CASAA @ Chicago Vape Bash!

[Berylanna]

Per Julie:

Kristin, Michael, Drew, and me. Yes, we will have a table at the check-in area.

(I am assuming she means Michael Cozzi not Dr. Michael Siegel, but I'll try to check....)

CASAA Board of Directors

Per their web page Welcome to VapeBash.com :
VapeBash will be held at The Westin O’Hare 6100 North River Road Rosemont IL 60018 on April 11th and 12th of 2014.

 

[Berylanna]

(I am assuming she means Michael Cozzi not Dr. Michael Siegel, but I'll try to check....)

Confirmed, Michael Cozzi

 

[Berylanna]

So, has anybody seen CASAA at vape Bash?

 

[AgentAnia]

Kristin posted a number of pics from VapeBash on twitter. Hoping she'll post them here when she can...

 

[Berylanna]

OK! So I went to the We Are CASAA fb page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/casaamembers/

and there is a post and a few pictures. Here are 2, the rest can be seen on the fb page.

Folks look cheerful.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=740724119306314&set=pcb.651544401550077&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=740724085972984&set=pcb.651544401550077&type=1&theater

 

[Sundodger]

Really a shame that it was held in an area of the country that is coming out with some of the most restrictive regulations. Maybe the organizers need to rethink where to bring their money to in the future. There are many friendlier convention areas available.

 

[Berylanna]

Really a shame that it was held in an area of the country that is coming out with some of the most restrictive regulations. Maybe the organizers need to rethink where to bring their money to in the future. There are many friendlier convention areas available.

I believe it was held outside the city limits, and so FAR the city is the only place that passed the restrictions.

The organizers were local, and provided the very prominent table for CASAA for free (normally those COST)

A lot of what CASAA did there was give presentations on how to fight the not-yet-lost state battles. I'll post more (not a lot more) after dinner.

 

[Marc411]

Damn I didn't know this was going on and I missed it!

 

[serenity21899]

I believe it was held outside the city limits, and so FAR the city is the only place that passed the restrictions.

The organizers were local, and provided the very prominent table for CASAA for free (normally those COST)

A lot of what CASAA did there was give presentations on how to fight the not-yet-lost state battles. I'll post more (not a lot more) after dinner.

VapeBash is held in a suburb of Chicago and therefore, Chicago's laws do not apply. However, they are considering the same law for the entire county, which could effect future events.

 

[kristin]

Really a shame that it was held in an area of the country that is coming out with some of the most restrictive regulations. Maybe the organizers need to rethink where to bring their money to in the future. There are many friendlier convention areas available.

The Windy City Vapers Club of Chicago organizes this event, so obviously it would take place in their area. Luckily, it was held in Rosemont, IL this year or it could have been really bad. As far as I'm aware, the Chicago ban was passed after the event was already scheduled.

 

[Berylanna]

Julie Woessner:

People seemed to be very grateful for what was being done, and I think they had a good appreciation for the value of a CONSUMER organization that, while we might work cooperatively with industry, we aren't beholden to industry.
Windy City Vapers was an awesome host and made us feel very welcome.

They [an audience about 1/2 vendors, 1/2 vapers] asked about what the FDA might do, why more vendors didn't get involved, what they could do to help, how to join. I can't remember all of it, sorry. It was very informal and kind of last minute.

I have also heard that former CASAA Legislative Director Greg Conley gave 2 presentations, I'm not sure what on. I'll try to find out more.

 

[aikanae1]

LA held a vape bash while the area was proposing bans and one of the reasons was just that; to show the strength of the vaping community (and the amount of business they do). I just thought I'd point out there's more than one way to think about it. I doubt if that's what the organizers had in mind originally since the laws weren't proposed yet.

I believe it was held outside the city limits, and so FAR the city is the only place that passed the restrictions.

The organizers were local, and provided the very prominent table for CASAA for free (normally those COST)

A lot of what CASAA did there was give presentations on how to fight the not-yet-lost state battles. I'll post more (not a lot more) after dinner.

