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One comment I received during my phone calls to members was a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. Having never been, I have no idea if this is already provided by the hotel, or if it is too far and costly to consider.

I am usually a pretty creative person, but I must admit that I am a bit stymied at this point. Will check back in if I have an epiphany.

Perhaps a "Perceptions" letter from Bob and Patty, talking about going to Hawaii and the perception of it in a tough economy? Our hotel rate is low enough, and airfares are coming down... we could price it out with the current price of past conference locations that aren't seen as "playground locations" (even Chicago) from a large hub like Dallas (which also happens to have direct flights to HI). We could mention the history of the Hawaii location, such as info that it was planned 5 years ago due to a very economical deal on hotel rooms. Any of this info might help our members talk with their boss or anyone that pooh-poohs HI as a place to have a professional event.

Cheryl and others, will people stay away from the conference if we give them the streaming video option? How can we include the business partners so that they are able to "sell" to those who stay at home? Has anyone else seen this done successfully elsewhere and what would you suggest? This is absolutely worth looking into!

Hi everyone! Let's give Abby as much help on this as we can! Any ideas welcome, even if they seem wild and crazy, there might be some part of the idea that triggers an amazing possibililty!

Hawaii will be a tougher sell to our administration due to perception. The "EDUCATIONAL PIECE" will have the most impact, so getting the information out there front and center is foremost.

I think the sooner you get a program out, the sooner people can look through it and identify sessions that will be helpful to them and their institution so that the can start making the case for attending. And even if the Program Committee isn't ready to publish the full program, at least highlight some of the sessions that have been nailed down already. Although we say that the value is in the connections/networking, bosses like to see that there are learning opportunities - that's more tangible than contacts.

Is it possible to do video streaming from the conference back to the mainland?