2006 PF Conference- registration details

[timelessbeauty]

What I can tell you is we are ultimately excited to host this event and have some ideas to try and make it a great time for all involved! I look forward to seeing your registration and know we are working every day to get details nailed down and get this organized for your benefit! I am just excited to have so many PF friends/members come to my area to meet.

[jamilyn]

I wouldnt mind renting a car when i come out if the place you find that would fit everyones price range is further away from the airport. just thought id give you my thoughts.! thanks for all your doing.

[bicyclist]

Alright ladies, print those forms and write your checks. I just printed my form and will be filling it out and writing my check by the time you read this. This is a super chance to build on our PE knowledge and increase our effectiveness as volunteers in our own communities. My conference goal is to come home with a plan to bring PE Awareness back to my town so that I can build on the awareness we're creating with our WAT, which I hope will build momentum for next years WAT. I'm looking forward to meeting all of you and sharing ideas. Indy is a great town and we will make sure you have a good time while you are here. We are going to have a blast!
See you in Indy!
Kathy

[timelessbeauty]

The conference location is not yet nailed down within the Indianapolis area as we are attempting to get the best possible location for the lowest possible cost. We have some free areas to utilize but that will require some extra driving for members (not long distance but driving when you flew in may pose a problem with added cost of renting a car). We have another location that has indoor waterpark, hotel rooms and conference center all in one but no babysitting as of yet and also is a drive from the airport but we are looking into shuttle service. While it would be all inclusive and a good idea, it is also pricy and may not be what we can afford depending on the numbers we have sign up.

I do have a team working on this project with me and we are talking pretty much daily about all our gathered research to look into facts, funds and such. We know we are working with a very tight timeline as well as some members of my committee are also highly involved with the upcoming WATs. I will keep you informed and let you know as soon as a decision is made that will be in the best interest of members.

I live near the airport in Indy so I am naturally trying to keep planning close to home for convenience for those coming in by flight or those driving, we are near I-70.

[jamilyn]

So is there an area that you know that the conference will be around? So we can look at possible hotel options and what part of town to start looking at. I have family in Indy and so I'm also wondering so I can see how close it will be to there house.
Thanks for all your help and hopefully i'll be able to get the registration done by the end of this weekend.

[timelessbeauty]

Mada -- Great idea and this has already been in process since before we found out if INDY would be the location. We have one option for discount rooms that will work out best but it all depends on what we find out about our other conference location of choice.

Many of our decisions will be based on number of people attending, how much projected budget we will have (number of people x $100 attendance fee), thus the $25.00 non-refundable deposit to assist in planning. Without knowing how much I have to work with in budget, it's hard to plan. So I must plan carefully and have multiple contingency plans in place to run with depending on the numbers we get.

I have a volunteer working on speakers, I have another working on budget projections for each plan we draw up, I have another working on session materials and the list goes on. We want to give this annual conference as much bang for the buck, so to speak, as we can. We are keeping in mind that most all of our members have experienced a financial crunch of some sort through their experiences with PE (loss of income due to unexpected bedrest, funeral costs, preemie NICU and homecare costs, medications for mother and child, etc).

I know it's cheaper for those from the west coast to book a roundtrip flight to Indy rather than for me to book a trip out of Indy and back to the west coast. (This at least rang true when I tried to book flights two summers ago to WA) I have discount hotel rates from $59.00/night on up to $129.00 (nice hotels!).

We are working fast to get things going but I am really hopeful to see over 25 members sign up for the conference to at least know we have met a break even point of planning.

Keep the questions coming and I appreciate all input!

[mada]

Sue,
I had a thought. Maybe if we block out rooms at a specific hotel (like weddings do) they will give us a discounted rate? If you give me a list of hotels in the area near the conference I can call. Also if it's cheaper for anyone to fly into O'hare, I can pick 'em up on the way as I will be driving from Chicago.....

[timelessbeauty]

I have also opened my house up to the scholarship application to be utilized as a place to stay for a member/family that might need it. I have pets so if anyone has allergies, we shall seek more bunk in options for allergy sufferers as well.

Another option is I am holding a garage sale in June to help differ some costs for those that will seek a scholarship to help pay possibly for their hotel bill as well. May not be a full bill payment but anything we can contribute towards that may help those contemplating coming! And trust me, I know how to net a GOOD amount from a garage sale! hehehe

Anyone in the nearby states, if you have items you would like to contribute to the sale, please email me and we can make arrangements for sending it to me or me picking it up sometime. (meet in the middle type idea??)

I am working to make this as affordable and informational as possible for all our members! Keep asking questions or stating concerns you might have about the conference as we shall consider all information we received to help us plan effectively to handle as many of the issues as we can responsibly and reasonably.

[jamilyn]

Thank you that does help. Hopefully I'll be able to find some flights that fit in that schedule.! Hope to see you all in IN.

[carolh]

Hi Jamilyn -

The times haven't been nailed down yet but here is the basic train of thought so far:

Friday late afternoon arrival
Friday evening opening reception
Saturday all day conference sessions
Saturday evening event (to be planned)
Sunday conference sessions probably until 2pm/3pm-ish

Hope this helps!

Carol