HHC 2016 location and date

[brouhaha]

In an uncharacteristic break with past practice, the attendees of HHC 2015 have overwhelmingly voted to set the location and date of HHC 2016. The accepted proposal is Vancouver BC on Sept. 17-18, with Fort Collins CO as a backup. Thanks to Geoff Quickfall and Tim Wessman for offering to organize facilities, etc. This is not completely finalized, pending confirmation of hotel etc., but should be finalized within a few weeks, instead of only a few months before the conference. Some international attendees pointed out that the later the decision is finalized, the more they have to pay for travel.

If anyone has any iserious ssues with the choice of venue and date, by all means please let us know.

It is proposed that there be a nonrefundable advance registration fee, rather than the full fee being collected at the door, in order to facilitate better planning and setup. This year's conference registration fee was $60, which included 3 catered meals. The $60 fee did not fully cover this year's conference costs. It was suggested that the advance registration fee be around 50%, with the remainder collected on site.

In other HHC conference news, the attendees also voted to have a more even split of fully loaded vs. diet sodas as compared to past practice. :-)

[Jim Horn]

Oh! Not that it is important but if it's in Vancouver, BC, I'll definitely renew my expired passport and be there! At less than 1/4 the distance of San Diego (and under 1/2 the distance to Reno), that's way to tempting to pass up. Count me in...

[BruceH]

(09-27-2015 10:25 PM)brouhaha Wrote:  If anyone has any iserious ssues with the choice of venue and date, by all means please let us know.

Once again, it's during term time so those who teach or whose partners teach find it very hard to justify.

This seems to be an on-going chicken-and-egg situation: the date is set by those who attend and, by definition, those who attend don't have a problem a term time date.

[Gene]

I bought up the teacher issue and it was seemingly ignored. I don't know why.

[Joe Horn]

(09-28-2015 05:17 PM)BruceH Wrote:  

(09-27-2015 10:25 PM)brouhaha Wrote:  If anyone has any iserious ssues with the choice of venue and date, by all means please let us know.

Once again, it's during term time so those who teach or whose partners teach find it very hard to justify.

This seems to be an on-going chicken-and-egg situation: the date is set by those who attend and, by definition, those who attend don't have a problem a term time date.

(09-28-2015 10:04 PM)Gene Wrote:  I bought up the teacher issue and it was seemingly ignored. I don't know why.

Simple reason: In the early HHC years, teachers made that same complaint, even though back then the conferences were held during random months. So, to placate these teachers, a few conferences were specifically scheduled in early August, such as two in Corvallis (1988 & 1991) and the one at the Mall of America in Minneapolis in 1995. Most of the teachers who had been complaining showed up at NONE of those conferences. (Some teachers, including me, were there, but very few of the complainers). So it was decided to schedule it at a time best for the MOST people, not for any one special-interest group.

Disclaimer: At least that's how I think I remember it. I'll happily defer to Richard Nelson or Jake Schwartz if they remember it differently.

A list of all the conferences, including the date of each, can be perused here: http://hhuc.us/2015/conflist.htm

[Gene]

(Hello Joe!)

Question is of course, whether teachers might show up if we did another conference in August now.

I really do not expect hotel rates / airfares to be *that* much higher in months like that.

As Bruce indicated, *he* might be a teacher who could come outside of September. :-)

[Bill (Smithville NJ)]

For myself, being on a budget, I'm limited to what I would probably drive to. I thought about trying to get to Nashville this year. Thought I would visit my Sisters in southern Indiana and then shoot down to Nashville. But life interfered and I never even made it to Indiana.

I notice that the last time the East Coast held a conference was over 20 years ago (1992 Philadelphia).

I would probably attend if it ever makes it to the East Coast again.

But at least I can enjoy the videos of the presentations.

Bill
Smithville, NJ

[Eddie W. Shore]

(09-27-2015 10:25 PM)brouhaha Wrote:  In an uncharacteristic break with past practice, the attendees of HHC 2015 have overwhelmingly voted to set the location and date of HHC 2016. The accepted proposal is Vancouver BC on Sept. 17-18, with Fort Collins CO as a backup. Thanks to Geoff Quickfall and Tim Wessman for offering to organize facilities, etc. This is not completely finalized, pending confirmation of hotel etc., but should be finalized within a few weeks, instead of only a few months before the conference. Some international attendees pointed out that the later the decision is finalized, the more they have to pay for travel.

If anyone has any iserious ssues with the choice of venue and date, by all means please let us know.

It is proposed that there be a nonrefundable advance registration fee, rather than the full fee being collected at the door, in order to facilitate better planning and setup. This year's conference registration fee was $60, which included 3 catered meals. The $60 fee did not fully cover this year's conference costs. It was suggested that the advance registration fee be around 50%, with the remainder collected on site.

In other HHC conference news, the attendees also voted to have a more even split of fully loaded vs. diet sodas as compared to past practice. :-)

I have got to start saving early. I've never been to Canada.

[Paul Berger (Canada)]

I too am limited to where I can drive to, Halifax, where I live is nice but is out of the way for most people so I would like to see one held in the north east perhaps in New York or Massachusetts.

[TomC]

The conference was great, as usual. Next year will be even better!!!

Regarding planning:
(I did not get the impression that the 'teacher' concern was ignored.)

