Countdown To Convention

We had yet another convention planning meeting tonight, this time at the Marriott Wardman Park including another walk-through of the dance, storage, banquet and office spaces. In particular, I was checking cell phone connectivity and wifi access in each area.

Anyone expecting free and roaming wifi is going to be disappointed. Sadly, the Marriott has outsourced their Internet operations to another firm which is why we can't negotiate any sort of free or discounted access. Charging for Internet access is as ridiculous as charging extra for, say, water, air or a bed in a room.

There are daily rates for wired access to each room but that's the best anyone can get unless we're collectively willing to pay several thousand dollars for a convention wifi access code along with several more thousands of dollars for bandwidth. (Hint: Not gonna happen. Conventions are too expensive already.)

This means I'll have to download all of the registration material before getting to the hotel and work off spreadsheets and printed documents rather than updating the database online. Oh, well.

The good news is that even in the lower level where the vendors, the photo stage, the caller school and the C3*/C4 dance spaces still have cell phone connectivity --at least with my Crackberry on Verizon Wireless. One needn't worry about losing connectivity.

• Site permits for the fun badge tour locations are now completed, although I still need to rent a generator for the sound system. Negotiations continue on the box lunches.
  
• We have a contract about to be signed for the photographer although we need risers for the group photos. The Gay Men's Chorus is offering to lend us theirs, but we'll need to rent a U-Haul and corral volunteers to collect & return them. We're seeing if the hotel has any to rent; if it's comparable to the U-Haul expense, we'll just use the hotel set.
  
• We will have a liability insurance policy by the end of this week.
  
• Nearly all swag orders have been placed. The bandanas for the please-don't-photograph-me crowd have already been delivered.
  
• Negotiations continue for the audio-visual stuff but should be done in a week or so. Bids ranged from about $4k to $34k. Needless to say, we're aiming to the lower end of that spectrum.
  
• I'm still collecting entree preferences from the staff callers so we can give the hotel the banquet numbers in another two weeks.
  
• I've also been contacting anyone with an outstanding balance in the online registration system, nudging them ever-so-gently to pony up or release their tour seats. So far, I have a stack of promises of payments in the mail and a few PayPal payments so that is nearly completed.
  

Registration for pre-convention & post-convention tours end this coming Saturday. If you were interested in a history tour of Dupont Circle, a tour of Baltimore, a visit to George Washington's Mt Vernon estate, the Washington Monuments After Dark tour or the Spy City tour, book your seat now!

There are only 30 seats left on the fun badge tour... if you want a seat on that tour, don't wait! No additional buses will be added.

Countdown To Convention

We had yet another convention planning meeting tonight, this time at the Marriott Wardman Park including another walk-through of the dance, storage, banquet and office spaces. In particular, I was checking cell phone connectivity and wifi access in each area.

Anyone expecting free and roaming wifi is going to be disappointed. Sadly, the Marriott has outsourced their Internet operations to another firm which is why we can't negotiate any sort of free or discounted access. Charging for Internet access is as ridiculous as charging extra for, say, water, air or a bed in a room.

There are daily rates for wired access to each room but that's the best anyone can get unless we're collectively willing to pay several thousand dollars for a convention wifi access code along with several more thousands of dollars for bandwidth. (Hint: Not gonna happen. Conventions are too expensive already.)

This means I'll have to download all of the registration material before getting to the hotel and work off spreadsheets and printed documents rather than updating the database online. Oh, well.

The good news is that even in the lower level where the vendors, the photo stage, the caller school and the C3*/C4 dance spaces still have cell phone connectivity --at least with my Crackberry on Verizon Wireless. One needn't worry about losing connectivity.

• Site permits for the fun badge tour locations are now completed, although I still need to rent a generator for the sound system. Negotiations continue on the box lunches.
  
• We have a contract about to be signed for the photographer although we need risers for the group photos. The Gay Men's Chorus is offering to lend us theirs, but we'll need to rent a U-Haul and corral volunteers to collect & return them. We're seeing if the hotel has any to rent; if it's comparable to the U-Haul expense, we'll just use the hotel set.
  
• We will have a liability insurance policy by the end of this week.
  
• Nearly all swag orders have been placed. The bandanas for the please-don't-photograph-me crowd have already been delivered.
  
• Negotiations continue for the audio-visual stuff but should be done in a week or so. Bids ranged from about $4k to $34k. Needless to say, we're aiming to the lower end of that spectrum.
  
• I'm still collecting entree preferences from the staff callers so we can give the hotel the banquet numbers in another two weeks.
  
• I've also been contacting anyone with an outstanding balance in the online registration system, nudging them ever-so-gently to pony up or release their tour seats. So far, I have a stack of promises of payments in the mail and a few PayPal payments so that is nearly completed.
  

Registration for pre-convention & post-convention tours end this coming Saturday. If you were interested in a history tour of Dupont Circle, a tour of Baltimore, a visit to George Washington's Mt Vernon estate, the Washington Monuments After Dark tour or the Spy City tour, book your seat now!

There are only 30 seats left on the fun badge tour... if you want a seat on that tour, don't wait! No additional buses will be added.