Abstract
"You can't get there from here," was a familiar refrain at the spanking new Chicago Marriott Hotel, setting for yet another exciting AFA convention. The people movers, i.e., the elevators and escalators were first to be mastered before you could attend all the attractions that Ralph Milos and his able convention committee arranged for our enjoyment and education. There were two banks of elevators, and the one that I invariably got on went to the 7th and 28th floors, but never to the 20th floor where my room was. There were escalators that climbed nicely from the 5th to the 7th floor, but if you were on the 4th or 5th floors, you couldn't get to either the 7th where the commercial exhibits were housed, or to the 5th, where the registration was being held. Utilizing the stairwell on several occasions, I did manage to see and do almost everything I wanted.
The first thing that I did was to attend the "rraurnaless" AFA Board meeting on Thursday, presided over by a thankful and overworked retiring chief executive, President Tom Ireland. The new national officers for '83-'84 were announced. Heading AFA will be Lee Phillips (MD), Pres.: P. Martin, 1st VP (FL); Tom Marshall (VA) 2nd Vice President; Chief Financial Officer, Janice Pritchard (CA).
Dr. Val Cleat's luncheon had an interesting twist to it this year, as he honored the editors of all the various avicultural publications. The guest of honor at the event was the dean of this much admired and appreciated group, A.]. Petrando, publisher of the the American Cage-Bird Magazine. Herbert Axelrod of TFH Publications, was on hand to toast, good-naturedly, Mr. Perrando. Our own Sheldon Dingle, editor and Jean Hessler, art director, received Avy awards and well-earned recognition for their superlative work on Watchbird.
The commercial exhibit area boasted a wide variety of bird produces and birdrelated items, and, of course, birds! New additions that drew much interest and favorable comment were booths of the International Crane Foundation and the Raptor Rehabilitation Center, complete with several species of owls and a redtailed hawk.
Zoo personae 1, conservationists, veterinarians, artists and grass-roots aviculturists addressed the faithful in a series of informative and entertaining lectures all day Friday and Saturday. Jack Clinton-Eitniear, finally able to come "in from the field" reported on the "Status of the Green Cheeked Parrot in Mexico," a project funded by the AFA Research Committee. Scott McDonald, D. V. M. drew a large audience as one of the pioneers in ''Surgical Sexing of Birds by Laparoscopy,'' a procedure which has had a profound impact on captive breeding.
Budgerigars, canaries, tanagers, pionus parrots, lovebirds, hombills, pigeons, cockatoos, Amazons, lories, water fowl and macaws all had their expert spokesmen and their devoted followers. There literally was something for everyone and...