FWIW, some people (including myself) work full time AND teach during the 'regular' american teaching season, but still make it a point to attend the conference. It is a bit tricky and not 'normal', but can be done with a little extra effort.

TomC

[d b]

About airfare cost to BC:

Geoff mentioned to me that for the Vancouver site, it may be cheaper for Americans to fly into Bellingham and take the connecting shuttle bus that goes to Vancouver's airport. This is less than half the distance and is regularly scheduled. The Nashville Hotel's shuttle was not. That will put us spitting distance to the hotel by jumping off just north of the border.

I can take a direct flight from my nearest airport in Oakland. Check with Geoff for better details.

[David Hayden]

I'll get my passport renewed and put it on my calendar. I'm really sad that Scottie and I weren't able to attend this year. I just read through Geoff's presentation and was drooling over the possibility of an upgrade to my beloved 29C.

Dave

[Han]

(09-29-2015 12:04 AM)Joe Horn Wrote:  A list of all the conferences, including the date of each, can be perused here: http://hhuc.us/2015/conflist.htm

Judging from the list of previous locations, I guess I can stop holding my breath on a conference being held on the coast of southeastern states. That said, I presume that locations tend to be near where the organizers can realistically handle the logistics of hosting a conference. So Canada took me a bit by surprise.

[Brad Barton]

(09-29-2015 04:51 PM)Han Wrote:  That said, I presume that locations tend to be near where the organizers can realistically handle the logistics of hosting a conference. So Canada took me a bit by surprise.

One important point that was brought up was that it's much cheaper if the conference is held near a major air hub. The little puddle jumper flights to outlying airports add considerable cost to air fares. One of the reasons that Vancouver made the short list is that it's a major hub, and therefore cheaper to get to for those of us who would have to fly.

Brad

[Brad Barton]

(09-29-2015 03:47 PM)Den Belillo (Martinez Ca.) Wrote:  About airfare cost to BC:

Geoff mentioned to me that for the Vancouver site, it may be cheaper for Americans to fly into Bellingham and take the connecting shuttle bus that goes to Vancouver's airport. This is less than half the distance and is regularly scheduled. The Nashville Hotel's shuttle was not. That will put us spitting distance to the hotel by jumping off just north of the border.

I can take a direct flight from my nearest airport in Oakland. Check with Geoff for better details.

I think it was also mentioned that a passport is not required to take the shuttle bus into Vancouver. I may have misunderstood though. It seems a little outside the norm with all the increased border security.

Brad

[Tim Wessman]

(09-29-2015 08:16 PM)Brad Barton Wrote:  I think it was also mentioned that a passport is not required to take the shuttle bus into Vancouver. I may have misunderstood though. It seems a little outside the norm with all the increased border security.

You can do a "passport card". They are slightly cheaper, but only valid for non-air travel to a small collection of places. http://www.travel.state.gov/content/pass...-Card.html

[brouhaha]

(09-29-2015 08:16 PM)Brad Barton Wrote:  I think it was also mentioned that a passport is not required to take the shuttle bus into Vancouver. I may have misunderstood though. It seems a little outside the norm with all the increased border security.

That was in fact mentioned, but I'm pretty sure it was incorrect.

Some years back, alternate proof of US citizenship was adequate for travel into Canada, and I was able to use the combination of a driver's license and birth certificate, but that is no longer acceptable.

[sat1410]

I lived in upstate New York near the Canadian border, so have been watching with dismay as the rules for crossing have gotten stricter over the years. There has been a great reduction in the number of recreational trips across the border to Niagara Falls...

There are a handful of Trusted Traveler cards issued by DHS (Global Entry, NEXUS, and SENTRI) that allow you to cross the border by land or sea without a passport (or passport card) in hand, but you have to already have a valid passport to apply for the Trusted Traveler programs in the first place.

The other option for land/sea crossings that doesn't require a passport is an "Enhanced Driver's License," but those are only issued by a handful of states: Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington.

Other methods of entry without a passport are much more obscure and would not apply to anyone visiting a convention (Merchant Mariners traveling as crew aboard ships, soldiers traveling on military orders, et al).

Choices aside, everyone I know who still travels to Canada has purchased a passport. Making the trip to the local post office for a Passport is less of a hassle than visiting the DMV for an enhanced driver's license.

[Jake Schwartz]

(09-29-2015 12:59 PM)Bill (Smithville NJ) Wrote:  I notice that the last time the East Coast held a conference was over 20 years ago (1992 Philadelphia).

I would probably attend if it ever makes it to the East Coast again.

Bill
Smithville, NJ

Yeah, those '82 and '92 conferences were sponsored and organized by our Philly-area group, which basically disbanded around 2000 because of declining interest. It was down to myself and sometimes one other person who would attend the meetings. Now, I can meet with myself any time I want :-)

So for recent conference attendees from the East, all those I can think of now can be counted on one hand. Gene did a great job with the '12 and '15 Nashville conferences, single-handedly doing all the local legwork.

Jake

[Geoff Quickfall]

I second the excellent job in Nashville 2015. 2011 was my first missed (hopefully only) meeting.

I can only hope but will try to exceed the standards set by others but as Gene says "don't try, just do" (yoda actually). Good hamburgers Gene!

I will have a package created within a week but unfortunately, I have brought back a nasty cold, I think it came from Berlin!

Cheers, Geoff.