I found this on ARS, Great thread!!!

This is the 2nd "Highest Holy Day" (after LRH's Birthday) for scientology! Something is wrong with this picture...

I see quite a few outpoints with this invitation, such as why are they having it in the Ft Harrison Auditorium that only holds about 2,000 people? Not expecting much attendance?

And the actual date is May 9th, though they usually move it to a weekend day the week before or the week after. But what MORON picked FRIDAY THE 13TH???? Somebody should be getting an RPF assignment for that one! LOL!

Ladybird

-------------------------------------------------


Dianetics Event at Flag, May 13
All 4 messages in topic - view as tree
Lagniappe May 7, 6:21 pm

>snip<

>I got this post-card advertisement from the Co$:


>Dianetics 55th Anniversary Celebration at Flag


>Location: Fort Harrison Auditorium
Doors Open: 6:00pm
Event Starts: 7:00pm


Call to reserve your seats:


727-445-4366


Lagniappe

Hey, it's cheaper to do it there. Plus, they can videotape it with full sea-org clappers in attendance and then show the video on the real anniversary.

Normally events in CW are held at Ruth Eckerd Hall which seats 2K per their website. I would've thought it was more. The SO are to fill in the empties when the event begins. So for them to move it to the FH is really something. Does the auditorium really hold 2K? Maybe it's less coz it certainly looks smaller than the inside of REH. Not only must visitors to FLB be down but local public is staying away in droves.

Just a guess but it's probably not where the event itself will be broadcast from, it's just for the Clearwater locals. When I was at Flag they always had these televised events from that auditorium.


Barky
(shudders from the bookselling gauntlet in the lobby)

If the event is at the Shrine in LA, that makes sense. I don't think they would hold a video event at the same locale as the live one. I seem to recall that DN and NYE are live LA events. CW has the birthday.

The after event sales pushes really turn off the public. Every SO member gets a hat for the event, recruitment, letters to ED Int, etc. Large numbers are given to selling tapes, or books, whatever the latest release is. The classics are a fill-in when nothing else is available. As a public you are besieged immediately when you walk into the food area and you will be approached repeatedly with the sales pitch. The sales teams are drilled in the patter of what to say. Something on the order of "Hi, here's your latest tech alteration, how many copies would you like?" It really is pretty much that direct and to the point since the assumption is you want this after the build-up DM has given it during the event. Staff usually end up selling to family members and other staff. Pathetic, you make $100 to 200 (rarely) a month and still you are expected to pay $15 a month to subscribe to tapes you have free access to already.

Do you think if it was such a great thing for staff to listen to you could set up something in Qual to check them out? Does Bridge really have staff's best interests in mind when they push this and brief them (yes, special briefings on this are held) how it will automatically be deducted from the meager pay? I digress.

Repeat this event after event, the public learns to find the closest exits. The org then counters and sets up booths and tents there as well as form a blocking line to "8C" them back to the main area. They would lock the alternative exits if they could, but at larger events the fire dept is there to see things are in order. If you are there to just have a simple conversation, forget about it. The only reason staff will sit with you to talk is because they sense a close, confirm, etc. It's really pathetic and when you compare a social gathering at any other church are differences are amazing. DM knows this was a problem and wanted to set up coffee bar type areas in the upper orgs and make it somethng of a no-fly zone. I guess surveys were finally being read. Nothing came of it though.

EPF'ers are often assigned serving duties, they get a tux shirt and tie but the rest of the clothes are left to them. Most are unprepared and you'll see some of the most comical outfits worn when they are supposed to be looking "upstat".

The IAS will set up a special area with music and catered food, no grubby EPFer's in sneakers serving you. Enter at your own risk. "Free" is not free and if you are looking to make new best friends, you are in luck. They are so interested in you, they'll want to talk for hours.

The after clean-up crews are assigned and it begins to happen around midnight and goes for a few hours. Many are no-shows, having headed back earlier. You may or may not get a chit from the MAA. The older, wiser ones know how to play the game.

Just a few tidbits from the past.

No 8C now, Yep, been there, done that.

Remember the stupid cards they would hand out to the staff requiring you to put family or friends addresses on them and hand them back in? Boy did I hear about that when I got out and got back in good standing with the real world.

Can you imagine? Most people do not appreciate being put on the scientology mailing list. They are embarrased by getting all the crap in the mail.

I bet they are counted in the 8 million members stat, and the Central files stats too. Letters Out must have boomed after every event.

Scientologists, take note: here is yet another way your "suggested donations" are squandered, sending tons of expensive, flashy promo to people who have no interest and hate scientology for stealing their loved ones.

Check this out: Just this week on Tuesday, May 10th, 2005 scientology claimed to have 12,000 members in the Clearwater area, including 1,400 staff, plus at least 1,500 visitors from around the world at any given time.

I ask again, why is the 55th anniversary celebration of "Dianetics" being held on Friday the 13th in the Fort Harrison Auditorium which holds a maximum of 2,000 people???



