So, we are in Ohio, working, and we went to the OSGA this year! I couldn't be working so close and not go.

I did feel like a newbie all over again, but it didn't take long to meet new friends and feel welcome.

Other than my GC buddies, we are a bit isolated when it comes to the glider world. It was great to put bodies and true personalities to faces and names.

I got to meet Feather for the first time in person! Thank you Kim for making me feel welcome! This lady is something else! She is so sweet! Now I have to go to SGGA even if I have to walk there from Mississippi.

I met Shelly (Glider Nursery), our host, Thank you for the warm welcome! She worked really hard and I feel this year was a success! My notepad is full of great information I will be able to share here as well as a better life for my gliders!

I met Peggy (Srlb) owner of Critter Love too! She is so awesome! Thank you for the warm reception and explaining things beyond your diet plan. She is the real deal.

Not only did I learn a lot, the vendors were great too! And I saved on shipping. Seeing it in person, and picking out exactly what I wanted / needed... Quite a shopping experience! Hubby was a good sport with his cash and credit card .

Oh I forgot! Hubby had fun too! I think It's the first time he went to something that wasn't hunting, fishing, drag racing, or gun related. But he loves our girls as much as I do!

I am still in Elyria at this point, still overwhelmed from yesturday. So much great info! I know I forgot something, or to mention somebody, and the other new friends I met, well, you know who you are it was nice to meet you!

Oh, and Dot and Fiona went along and had a great time too! Not one crabby interruption during the lectures! They slept through most of it!

I forgot to mention Bourbon was there too! The creator of the BML diet... I felt I was a room with royalty!!!

She is just an extraordinary person who has a passion for these little fuzzbutts, and their care and well being...

I wish I had more time to spend with her. Hopefully I will see her again at one of these gatherings.

lol Bourbon at almost all events she come even if she was a zombie i bet.
glad you enjoyed the osga , it on our glider event list in the future

Thanks for reporting on the event! You made me want to go. Now that I'm mobile, maybe I'll make it to a gathering some time.

She was great! I've never met anyone like her!



You are correct Karen! Assimilation: Complete! Such a sweet group! I did sit with other newbies. But everyone was nice and talkative. I actually met a few from Missouri!

You have to go at least once. But be careful, they are addicting!

you definitely will need to go to the sgga the end of july in Wisconsin. it has been a few yrs since I have been able to attend an event, & I am going to be able to go to this one, & my husband says he wants to come, too.
I've been to 3 in Ohio, 2 in Missouri, one in Illinoi. They have been nothing but fun & informative.
you leave remembering the experience for the rest of your life.
I miss so many of the people that attend these, & I am so excited to be able to reintroduce myself to those that I haven't seen, that I remember & want to be able to give hugs to them. hoping that just b/c they aren't here on GC, they still attend the events.
& bourbon really is the best, she is real in every sense of the word.
& I'm also wanting to make new friends, too!!!!!!!

Dawn, it was so wonderful to meet you. What a sweetheart you are!!

I am so glad that both you and your hubby enjoyed it.

These gatherings can indeed become addictive. Not just because of all the educational stuff you learn, but also because of all the people you meet and the laughs you share. You get to see what people are really all about when they are not just behind a keyboard.

I look forward to seeing you guys in July in Wisconsin. No excuses missy. You better show up we have more talking to do!!

Are there any events in the Portland OR area?

I'd be up for that too, Aric! I'm in western Washington.

Oh my gosh! This was such a great weekend!! (Here goes the LOOOONNNGGG post!)

We oversold the room, had a bit of issue with the table setup, but got it worked out. (That's a good thing! ) Also had a tad bit of technical difficulty with the internet service, but thanks to Allison, we finally got things working.

This has been the largest OSGA so far, and you guys helped make the 5th annual conference a HUGE success! Thanks again to all of my sponsors, ya'll know I can't do this without you...Dallie (SpinZone Global), Peggy (Critter Love®), Sherri (Newby's Glider Nook), Jim (Pet-Pro), and Robyn (Flying J Gliders). You all rock and I greatly appreciate you!

A few shout outs...Allison and Catherine, you two were wonderful "little helpers". I think you may have done more than I did. Every year you two are here for me and I thank you very much. You two keep me organized and do such a great job with the fundraising.

