The turn out for the Chicago Anarchist Conference in April was excellent. People came in from around the country to participate. Every workshop was well attended.

To improve things for the next conference:

1.    Workshops should be longer with more breaks in between.
2.    We need a better standards selection process for workshops.
3.    Food offerings need to be vegetarian/vegan and well marked: no meat/fish/poultry products.
4.    Workshop and keynote presenters need to allow for plenty of time for attendees' participation and should avoid reading to attendees, except for to refer to a quote or two.  Some referring to notes is OK.
5.    Better communications in planning meetings regarding emailing and telephone trees. Those who can't attend a meeting(s) are obligated to update themselves anyway possible.

"I found it most encouraging and empowering in the workshops to have participants that appreciated the radical ideas presented, even when they had differences, they were additive and not combative and hateful with such phrases as, "You're crazy." "What a colossal waste of time." etc., which are the typical comments I get when addressing statists and the bourgeoise majority. Addressing both types of participants are helpful to a presenter, but I'd love to have more radical involvement and much less of the other in the future." J.D.