Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/33025
You Shouldn’t Miss GeoTec Event 2011 in Vancouver POSITION W BY TODD DANIELSON e’re ramping up prepara- tions for this year’s GeoTec Event (www.geotecevent.com), which will be held Sept. 29, 2011, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Now you might be thinking, “wait a second, isn’t that conference normally held in the spring?” And you’d be right, but that’s just one of the many changes we’ve made for this year’s event. Something New For starters, the event will be held dur- ing a different season: fall instead of spring. That’s nothing against spring, which is a fine season; we just wanted to move from the always-full spring conference season, which gave us the added benefit of more time to assess the conference, develop a new strategy and implement those changes. Fortunately, we still found a great time slot for the event at a new and interesting venue located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, just blocks from the harbor. The Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser Univer- sity is an international conference and meeting facility with 16,000 square feet of specialized meeting space, includ- ing a spectacular round hall for 154 people. And the Centre is conveniently connected to the conference hotel, the Delta Vancouver Suites, so it will be extremely easy to get back and forth. We’re also condensing the event Todd Danielson is editor of GeoWorld magazine, PO Box 773498, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477; e-mail: tdanielson@geoplace.com. 4 GEO W ORLD / M AY 2O11 into one education-packed day. Instead of having to choose which day has the best presentations and networking opportunities for your particular line of work, we’re taking the most popular ideas and themes from recent events and forums, and placing them all in one day’s calendar. Very importantly, with the condensed schedule and fewer days to reserve a venue, we’re able to offer an outstand- ing deal: The entire event costs only $150 if you register by July 15 (when it only goes up to $195). Because we’re packing the best of three days’ worth of conference into one day, that’s tremen- dous value. Something Borrowed Of course, not everything is changing. We’re still using the event’s decades- long history to attract the best present- ers and attendees from the Vancouver area and beyond. If you’re not familiar, the GeoTec Event has been Canada’s premiere geotechnology conference for more than 20 years. The event also has had a long-stand- ing tradition of being held in Vancouver every other year, at least, and rotating to other Canadian cities in between. I’ve now been to several Canadian cities, and I genuinely like them all, but Vancouver is my favorite, without a doubt. The harbor and mountains are beau- tiful to look at (although the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort will unfortunately be closed then), and the city itself is clean, safe and vibrant. Vancouver makes every “best city to live/visit” list for very good reasons. As a bonus, GeoTec Event 2011 is taking place at the same time as the Vancouver International Film Festival, a citywide event screening more than 350 films from 80 countries. You can take advantage of GeoTec Event’s discounted hotel pricing, as it will be difficult and more expensive to find hotels on your own that week. Then stay the weekend, and enjoy the mov- ies and glamour. So check out our Web site at www. geotecevent.com. We still have a few spots available for timely and thought- provoking paper presentations, and you can enter your submission online. The registration forms also are available and easy to fill out. There’s really no excuse, especially if you live anywhere near the Vancouver area. GeoTec Event 2011 will be short, packed with education and networking, held in a beautiful city, and extremely affordable. So register now, and then get back to reading your magazine.