[19755] in APO-L
Re: 2000 National Convention
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Richard Quodomine, Thomas Register)
Fri Dec 11 09:42:02 1998
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 09:40:43 -0500
Reply-To: "Richard Quodomine, Thomas Register, Long Island" <trrdq@SPRINTMAIL.COM>
From: "Richard Quodomine, Thomas Register, Long Island" <trrdq@SPRINTMAIL.COM>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
My take on the Convention Site:
1. There must be central acitvities to the site. The hotel may be great,
but if its ten miles from the nearest thing to do, then it won't matter,
if even if you do rent a car. Or in this case, a Sport Utility Vehicle or
Personal Snowcraft. A free shuttle from the major airport in the area to
the hotel is a major plus in my book. We put five people, at least 2 of
whom over 200 pounds, plus gear, in a 1989 Dodge Omni at Phoenix. You do
the size/weight ratios.
2. The hotel itself ahould always have a plethora of breakout rooms,
conference scheduling, immediate fox/copy/modem port kind of office
material, in case such a need should arise. Since we are conducting
business, a business-oriented hotel should always be in the offing.
3. On-site restaurants should offer a variety of fare at a variety of
prices. We may get a grand hotel at $60/night, but if every on-site
restaurant is $60/plate, it almost defeats the purpose. You don't always
have time to duck into the local restaurants or make a quick run to Mickey
D's.
4. It must be central to transportation of all kinds, air, train, bus, and
local mass transit, be it buses or commuter rail. Such information on
local mass transit should be made available by those who are running the
convention bid. It is also helpful if we can find out where what is
available on those lines in terms of points of interest.
5. In my opinion, a city ought to be culturally interesting and fun. I
admit it, when I came to Dallas in 1996, having already been mad at the
Cowboys for beating the Bills in 2 straight super bowls, I thought I was
in for a bunch of rednecks and steer-riders, and thence to vote for
Chicago as a sort of Rol-Aids. It turns out Dallas was a great time, and
Minneapolis absolutely stunned me with their bid. They put together a view
of the city that was not only coference-capable, but looked like a good
place to be. Most of us were left owndering how we'd been convinced to go
to Minneapolis in the dead of winter. =)
6. If a hotel does host a party post-convention, we should know about it.
The Hyatt in every city does so, so we expect that. Therefore, we must be
cognizant of all security and related safety responsibilities when we vote
for the site. I don't want an "oops, we didn't mention that" sort of thing
happen when everybody's about to do a project in the hotel that hotel
safety regs don't approve of. Yes, I know its impossible to determine all
the projects in a convention prior to Nationals, but some basic rules laid
out would be useful info.
7. Available discounts for AAA, AARP, American Express, and other
hotel-related offerings should be known in advance of the convention, if
not 2 years in advance. It's something to prep for when costs are a
consideration, and I know for many college students, money is a prime
factor in deciding whether or not to go to Nationals.
8. The most important criterion is the quality and dedication of those
bidding for the national convention. Professional appearance, with all the
homework done, should count big. The people at the Minneapolis convention
table were informative, intelligent, and very dedicated it impressed me.
This is not to knock Chicago per se, but, it seemed Minneapolis *wanted*
it a little more. Like it or not, first impressions count, and to those in
Philly and DC2k, and whomever else might be bidding (I heard rumor of
Pittsburgh): How you present yurself may be even more important than what
you present. In a battle of even cities with good transport and fun times,
the saving of an extra $5 will matter little next to the professionalism
of your presentation. Just some brain food to chew on when you put your
best foot forward in Minneapolis.
I wish all bidding committees the best of luck, and I will see you all in
Minneapolis!
-- Rich Quodomine
Section 97 Staff, whose opinions, as always, are his own
