I can see where Ed is coming from, regarding members on a pension possibly being reluctant to spend £5 on a ticket, but....is there any analytic breakdown of members who have attended in the past? Does the committee know what proportion of those attending the symposium were of pensionable age, and even if it does know this, would it be possible to draw any conclusions from it?
I'm 100% with Ed in keeping the raffle for those attending the symposium....there really is nothing more disheartening in a raffle-draw than discovering that half of the prize winners aren't present. It's a bit like the award for Sports Personality of the Year, or the BAFTAs, when nominees are absent!
Les