MESSAGE FROM MAY 2005:

Last month in the Membership Resource News we talked of a having you mark your calendars. We trust that each of you have done so and are saving the dates for this educational and appealing meeting.

The 2006 Annual Meeting Committee has been and remains hard at work to insure that this meeting is a success. We have two beautiful facilities; a full agenda (full of technical sessions, symposia, and workshops): plans laid for a big and busy trade show; a number of technical and cultural tours (to include a day trip to lovely Vancouver Island and the charming city of Victoria!); and an action packed social schedule—all situated in the Province of British Columbia with its magnificent mountains, seascapes, and cosmopolitan atmosphere at our fingertips! This is one Annual Meeting you don’t want to miss!

Here are a couple of reminders which will help you with your travel plans: (A) Remember, the preferred documentation for entrance and egress into Canada is a passport. At the moment, a US birth certificate with a raised seal plus a government issued picture identification card will work—BUT, the newspapers are all talking of this changing in the near future to become passport only for returns back into the US. Our advice is to beat the rush, order your passport now and be prepared. (B) There are duty restrictions into Canada as well as into the US. For example liquor is limited to 1.5 liters per person. Animal products, firearms, etc are also controlled. If you have questions, we advise going on-line and searching out these sorts of customs regulations. (C) The drinking age in Canada is 19. If you are traveling with students or offspring, be aware of these differences in rules. (D) Minors need to have certified letters of permission to travel from custodial parents in order to enter British Columbia. Both High School Youth Forum and some Collegiate students will fall into this category. If you are traveling with your own kids, and both parents are not along, you will need this documentation as well. We wrote a clause into our contract which SRM signed several years ago which allows us to renegotiate our room rates when we are several months from the meeting. Since the US-Canadian exchange rates have changed dramatically since then, we are in the process of doing just that. We are hopeful that we will be successful lowering these costs! We expect that within a few days we will have this accomplished. Ann Harris has promised that we can prepare a members news flash when we have that in-hand. The hotels will begin accepting reservations just as soon as we authorize them to do so, based upon the finalized rates.

Stay tuned for more travel tips and updates concerning this wonderful place and terrific meeting!

This article was originally published in the May 2005 MRN.