As discussed previously, I recently attended the Advanced Seminar in Parliamentary Law put on by the Robert’s Rules Association. The seminar was well worth the time and money I spent to attend, and I look forward to attending similar events in the future.

The adventure began at 3:00 AM on Monday, as I woke and prepared for my flight. I boarded the Airways Transit shuttle to Pearson International Airport at 4:15 AM, and spent most of the trip describing and demonstrating my BlackBerry Pearl to a very interested driver. He dropped me off with more than plenty of time to spare.

Around 7:30 AM, Air Canada Jazz flight 7928 departed YYZ for BWI. The aircraft was a de Havilland Dash 8-100, and it was my first flight on a turboprop. I sat in the exit row by the window. There were only about a dozen people on the aircraft, so it wasn’t particularly cramped. They distributed free Crispers and Peek Freans, which was unexpected—Air Canada had indicated that snacks would be available for purchase. I saw some interesting features on the ground, and took a lot of pictures, though most areas were covered in clouds.

The flight arrived at Baltimore ahead of schedule, and I quickly found my way to the Four Points hotel. I checked in and explored the hotel for a few minutes, and then decided to hang out in the lobby openly reading RONR and see what happened. It wasn’t long before I overheard Todd Kincannon checking in at the front desk. We greeted each other like old friends, despite having never before met in person, and proceeded to discuss the subtle oddities of Robert’s Rules of Order like a couple of huge geeks, as Todd checked in and took his bags to his room.

By the time we had returned to the lobby (planning to openly carry copies of RONR and thereby run into people) a group of parliamentarians had already formed, including Jay Maynard, George Mervosh, Maurice Reid, and others. We all shook hands and said our hellos, as we were finally able to put faces to all these names. We stood around and talked until noon, at which time we headed over to the seminar room to sign in. Things got started at 1:00 PM sharp, and, befitting a meeting of parliamentarians, stuck exactly to the planned agenda for the remainder of the two-day event.

Over the course of the seminar, I met three of the RONR authors—Henry M. Robert III, Daniel Honemann, and Thomas “Burke” Balch—plus several other parliamentarians I’d previously met over the Internet, including Shmuel Gerber, Daniel Seabold, Alan Jennings, and probably others whose names now escape me.

The presentations at the seminar were very interesting. Immediately following the introductory remarks by Henry Robert, Todd Kincannon gave a presentation on previous notice of motions. This was followed by a presentation by Jesse Binnall on nominations and filling blanks. The third and final presentation for the first day was given by Dan Honemann on the topic of Official Interpretation 2006-12. The latter was very well put together and persuasive, and I believe I am on the verge of agreeing with the authorship team regarding that issue.

That evening I had dinner at the hotel restaurant with Jay Maynard, George Mervosh, and Maurice Reid. I heard a lot of interesting stories about parliamentary practice in the trenches, and about the politics of parliamentary organizations. I got the feeling that this was what it was like to really be a parliamentarian. The crab soup was also quite good.

After dinner, an “informal” part of the seminar was held for a couple of hours, as various people came up to the microphone to ask questions and make comments. So many people chose to attend that it was difficult to distinguish from the more “formal” open forum held during the actual seminar time before dinner. At this point, I started to get the impression, based on what people were saying, that I was probably the only person in the room who had never actually served as parliamentarian for an organization—they were always talking about their clients and their students other such things.

The next morning, the seminar continued with a presentation by Shmuel Gerber on the fundamental principles of parliamentary law, and I learned that Shmuel is just as witty in person as he is on the Internet. This was followed by Dan Seabold’s presentation on rules protecting absentees and the basic rights of an individual member, and I could tell immediately that Dr. Seabold’s students at Hofstra University had a skilled and interesting teacher. The final presentation of the seminar was made by Burke Balch, and concerned challenges to elections and other vote outcomes.

After the seminar, Todd Kincannon and I decided to explore the world outside the hotel, and hired a taxi to take us to G&M Restaurant & Lounge for a late lunch. As we ate our enormous portions, we discussed the seminar, parliamentary law in general, gun control, the availability of sweetened vs. unsweetened iced tea in various parts of the world, the Canadian constitution, and a number of other interesting topics.

We took a cab back to the hotel and spent some time at the bar chatting with the authors and seminar attendees who still remained. The time soon came to head off to the airport, though I learned just as I got there that my flight was delayed. The airport was practically deserted, with no line at all at security. After finally convincing the TSA man that my 75 mL tube of toothpaste was in fact less than 3 oz, I sat and waited at the gate for what seemed like hours.

Around 7:45 PM, Air Canada Jazz flight 7935 departed BWI for YYZ. The aircraft was the same as before, but this time the sun was set and the clouds were gone. I couldn’t take any decent pictures, but the views I had of the earth below were amazing, especially during ascent and descent. I felt like I was watching the most complex and realistic Sim City game ever devised, and I emitted an involuntary “Wow!” when I first spotted the distinctive sign of a Bank of Montreal branch near Toronto. Soon every sign was legible, as the buildings got larger and larger. The pilot had to turn the plane quite a lot prior to landing, so I got to see in several different directions.

When I told the customs officer I had been at a Robert’s Rules seminar, he gave me a funny look, but let me go on my way. I soon met up with Airways Transit and made my way home, which was mostly uneventful. I fell into bed and was fast asleep before midnight, dreaming dreams of Robert’s Rules of Order.