 

[Sundodger]

I understand all the responses to my post, #6 in this thread. I understood the circumstances that the Chicago club was up against, having scheduled the event and then the bans being passed in Chicago. In large metro areas you can call a suburb a different name, but it's still within the geographical area of the city, just with a different name.
Considering that many posters even here on ECF are not politically active in the cause, I imagine that a lot of vapers at the meet to be the same, just wanting to chase clouds an mingle. I hope I'm wrong but doubt it. Considering that, then a lot of them ate at restaurants, filled their gas tanks and bought other items in Chicago proper, that's the point. I know it was to late to change the meet location, but I really hope that the organizers made a point that attendees should NOT spend money in Chicago while at the meet.
And I don't care if the organizers are from Chicago or not. To have a meet within the population footprint of a major city that is so against vaping is wrong, not this year but in coming years, it is wrong. Treat it like camping groups do, they might be the Colorado pop-up warriors but have events in many places, but never somewhere where they are not welcome.
Future events should not be near Chicago in my opinion, or any other area that is passing draconian laws on vaping.

 

[Berylanna]

I understand all the responses to my post, #6 in this thread. I understood the circumstances that the Chicago club was up against, having scheduled the event and then the bans being passed in Chicago. In large metro areas you can call a suburb a different name, but it's still within the geographical area of the city, just with a different name.
Considering that many posters even here on ECF are not politically active in the cause, I imagine that a lot of vapers at the meet to be the same, just wanting to chase clouds an mingle. I hope I'm wrong but doubt it. Considering that, then a lot of them ate at restaurants, filled their gas tanks and bought other items in Chicago proper, that's the point. I know it was to late to change the meet location, but I really hope that the organizers made a point that attendees should NOT spend money in Chicago while at the meet.
And I don't care if the organizers are from Chicago or not. To have a meet within the population footprint of a major city that is so against vaping is wrong, not this year but in coming years, it is wrong. Treat it like camping groups do, they might be the Colorado pop-up warriors but have events in many places, but never somewhere where they are not welcome.
Future events should not be near Chicago in my opinion, or any other area that is passing draconian laws on vaping.

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Yes, it's a suburb of SF. But I have to drive 35 miles to get there and I am NOT dumb-enough to rent a car or buy gas in The City, and neither are the attendees that fly in. And that's before they passed their vaping ban. When I go to a convention NEAR San Francisco, it is still usually 10 miles away and no, the convention attendees don't typically drive that far to eat, either. Most folk eat on-site, you should see the lines.

Laws passed by cities do NOT apply to the geographical area, they apply to that city only. If anything, adjacent cities should be made aware that they benefitted from NOT having passed such laws.

When we want people to know how powerful our Sci Fi conventions are, financially, we bring $2 bills to tip with and pay with, so that our presence shows in in pockets and cash registers. It makes an impression. "We want them back, don't mess it up."

I fully support boycotting people that don't like us. I flew to India via Frankfurt instead of Dubai like my colleagues for that very reason. And, sadly, I won't be eating in SF if I can avoid it. Starbucks got my cut-up card. But boycotting Pete's because Starbucks banned us makes no sense.

 

[Sundodger]

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Yes, it's a suburb of SF. But I have to drive 35 miles to get there and I am NOT dumb-enough to rent a car or buy gas in The City, and neither are the attendees that fly in. And that's before they passed their vaping ban. When I go to a convention NEAR San Francisco, it is still usually 10 miles away and no, the convention attendees don't typically drive that far to eat, either. Most folk eat on-site, you should see the lines.

Laws passed by cities do NOT apply to the geographical area, they apply to that city only. If anything, adjacent cities should be made aware that they benefitted from NOT having passed such laws.

When we want people to know how powerful our Sci Fi conventions are, financially, we bring $2 bills to tip with and pay with, so that our presence shows in in pockets and cash registers. It makes an impression. "We want them back, don't mess it up."

I fully support boycotting people that don't like us. I flew to India via Frankfurt instead of Dubai like my colleagues for that very reason. And, sadly, I won't be eating in SF if I can avoid it. Starbucks got my cut-up card. But boycotting Pete's because Starbucks banned us makes no sense.

Then you and I are on the same page. We need to let the area know that we have say so with our wallets, otherwise they will smile while we are there and then just go along with what ever is passed against us. They have to realize they also have a dog in this hunt.

 

[Berylanna]

The exact area, not the general area. I'd love to see San Bruno or Millbrae capitalize on SF's stupidity by getting hotel business that would have gone to SF. Assuming (sigh) they don't take the same stupid path.

The really hard part is that EVERYONE I know who reserves entire hotels has to do so at LEAST a year in advance, and a lot can happen in a year.