[Ohio-talk] The Attendance of General Sessions?

[Everett Gavel]

Hello Ohio,

Due to some recent messages here, I am opening up the possibility for some
further education.  In regards to attending the General sessions.

Here's my question:

If I look through the agenda, and one particular block of time has nothing
that seems at all of interest to me on any of a few levels, why is it such a
bad thing if I miss that section of the general session?  Now, I know full
well there are others who missed parts here and there.  They're just 'smart'
enough to keep their mouths shut on it.  But I'm asking someone, or a bunch
of someone's please, to chime in here with good, relevant, and concise
reasons as to why we supposedly need to attend every general session - even
if it were in Japanese without an interpreter.  Or at least, that's the way
it seems.

I'm hoping y'all can give some gentle and guiding advice on this point, or
at least, I'm opening it up for that.  Because I talked to several new and
younger people from our affiliate throughout the week and got the impression
that they felt similar to what I've felt in the past sometimes.  Like,
"Well, I'm supposed to be there, and they expect me to be there, so I should
be there even if I don't know exactly why I need to be there."

I believe I could've done a better job inspiring others to be there, along
with inspiring myself along those lines, if I could've kept it clear in my
noggin as to why it's so highly encouraged, other than to not have a bunch
of empty seats in our affiliate during the presentations.  If there are
other reasons, I'm asking for a refresher here, for us all, please?


Thanks,
Everett