I'd like to respond as a employer. Although I no longer employ staff, during the 15 years that I met the payroll every two weeks my employees were encouraged to attend relevant conferences. In some instances, I drove them a few hundred miles, paid their salaries, and covered the hotel/motel/meal expenses. I sponsored workshops in the lab and gave my profits away as scholarships to people who could use but could not afford the workshops. Staff who wished to attend paid the fee, but were on salary during the workshops (I'm easy, but I'm not Santa Claus). This was not done because I hoped that my employees would stay with me forever; it was done because I believed then (and still believe) that we each owe a debt to our own mentors which can best be repaid by giving others an opportunity to learn. Jack C. Thompson Thompson Conservation Lab Portland, OR http://www.teleport.com/~tcl/index.html