I just ran across an article I wrote for Association Meetings a while back on social, military, educational, religious, and fraternal (SMERF) meetings, and thought this part of it is still pretty funny--and relevant:
You know you're a SMERF planner when:
* Your social organization's attendees request rocking chairs so they can soothe the grandkids while debating land economics issues.
* You have to worry about food and beverage attrition not because your people don't show up, but because they are veterans of the Korean War and they just don't eat and drink like they used to.
* Your educational group doesn't need a suite for its board meeting--it needs 4,000 square feet of meeting space.
* Your gospel group brings along a ten-dollar bill and the Ten Commandments, fully intending not to break either one.
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