MACNAXX in Atlanta!

[Guest MACNAXX]

MACNA XX September 5-7, 2008 in Atlanta

 

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Sorry for not posting here - I was stuck in authorization mode!

 

Hello WAMAS!

 

We are excited about this conference. We already have Pre-registered and paid as many as most of the total attendance of the first 15 or so MACNAs, so it should be huge (You guys did a great job that is hard to beat!). Combine that with a great hotel, great speakers, cheap flight, and the Georgia Aquarium and we have everything to try to get you guys to have a good time while in Atlanta.

 

The hotel is great, and the room night of $119 is unbelievable, it usually is in the $250-300 range. We were able to negotiate pretty well, but rooms are going fast. GET YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW! THE HOTEL WILL FILL UP! We have already confirmed reservations that exceeds last year's final tally, and had to renegotiate for more rooms, but we WILL FILL UP.

 

There is a lot to do in Atlanta if people come early or bring significant others - CNN, Olympic Park, the Georgia Aquarium, the Children's museum, the world of Coke, and Hooters (hey, I know my audience) is within a 5 minute walk, and MARTA goes from inside the airport to the hotel for $1.75 - so no cab charges. The same MARTA can take you to the Braves, shopping centers, etc. We are also getting together a kids program (popcorn and movies in the hotel) to allow parents to go to the banquet and speakers. We will offer that at cost.

 

Oh, and the banquet is food by Wolfgang Puck. No open bar like Pittsburgh, but good food inside a great banquet hall inside the largest aquarium in the world with two windows - one toward the largest indoor aquatic exhibit in the world (over 6 million gallons - the size of a football field) that includes four whale sharks and the other one toward the beluga whales.

 

 

Please use this thread to ask questions and I will try to check in to answer them. You can also check out our website. If your administrator could make this a sticky that would help alot.

 

AND

 

Macna Update....

 

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A MACNA teaser - our main banquet speaker....

 

 

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Joanne Ruxton

 

Behind the Scenes as a Underwater Wildlife Producer for the BBC

 

Joanne studied Zoology at University and moved to Hong Kong in the 80's. She joined the World Wildlife Fund Hong Kong in 1990 to establish their Marine Conservation Programme; a significant task in a place that had no legislation to protect the coastal waters and where massive development was taking place before the handover to China. After four Marine Protected Areas had been set up, she joined the BBC

[ctenophore]

Got my hotel reservation made.

 

Who else is going?

[dbartco]

wouldn't miss...

[jamal]

trying to go to my first macna this year and i know the area so there is no excuse.

[Guest MACNAXX]

This is the last chance to get the $109 price for MACNA 2008! The price for the conference is only $109 for all three days including the banquet and trade show, but will go up to $129 after December 31st, 2007.

 

Other Confirmed MACNA speakers:

Dr. Bruce Carlson

Dr. Sylvia Earle

Eric Borneman

Anthony Calfo

Dr. Alex Brylske

Dr. Kimberly Cobb

Michael Cottman

Jake Adams

Dr. Al Dove

Ray Davis

James Fatherree

Cathy Sakas

Larry Jackson

Marj Awai

Jim Walters

Dr. Rob Toonen

Scott Fellman

Robert Fenner

Phillip Root

Stephen Pro

Christine Williams

Matthew Wittenrich

Kelly Jedlicki

Charles Delbeck (will confirm in April due to potential schedule conflicts)

 

More speakers will be confirmed soon.

 

Sign up now at www.macnaxx.com or pay more after December 31st!

Edited December 30, 2007 by MACNAXX

[Guest MACNAXX]

Ok, time for another MACNA XX update before the price goes up at the end of the month!!! Check out our website at www.macnaxx.com for more information (the website is also going through a transformation by the end of the month). Let us know if we can do anything else to make your stay in Atlanta enjoyable!

As you know, we have record numbers of attendees and exhibitors this year, and a huge number of incredible speakers!!

We are also trying a few new things to entice you

[Guest MACNAXX]

This year is going to be huge - we have about 600 people pre-registered 98 days from the event!

 

Tomorrow is the last day for registering at $129! Save $30 to spend on raffle tickets to Fiji!!!

[MLazar]

Got my hotel reservation made.

 

Who else is going?

 

Which hotel are you staying at (or are they suggesting to stay at)? We're late getting our act together to go and I'm pretty sure we've already missed all the price breaks offered for tickets and rooms.

 

Are most folks driving or flying? Going in Thursdsay evening or Friday morning?

 

We're trying to decide whether to bring our 16 year old or not, looks like most of the kids activities are fantastic, but only up to 12 years old. There's one teen event at 0730, and unless it is to see a rock star, she's probably not going to get up for it. Are there a lot of kids/families, or mostly solo hobbiests?

 

TIA for any feedback.

 

M

Edited June 13, 2008 by MLazar

[dbartco]

Which hotel are you staying at (or are they suggesting to stay at)? We're late getting our act together to go and I'm pretty sure we've already missed all the price breaks offered for tickets and rooms.

 

Are most folks driving or flying? Going in Thursdsay evening or Friday morning?

 

We're trying to decide whether to bring our 16 year old or not, looks like most of the kids activities are fantastic, but only up to 12 years old. There's one teen event at 0730, and unless it is to see a rock star, she's probably not going to get up for it. Are there a lot of kids/families, or mostly solo hobbiests?

 

TIA for any feedback.

 

M

 

Staying in the westin, check just before the show for cancellations if you don't first get in. Show price should be constant for the rooms. Make sure you tell them it is for the Macna show. They have othr hotels for overflow, but staying in the hotel is so much better for networking.

 

Flying in thurs, out mon. Diving whale sharks at the Aquarium thurs, golfing monday.

 

It is a pretty nerdy show, but the dinners will be in the aquarium with windows into the 6 million gal tank on one side, and beluga tank on the other. Keynote speaker should be good if she liked the blue planet type series.