Found at:


http://www.sptimes.com/2005/05­/10/Northpinellas/Scientology_­speaker_h...


====================


Scientology speaker holds her own with Tiger Bay Club
By ROBERT FARLEY, Times Staff Writer
Published May 10, 2005


------------------------------­------------------------------­--------------------


FEATHER SOUND - The Suncoast Tiger Bay Club prides itself on asking
tough questions.


Its members held true to form on Tuesday afternoon, peppering their
guest speaker, Pat Harney, a spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology
in Clearwater.


Is Scientology a cult? Does the church stockpile weapons? Did L. Ron
Hubbard create Scientology as a way to make himself wealthy?


Harney smiled and said she had expected them all.


The Church of Scientology has been a fixture in downtown Clearwater
for 30 years, and yet many people know very little of what it's about,
she said.


People describe the church as a cult to disparage a religion they
don't agree with by saddling it with a negative label, she said.


"It's nothing I haven't heard before," Harney said afterward. "It just
makes you recognize the amount of work it's going to take to
communicate who we truly are."


For the church, meeting with the Tiger Bay Club was the latest in an
ongoing effort to build relationships with a community that has been
skeptical, and at times hostile, to its growing presence.


Tiger Bay Club President Bob Fisher said the club approached the
Church of Scientology to supply a guest speaker because, "I think
Scientology is a controversial organization and has been for many
years."


Harney began her presentation by noting that she has been a member of
the Tiger Bay Club, a club that boasts it has been "carving up' a
politician for lunch since 1978."


"It is more than high time that we got to meet each other formally,"
Harney said.


There are some 12,000 Scientologists living in the Tampa Bay area,
including 1,400 staffers working at Flag, the church's international
religious retreat in downtown Clearwater. At any given time, about
1,500 members are visiting the retreat from around the world, she
said.


Harney scored points with many club members when she described the
church's secular programs aimed at drug rehabilitation and literacy,
as well as the church's volunteer ministers, who provided 20,000
volunteer hours of assistance to emergency workers after the
hurricanes last fall.


Locally, members participate in some 100 civic groups, and in 2004
provided 230,000 hours of volunteer service, she said.


The club's "Fang and Claw Award," given to the person who asks the
toughest question, went to Jere Turner, a retired English professor
and Clearwater native who asked why the church needed armed guards at
its base in the Ft. Harrison Hotel.


"I can tell you categorically and absolutely, there are no men with
guns," Harney said, adding that the church does have security guards.


After the meeting, Beverly Mitlin, a past president of the club,
walked up to Harney and grabbed her by the arm.


"I wanted to tell you you did a good job," Mitlin said. "You held your
own."


[


(Message edited by tammy on May 13, 2005)

Report on the 55th Anniversary of Dianetics Event at Flag (from ARS)

-----------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: Anonymous-Remai...@(Lagniappe) -
Date: 16 May 2005 16:46:35 -0000
Subject: May 9th event at Flag


This year something extremely weird happened, none of the executives of
Upper Management showed up at the May 9th event and I say this is
weird because they absolutely love the lime light and the adulation
they get from the 'loyalists'. Of course in the real world, they are
nobodies, but at events they can pretend...


The event was not held this year at the Ruth Eckerd Hall as usual,
instead it was held at the Fort Harrison, they did not have any of
their fancy hor d'heuvres as usual. And there were no flashy light
laser shows or anything that they use to implant the audience.


Also there didn't have a band playing music afterwards and a lot of
people just left long before the event was over.


It seems that management is stingy unless they the 'stars' of at the
events just like 'divas' everything has to be fancy and spectacular.
The other thing I noticed was that there was no televised event
nationwide as usual, and the highlight of the night was a video of the
March 13 event !!!!!!?????!!!!


Aproximately 1,500 people showed up and half was of course SO
members. There are supposedly about 5,000 scientologists in
Clearwater, so I guess the rest were 'missing in action'.


They were heavily promoting the new "brightest idea" that little Davey
came with, the "Golden Age of Knowledge" if it was 'golden' then all
the public would know, right? ironic!!


He plugged his infomercial and how everyone is supposed to shell out
$2,000 for $20 dollars worth of CD, the regges as usual, were like
sharks trying to get the money after the event.


Bottom line something is going on, and it is not a good indicator for
the Org, this is ususally an international event and it was not
televised. What is that? Are they afraid that they're going to
finally subpoena them or are they afraid to be arrested for all their
crimes?


Lagniappe

So who presided over it? Heber? I recall an event from awhile back where he was the only one on stage. Seemed strange back then evidently it does happen from time to time. No videos abut triumphs from SE Asia? No new SH orgs? Nothing about how the DNs boom is spreading once again just like 1950?

A major live event from the FH? Sounds like a cost cutting move to me.

According to a source, the church had reserved Ruth Eckerd Hall for the event but CANCELLED it three weeks prior to the event. That can't be cheap but probably saved money overall along with toning down the extras normally at an event.

I could've sworn the event would be shown at the orgs a day or week later as is normally the case. Was that a last minute cancellation too?