Earlier is better than this past years dates in my opinion. The biggest complaints I heard from those in attendance and those I knew that couldn’t attend was the increased cost for accommodations because of the seasonal increases at many hotels/motels (some made one day rates as expensive as two day rates were only a couple of weeks earlier) and the difficulty of being during May as many college kids are out of school by early/mid May etc making it more difficult to get away. Obviously the weather is nicer but that’s just what I heard from people I know or spoke to.
We understand any agree. We can't go any earlier than May 4-6 (first weekend) due to various other factors, so we picked that weekend and hopefully the two weeks difference (from May 18-20 last year) will help with lower travel expenses.
Also: no more Roman numerals. Just years now. Years are cool. I liked the Roman numerals personally but same same.
Me too, but the board decided on years and they convinced me that it makes sense.