Dateline: Charlotte, NC October 12 – 15, 2012
Another Faffcon is in the history books and yes, it was a great as the rest. Charlotte is a beautiful city, and their hospitality was as good as we have seen.
Starting our weekend at the NASCAR Museum with an interactive tour, we raced, challenged each other in the Pit Stop contest, and saw some of the most fantastic memorabilia in this road racing world. This is a must see if you are ever near Charlotte. Be sure to walk the track and feel the degree of slant the cars deal with to make it around their never-ending tracks.
Organizing our thoughts and desires of what topics were important to each of us individually was next on the agenda. Planning out Saturday & Sunday was fun, because you found out what everyone wanted to discuss and what was to be taught. That’s what Faffcon is all about. Our evening included a get together dinner in the Emporium Food Court across from the Omni. The rooms at the hotel were 5 star. And the view was fabulous. Dinner was fun and gave us a chance to meet and greet and catch up with VO friends we had met earlier in the year from the last Faffcon in Ventura, CA.
After a good night’s sleep, we were up and at ’em for breakfast before we headed into our first session. The various sessions we scurried to were enlightening and encourage participation, discussion and opinions. I just loved it! Saturday and Sunday were a whirlwind of info and insightful experiences that was almost overwhelming. It always feels that way and when you get home, you have to dissect your time and put it all into perspective. But the networking, the friendships made and the knowledge that is shared with respect to no egos or whatever level of learning you possess or the quality of your craft are totally invaluable and hard to explain to someone who has not attended.
Amy Snivley, who organizes the Faffcon extravaganza each time with a highly qualified staff of equally gifted VO folks, announced in Charlotte that Faffcon would be an annual event now that it has established itself. However, no sooner did she tell us that next year’s Faffcon 6 would be in San Antonio, Texas, low and behold, Faffy, the mascot, announced Faff Camp! Faffcamp will be open to all working VO pros with no total cutoff as with the regular Faffcon groups that are capped at 100 vetted people. If you’ve never been to a Faffcon UNconference and you want a taste of what I’ve been rambling on about – you should make plans to go to Faff Camp, May 3-5 in Charlotte. This is to become another annual event if the interest is strong. And I can take a wild guess and tell ya, you better sign up as soon as you can. Check it out on Facebook or go to www.faffcamp.com for more details. Faff Camp is a peer conference for working VO pros.