Camelid Community 2010

Just got back from Kansas City, MO.

I attended the Camelid Community 2010 conference this weekend.

Llama and alpaca owners from Florida, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin and Massachusetts came together to help direct the future of the camelid industry in the U.S.

There were also representatives from the Alpaca Registry Inc.

Barb Baker and Sheila Fugina are the co-chairs of this annual event and they manage to bring out the best in all of the attendees.

The group is working on some brochures that can be distributed to people in this industry with questions about "what do I do with all this fiber?" and how to engage youth with llamas and alpacas.

It's always a great weekend of brainstorming, sharing ideas and stories, and re-connecting with old friends.

And, of course, the laughing is legendary. We chuckle, guffaw and downright belly laugh at some of the responses.

For example: one of the attendees talked about how she had sent her fleece to a mill to be processed. After waiting month after month, she got a phone call from the mill that they had "found the box with her fleece laying in a corner somewhere." They then asked for a check for processing.

She didn't rush to get payment in the mail. When they sent her a "reminder" e-mail -- she shot back this e-mail message: 'So sorry. Your e-mail was lying in the corner somewhere.'

What a sense of humor!

And there was, of course, the arrival of Helen to the second power -- the two IL Helens -- in their Waffle House hats.

THESE are the reasons I wouldn't miss this conference.