Reflections

Whew! That’s done. I am back, three grueling days of conference. Actually only one day, of the all day conference and the “bookends were half days but essentially wrecks the rest of the day the conference occurs. I call these grueling days and they were and are but I really did not do anything by but attend sessions, eat smile and try to fit in with a bunch of sheep.

The conference was hosted or put on my the local bus company, theoretically on how to best serve people with disabilities in their service base, and to be fair the operation does a fairly good job all things considered at least from my personal service needs. How-ever there is a whole class of folks with disabilities that the Authority does not serve well at all. I know my boss was invited to this event and she really wants the Authority to better service people who use a service described “para-transit”. I could really take off on a diatribe regarding par-transit and how and what para-transit is and hop para-transist as service for people with disabilities will ever work but there is not the time or well for that to happen right here and now.

The conference was an invitation only affair, and when I was first made aware the event was going to take place the event was sold on a “we really want and need you” at this event. Again, when I got the final invitation and called to find out more regarding the forum I was concerned about a commitment which would take me away from my desk 16 hours over three days! When I tried to hedge my attendance by saying I could be there for maybe the first session or the second day and skip day UTA told me no “we really want you there for the whole thing” and did not sound as if they we going to budge.

Aside from a really great hotlunch the first day: roast beef and dark rich gravy over mountains of mashed potatoes the conference began to go downhill. The conference turned out to be a series of activities which seemed like a throw back to Camp—some activities lasting at leas two hours—lost of charts developed and taped to walls and skits and reflecting( reminiscent of Fast and Testimony meeting—right down to standing up and someone bringing you a microphone for you to speak into and share your thoughts.

There were breakfasts of scrambled eggs and fried potatoes and muffins which actually was not that bad but the other meals tended to go down hill until the last meal was the ubiquitous box lunch—again which was OK but you knew they were finished with you.

The wrap up session was a strong arm session from the conference facilitators to extract a commitment from the event participants to carry on the “ideals” of the conference to meet and bring a more accessible transportation to all of Utahans.

What I felt at the end of the 16 hours, as did many of those who were with me, that the management came with a preconceived agenda which was not going to change regardless of the input for the participants. The conference almost seemed as if it was an item to be “checked” off to meet a grant requirement. Many came away feeling used abused.

Luckily, I don’t have to do much conferencing. I am just glad this conference was in the home town and I did not have to leave my house and bed. Then I would have really been pissed.