you can eat/drink scenario) or make it a potluck. It occurs to me that people could take care of themselves if this... See more
Based on suggestions you all have made and some strong negative reactions to Nando's, I will check out what would be involved at Steamworks, and at La Terrazza Restaurant. Also, when planning these things in Japan it was standard practice for me to come up with a common price (usually an all you can eat/drink scenario) or make it a potluck. It occurs to me that people could take care of themselves if this were held at a pub and that might be convenient, reducing my work to a brief greeting and attendance. If this Powwow is a success and others follow, it would be better to do things more formally, guided discussions, presentations, etc., but based on my experience I prefer to keep this first one a simple meet and greet, and poll opinions at the end of the event as to whether or not to do another Powwow. Please feel free to comment in this area as to your opinions on locations and we'll find a place that is better suited for everyone. ▲ Collapse
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I see 14 interested members and I have had a few e-mails from folks that were unable to sign-up succesfully!
It seems like we have a good sized crowd and some momentum. I also notice that there is a fairly large segment of Japanese language specialists, which will be interesting for yours truly. I am glad to see that things are warming up so quickly.
Closer to the end of the month I will put up a poll here for the best location and ask you all to confirm your attendance. Ma... See more
I see 14 interested members and I have had a few e-mails from folks that were unable to sign-up succesfully!
It seems like we have a good sized crowd and some momentum. I also notice that there is a fairly large segment of Japanese language specialists, which will be interesting for yours truly. I am glad to see that things are warming up so quickly.
Closer to the end of the month I will put up a poll here for the best location and ask you all to confirm your attendance. Make sure you have your business cards crispy new and updated and feel free to send me any questions that you would like to have addressed in free discussion at the tables.
For instance, at the first Powwow I organized in Osaka, Japan, I placed a sheet of paper with questions in large print at each table, and participants riffed off of them when other conversation lulled. Some potential examples include basic questions such as:
What CAT tool do you use?
Do you have direct clients or primarily use agencies?
Will HST affect your accounting methods?
What steps have you taken to improve your ergonomics?
Also, I noticed many of you have offered to take pictures, help in organizing and provide a place to stay for out of town visitors. I don't know if we'll have any sleepovers happening, but it's time to get specific. If you are interested in helping, these are the tasks that need doing.
Attendance - Probably my job
Photography - Taking photos, and making certain of who is okay with having their photo online. (Some participants don't want to be visible online.) ... See more
Also, I noticed many of you have offered to take pictures, help in organizing and provide a place to stay for out of town visitors. I don't know if we'll have any sleepovers happening, but it's time to get specific. If you are interested in helping, these are the tasks that need doing.
Attendance - Probably my job
Photography - Taking photos, and making certain of who is okay with having their photo online. (Some participants don't want to be visible online.)
Advertising - We don't need a lot more than 20 participants, and in fact the event would become difficult to handle beyond that point, but we could certainly use 10 more interested members...
Review - Someone can volunteer to write a review of the event which gets posted on Proz.
Research - Contact me if you want to offer a 100 word summary of what the menu, price and setup would be at your preferred location.
In the end, all of this stuff is pretty easy and I have no problem taking care of it myself, but I also believe the energy of an event is the square of its participants, so if you want to join in the fun of organizing, let me know! I'd enjoy the help.
I have removed Nando's from the list. I have received other votes against it and it simply wouldn't be big enough anyway. My head count including off-list attendees is at around 20. If you can confirm your attendance, it would be appreciated.
Tom
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Hi _ The mechanics for confirming attendance seem unclear. So in case you haven't received my confirmation, yes I'd be pleased to attend, and I'll be bringing my wife (Fiona) and 18 month-old son (James) who is cute and should be no trouble - if he acts up Fiona will take him for stroll along Gastown
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Rimas Balsys wrote: The mechanics for confirming attendance seem unclear...
Rimas, there are two arrows after your note in the list of participants. If you click that icon you will be taken to a page where you can confirm your attendance. Regardless, I hear your message loud and clear. I'll mark you down for 2 (+1). Thanks again Tom
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: organizer 
: photos 
: report 
: host 
