The Empire State Tourism Conference, February 8-10, 2010, Wolf Road Marriott, Albany NY sponsored by the New York State Travel & Tourism Association (NYSTVA) "The Tourism Value Proposition"

SCHEDULE:

Monday, February 8th:
10 am to 6:30 pm: Registration - Conference Rooms Foyer

6:30 to 7:30 pm: New York State Wine and Beer Reception - Exhibition Area
Sponsored by HudsonValleyWineCountry.org, Madison County Tourism, The NY Daily News, Jimapco

7:30 pm: New York State TPA Council-Sponsored Dinner for all conference registrants - Salon ABCD

Tuesday, February 9th:
8 am – 6:30 pm: Registration - Conference Rooms Foyer

7:30 – 8:45: Breakfast buffet – Empire Room and Terrace
Sponsored by Cooperstown/Otsego County Tourism, www.ThisIsCooperstown.com

8:50 to 10:15 am: Welcome and General Session: The Challenges and Rewards of Tourism Infrastructure Development – Empire Room and Terrace
• Joseph Bonura, Jr., Poughkeepsie Waterfront Development,LLC
• Dean Gitter, Crossroads Ventures LLC
• Christopher Iversen, Chrisanntha, Inc.
Sponsored by Free Community Papers of New York / Community Papers Advertising Network

10:20 to 11:15 am: Workshops A, B or C
A: Social Media Makes My Head Hurt – Salons A & B
• Joe Stabb, ABC Creative, Syracuse
Sponsored by Amtrak New York By Rail

B: You are Your Photography – Schenectady-Troy Room
• Robert Mescavage, Robert Mescavage Photography, Marcellus
• Tom Connors, Ad Workshop, Lake Placid
• Anne Rast, Ad Workshop, Lake Placid
Sponsored by the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area

C: Food Events: If You Serve It, They Will Come – Salon C
• Natasha Alexenko, Long Island Maritime Museum Seafood Festival, West Sayville
• Dimitry Feld, Lake Placid Barbecue Festival
• Ursula Morgan, Locust Grove, Poughkeepsie
Sponsored by the Star-Ledger

11:15 to 11:40 am: Coffee and pastries with exhibitors – Exhibition Area
Sponsored by The American Bus Association

11:45 am to 12:40 pm: Workshops A, B or C repeated

12:45– 2:30 pm: Lunch and Tourism Roundtable – Empire Room and Terrace
• Suzanne Bixby, NYS Travel and Vacation Association
• Fred Bonn, NYS Association of CVBs
• Valerie Knoblauch, NYS TPA Council
• James Larson, Analyst with the Assembly Committee on Tourism, Arts and Sports Development
• Ed Mull, NYS Division of Tourism
Questions will be collected from you during lunch, then we’ll pose your queries to our panelists.
Sponsored by Madden Media, Connecting People to Places, www.MaddenMedia.com

2:35 – 3:30: Workshops
D: Shaping the Destination Product, Part I – Schenectady-Troy Room
• Dr. William J. Pammer, Jr., John Jay College
Sponsored by Canal NY

E: The Costs and Benefits of Green Facilities - Salons A & B
• Joe Mahota, Mahota Associates, Loudonville
Sponsored by the NYS Canal Corporation

F: Print Prevails – Salon C
• Martin Tully, Tully Media, Inc., Toronto
• John Cassidy, Hartford Courant
Sponsored by American Heritage Magazine

3:30 – 4 pm: Coffee and dessert with exhibitors – Exhibition Area
Sponsored by Yankee Publishing

4:05 – 5 pm: Workshops D, E and F repeated

6:30 pm: Cocktail Hour – Exhibition Area
Sponsored by the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor, www.ErieCanalway.org

7:30 pm: Dinner and Tourism Excellence Awards –
Empire Room and Terrace
Sponsored by syracuse.com Life here, starts here.

Good food and great wines provided by Keuka Wine Trail member vineyards. The awards presentation will recognize the accomplishments of private and public sector tourism professionals.

Special Fund-Raising Auction hosted by Destinations of New York State.
Following dinner and the awards presentations, bid on some great “Getaway” overnight packages from all across New York State. Hotels and attractions have donated some special prizes and we have put them together for some exciting getaways. All proceeds benefit the New York State Travel & Tourism College Scholarship fund.

Wednesday, February 10th:
7:30 – 8:45 am: Breakfast buffet – Salon EFGH
Sponsored by Vanguard Printing, www.VanguardPrintingLLC.com

9 to 10:10 am: Workshops H, I and J
H: Shaping the Destination Product, Part II – Schenectady-Troy Room
• Dr. William J. Pammer, Jr., John Jay College
Sponsored by the NYS Canal Corporation

I: SEO Sweepstakes (and Clinic) – Salons A & B
• Doug Motel, Site Optimized
Sponsored by Corporate Communications, Inc.

J: Breaking Down Walls: Private – Public Partnerships – Salon C
• Carmella Mantello, NYS Canal Corporation
• Greg Marshall, VisitRochester
• Angela Berti, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
• Sue Swiatkowski, Hard Rock Café, Niagara Falls
Sponsored by the New York Power Authority

10:10 to 10:40 am: Break w/ Exhibitors
Sponsored by Preservation Magazine

10:45 to 11:55: Workshops H, I and J repeated

Noon to 1:30 pm: Capstone Lunch with Speaker – Salon EFGH
The Honorable Steve Englebright, Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Tourism, Arts and Sport Development
Sponsored by the History Channel Magazine

Many thanks to all who volunteered time to help make the Empire State Tourism Conference possible.

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE:

Lisa Berger
Suzanne Bixby
Harvey Botzman
Dawn Borchert
Lori Solomon-Duell
Deb Duerr
Mike Linehan
Carol White Llewellyn

Dan O’Brien
Melinda Kreter
Stella Reschke
Sue Schmidt
Deb Taylor
Jim Walter

Conference Coordinator: Ann Melious

TOURISM EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Committee Chair:
Lori Solomon-Duell, Director of Tourism Development and Marketing, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

Judges:
Andy Kitzmann, Project Manager, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor
Kevin Cottrell, Project Coordinator, North Star Initiative
Yolanda Williams, George Washington University, Masters of Tourism
Administration Candidate
Suzanne Bixby, President, New York State Vacation Association
Dawn Borchert, Director, New York State Vacation Association