[Athen] feedback on change of venue for Accessing Higher Ground 2009

[Pratik Patel]

I like the idea of moving the conference to a more accessible facility.  As
friendly as the staff could be, it doesn't solve the real issues that people
had.  If more work can be done to entice Educause attendees, it would go a
long way toward moving one of ATHEN's strategic initiatives.

 

Pratik

 

 

From: athen-bounces at athenpro.org [mailto:athen-bounces at athenpro.org] On
Behalf Of Terrill Thompson
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 8:12 PM
To: 'Access Technologists in Higher Education Network'
Subject: Re: [Athen] feedback on change of venue for Accessing Higher Ground
2009

 

I for one would be very interested in doing a preconference session to
bridge these two conferences. 

 

I'll contact EDUCAUSE and cc you Howard to see whether we can get some
support from them in promoting AHG. 

 

Terry

 

 

From: Howard Kramer [mailto:hkramer.atsol at gmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 1:06 PM
To: tft at u.washington.edu; Access Technologists in Higher Education Network
Subject: Re: [Athen] feedback on change of venue for Accessing Higher Ground
2009

 

Hi Terry, et al,

I'm sure you mentioned it - but it slipped off my radar. Following the usual
schedule, we would usually start doing lab setup on Sunday, the 8th and
begin the conference on the 10th. I think it would be difficult to shift the
whole conference over to start on Saturday, the 7th. What may be possible -
I'd like to hear feedback from the rest of you on this - is to perhaps have
a string of earlier preconference lecture sessions starting on the 7th or
the 8th, tailored to this population. Maybe that would induce some of the
Educause attendees to hang out a few days. Educause would have to advertise
this to their attendees for this to be a success. 

Let me know what you all think.

Regarding the other issues, Supper Shuttle has service to and from the
Westin, $25 one way according to the web site I'm looking at. We'll be
talking to the Westin in the next couple of weeks about their hotel shuttle
service. My guess is that it will be more extensive and accessible than the
Millennium. We'll also be scoping out the surrounding neighborhood for
eating opportunities, etc.

Thank you all for your feedback.

-Howard



On Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 1:25 PM, Terrill Thompson <tft at u.washington.edu>
wrote:

Hi Howard, 

 

As cool a place as Boulder is, I think all the adjectives you used to
justify the change ("nicer", "newer", "more accessible") speak for
themselves. 

 

While you're considering a change in space, I also wonder (and I apologize
if I asked you this already) whether it's feasible to consider a change in
dates in 2009, to correspond more closely with EDUCAUSE, which is November
3-6 in Denver. Maybe you could provide a discount to anyone attending both
conferences, which combined with having the two events back-to-back would
persuade a few EDUCAUSE attendees to stay a few extra days and learn about
accessibility.  What do you think? 

 

Terry

 

Terrill Thompson
Technology Accessibility Specialist
DO-IT, Accessible Technology
UW Technology Services
University of Washington
tft at u.washington.edu
206/221-4168 

 

 

 

From: athen-bounces at athenpro.org [mailto:athen-bounces at athenpro.org] On
Behalf Of Howard Kramer
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 10:33 AM


To: Access Technologists in Higher Education Network
Subject: [Athen] feedback on change of venue for Accessing Higher Ground
2009

 

Hello All:



We're 90% decided on moving the conference to the Westin (in Westminster),
about 15 miles south east of Boulder and about 13 miles from downtown
Denver. You can view the hotel website at
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID
=1173. The meeting space is much nicer, so are the sleeping rooms, it's more
accessible and it's a much newer hotel. The room prices will be the same as
last year - $119, including free wireless in the rooms and a $10 coupon for
breakfast.

However, before we make a final decision, I'd like to hear feedback from the
ATHEN group since this is the official conference of the organization. Does
anyone have any strong objections. The drawback of the location is that it's
not Boulder (or Denver). But there's just nothing in Boulder that can
provide better meeting space. 

We're also thinking about extending the conference a half-day, ending on
Saturday noon. 

As always, I look forward to your feedback.

Thanks,
Howard



-- 
Howard Kramer
AHG Conference Coordinator
303-492-8672
fax: 492-5601


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-- 
Howard Kramer
AT Lab Coordinator
AHG Conference Coordinator
303-492-8672
fax: 492-5601

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