Every two years we shine a light upon our wonderful profession and society. This convention seemed more intimate than our last convention in 2006. Perhaps due to the fact it was held in the homey confines of the Doubletree International Hotel. Perhaps it was because you know most of the delegates even more so than the last meeting. Many members took advantage of the early registration on Friday evening, and then paid a visit to the vendors' area. With nametag in hand, delegates were then invited to a convention welcome reception sponsored by 3M Canada in the Terrace Room of the Doubletree Hotel. 3M Canada must have been pleased with the attendance, as it was literally standing room only. During the evening, 3M Canada held a draw for a Nintendo Wii-the winner was Sharon Joyce of Halifax.

The atmosphere Saturday morning was electric and reasons to attend were not hard to find. Many of the usual members attended, even from afar. Members from across Canada were in attendance and we even had a delegate from Belgium, Mr. Freddy Maes, who responded to the CSOT call. The first member to register for the `Cutting Edge' convention was Mary Perkins of Lindsay, and the distinction of being our twenty-third convention registrant went to Tom Yorke of New Brunswick.

Each and every CSOT convention offers a unique opportunity for pause and reflection: to look back over the years and assess all that has been accomplished, and to look towards the future for growth and inspiration.

For those members of the CSOT who could not be at the 2008 convention, the following will be a brief description of some of the educational content and moments that made this a memorable weekend.

Saturday
Delegates began to arrive early at 7 a.m. Pam Smith and her registration team were ready and prepared for the rush. The delegates glided from station to station, being greeted by CSOT board members, past CSOT president Jane Villadiego, CSOT founding member and his wife, Jimmy and Stella Tsakiris, and the "CSOT Official Exam Dummy" Jack Smith. The vendors' area then became the focus of the early morning delegates as coffee, tea, juice, yogurt and muffins waited, courtesy of the North Techs Chapter and Zimmer Canada.

The ceremonial dimming of the lights signaled our immediate attendance at the lecture hall. As the room quickly filled, Norm Ellsworth, president of the CSOT, offered a warm and generous welcome to the twenty-third convention of the society. The business matters of the society were carried out and discussed with no new business brought forward.