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hi folks,..this will be my first rally, so I don't have any personal experience.quick question: I will attend at a mentor-lunch - does it make sense to attend at two mentor-lunches (ie. fri & sat)?I'm just wondering about what comes out of the lunches, and if attending on both would make sense.any experience / opinion?thanks,martin

The first year, I went to none. Last year I went to one, because I didn't know I could go to two. One lunch = 3 or 4 mentors. Two lunches = 6 to 8 mentors. If this is your first Rally, then here's what Taxi members get:- one 15-minute face-to-face personal meeting with the mentor of your choicehere's what members and guests get:- (tickets must be purchased in advance & there are only 600 tickets) one or two Mentor Lunches (where various mentors come to your table for several minutes & answer questions. You may give them a CD)- Drive By Mentor - where you line-up to get to talk to the mentors on hand at the time you're thereIMO these are one of the most important elements to the Rally. Where else would you be able to talk with Pat Pattison or John Braheny or the rep from a label, or someone from a big music library, etc. You can get career advice and direct feedback on your music, ask questions about how things really work. With the Mentor Lunch you are sharing that mentor with everyone else at the table so you may only get to ask one question.If you aren't sure, buy a ticket for one.HPS - the other thing that happens at Mentor Lunch is you meet all the other folks at the table....

I don't know, I always do them. I just find them really interesting and informative, and you'd want to sit down and have lunch with other members anyway, right?And truthfully there aren't many great restaurants within walking distance (only fast food-ish places if I recall) and the "nice" restaurant at the hotel isn't really gonna be cheaper either. Btw I'll be mentoring at the one on Saturday...not that you'll need to buy lunch to talk to lil old me .

wooHOO!!! Great to hear that, Matto. Already have purchased my seats at BOTH Mentor lunches. That could save me the time and effort to "hunt you down" amidst the crowd to pick your brain... Ted

Yes, Go to both. I have done that since the first Rally I attended now this will be my fifth. Each year the set up of the mentoring and the format just gets better. The food is good, but the people you meet sitting at your table can be also and added thing too. There is just great information from mentor's who do want to give you the advice you ask for, so be sure an don't be shy to ask questions. Purchase your tickets now don't wait. They sell out fast. To me I will save money on dinner and pay the money for these lunches. Once you go to one then you will see the value, but you won't be able to get a ticket then. If you have any more question e-mail me Kyleellen@cox.net I'm a local Southern California and know the Westin set up well. It's awesome when the Rally has been there in the past. Best Wishes, Kyleellen

Glad I ran across this post again as it reminded me to buy my lunch tickets for both days. Hope the fires aren't causing a problem where you live, kyleellen.

Thanks for posting about this, guys. I didn't recieve the email that spoke about signing up for the luncheons , but thanks to this post, I called Taxi and signed up

wooHOO! So I don't feel so clueless asking the question and starting this thread.Ted