I agree. As much as throwing parties can be a pain in the ass, they are fun, you can do them cheap if necessary, and they're a great part of fandom. Hell, the first Gaylaxicon I ever attended was in Philly, and I couldn't afford a membership - all I could do was hit the parties. Then I ended up doing a G'con of my own. You never know where the next generation of SMOFs is going to come from...