Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1198719
Page 12 ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION JANUARY 8, 2020 Top Reasons to Come to the PSAI's 2020 Convention and Trade Show By Todd Ginter, PSAI Marketing Manager As we count down to the PSAI's Convention and Trade Show in Baltimore this March, we'd like to acquaint you with two more reasons you have to come to Baltimore. Learn more about reasons 7 and 8 on the next two pages. Baltimore is Home to the Ravens If you are a pro football fan, you know that the Baltimore Ravens are one of the best NFL teams this year, and one of the favorites to win the big game and take home the national championship in just a few weeks. But do you know how the 1996 expansion Baltimore team became the Ravens? Perhaps you think there are flocks of ravens flying around the state and it was a logical name choice. That's not a bad guess. But, in truth, this is when paying attention in your high school English class could come in handy. The name "Ravens" was actually inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven," published in 1845. Perhaps you remember: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. "'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door— Only this and nothing more." The name "Ravens" was chosen in a fan contest that drew 33,288 voters. The name honors Poe (the team mascot), who spent much of his life in Baltimore and is buried there. As the Baltimore Sun reported at the time, fans also "liked the tie-in with the other birds in town, the Orioles, and found it easy to visualize a tough, menacing black bird." Even if you are not a literary buff or a fan of poetry, it seems many people have come to like the work of Edgar Allan Poe due to his brilliant combination of mystery, suspense, and hor- ror. You might even say he was the Stephen King of the 1800s. Poe was born and spent his youth in Baltimore. He ultimately toiled in near obscurity until his death at the age of 40. Many historical places that revolve around Poe are very near the hotel and convention center including the Poe museum, a tavern Poe frequented, and the street where Poe collapsed and died. …Continued on page 13