Dr. Dierenfeld - thank you for always giving such an informative presentation. It is an honor and a pleasure working with you. I'm so excited that all of Phase I of the Nutrition Study has been accepted for publication! We are making great strides in this research, and I thank you for working with us!

Peggy Hernandez Brewer (Critter Love®) - thank you for allowing Dr. Dierenfeld to present the findings of the Vitamin D research that the two of you did. It's an honor that you chose to have these findings presented at my event. Thank you for taking a portion of YOUR sales and donating it to continued research. It's very refreshing to see someone spending their own money for the good of the glider, and doing research on things other than your diet products...love seeing the results of your research.

Dallie - thanks for being there for me. (No more words are needed here. <3 )

Ian (Spirit Drawing by Ian) - thank you for once again doing free drawings for my guests. You stayed so late and squeezed more people in than I would have ever expected. Everyone loved the experience and I'm happy that you were able to come back this year. What are we going to do for next year??

Kristopher - thank you for speaking and explaining that not everything online is the "only" or "right" way to do things. I love when people are willing to explain how they do things and how successful they are to show that there is more than one way to do things.

Dr. Matt - once again you provided a very educational presentation. Thank you for speaking about neuters. I received a ton of great feedback. Hope we can plan a new topic for next year.

To everyone else (no way I can mention everyone)...thank you so much for coming! The gift exchange went amazingly well and seemed to be very well received by everyone. I think we may do that again next year! The meet & greet was so much fun this year; I usually don't get to spend as much time socializing as I did. I got to meet so many new people (we had a lot of first time attendees!!). I've received a lot of feedback from the conference on Saturday and loved hearing how much each of you learned ( ) and how much fun you all had.

Thanks to each of you that came to my restaurant for lunch and dinner. We had a very large crowd on Saturday night. I truly hope you each enjoyed your dining experience. I appreciate your support; I know you could have stayed closer to the hotel to eat, but chose to come to the Brickyard anyway. That means a lot to me.

To all of the exhibitors - your set-ups were beautiful. There was a very nice selection available for all shopping needs. I truly hope you all did very well. Thank you to each of you that donated items for the door prizes. I special thank you to Marie (Sugar Glider Joy), Carla Sloan, and Tonia (Fairy Tail Gliders) for donating the items for the auction. That really helped boost our funds!

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR SUPPORTING THE NUTRITION RESEARCH!!

I REALLY needed this weekend, you guys did more for me this weekend than you realize. I hope to see each of you back next year! THANK YOU!!!

Soooo....who's ready for next year?

I really enjoyed our talk! I did have more to say/ask, I got tongue tied and forgot... I kinda rambled on! But next time I see you I will be more prepared! Thank you for taking time with me.

Shelly/ Glider Nursery,

You did a wonderful job! Thank you so much for the fantastic experience! It was the first exposure we had to other sugar glider fanatics like ourselves. Our family thinks we have gone over the edge!!!

We need to make up a t-shirt that says:

"It's a Sugar Glider thing...
You wouldn't understand..."

So it sounds like there were plenty of gliders present at the conference. Did any gliders get to meet and greet with each other? I know that they're generally territorial in their own space, but will they "say hello" to unknown gliders in neutral territory like that...?

Since I'm a newbie to conferences, I got to scratch a few ears, and cheeks, after I asked, Dot gave Fiona up in the pouch, what I mean by that is when my hand goes in, Dot dives under her and pushes her up in my hand. Kinda funny!

The girls were perfect, no crabbing and kept a good additude about being petted. Fiona dove for the front of my shirt once while out...

We kept them with us all day Saturday during the conference. I got to meet Tucker's grandson.
Such a cutie!

Half way through the conference, I took them out of their bonding pouch, and they crawled into my Hoodie hood. Best behavior! We went back to our room shortly after that and Hubby couldn't dig them out. So a half a grape each and back in to meeting we all went...

We didn't let the girls mingle with other gliders, but they knew they were there from the scents of the strangers who pet them. They were quite content to stay on me. Not curious at all. Oh and I never petted an intact male either.

If I would have known you never petted an intact male I would have had you take a sniff test of those stinky little buggers.

Yeah, I should have proof read a little closer...

Not sure how close of a smell I really wanna get...

In some of those little boys the testosterone really makes them odoriferous little buggers.