General Information

• Babysitting
• Board Meetings
• Conference Mentors Needed
• First-Time Attendees Welcome
• General Attendance Policy
• Golf Tournament
• Hospitality Suites
• Meals
• Miscellany
• Photo Critique Session
• Roommates
• Scavenger Hunt Photo Contest
• Silent Auction
• Special Rooms Assigned
• Weather
• What to Wear
• Workshop Audiotapes

Babysitting

Babysitting services are available for members who bring their children to conference. Please make arrangements with L'Auberge du Lac as they have a list of approved sitters.

Board Meetings

OWAA board of directors’ meetings are scheduled for Friday, June 16, 8:30 a.m., and Tuesday, June 20, at 1:15 p.m. Members may attend as silent observers.

General Attendance Policy

Conference attendance is restricted to registered individual and supporting members, spouses and guests. Conference attendees wearing green ribbons on their badges are first-timers; please make them feel welcome. Children may attend workshops if supervised by parents, but they may not attend Saturday Registration Day Display, Breakout Day, Shooting Program, sponsored meals, receptions or hospitality suites. All registrants must be at least 18 years of age.

Golf Tournament

OWAA will hold its eighth annual golf tournament on Friday June 16 at the Mallard Cove Golf Course in Lake Charles. This course has been recognized for excellence by Golf Digest magazine and is the premier golf course in Southwest Louisiana. For more information visit  http://www.cityoflakecharles.com/depts/mallard/index.asp.

Registration is $50 and will include lunch. Line up your own foursome or come by your lonesome and we'll assign you to a professional looking (but probably not golfing) group.

Just fill out the registration form and send your check or money order to Eileen King, 158 Lower Georges Valley Rd., Spring Mills, PA 16875; 814-364-9557; fax 814-364-9558; eking@owaa.org.

Hospitality Suites

Supporting member hospitality suites will be open from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Saturday; 8 p.m. – 11 p.m., Sunday and Monday at L'Auberge du Lac. You will receive a schedule at registration.

Miscellany

Bring plenty of business cards; you’ll need them. Personal messages, conference information, committee reports, etc. will be displayed on a bulletin board near the registration area. Some supporting members conduct prize drawings; entrants must abide by drawing rules. Failure to do so may be a violation of the OWAA Code of Ethics.

Photo Critique Session

Critics: Mike Francis and Tom Ulrich, photographers, and Chris Madson, editor, Wyoming Wildlife.

Have OWAA's most discerning eyes critique your photos. Critics will discuss strengths, weaknesses and photos' publishability.

Information is forthcoming. To inquire, please contact krhoades@owaa.org.

Roommates

Eileen King is keeping a list of OWAA members interested in sharing a room at the Lake Charles conference. She’ll need to know whether you prefer a smoking or non-smoking room and the age range of the person you’re willing to share a room with. Contact her at 814-364-9557, fax 814-364-9558, eking@owaa.org.

Scavenger Hunt Photo Contest

Request and pick up your free film Saturday at registration. Take one photo of each of the five pre-selected assignments, have editors critique your entries (anonymously), and maybe win a prize donated by our supporting members. The first 50 individual members who sign up receive a roll of film and their assignments. No second shots. Film is due midday Sunday. Entries are critiqued at a screening on Tuesday, June 20.

Silent Auction

We will have an area dedicated to an expanded silent-auction and raffle. Please be sure to drop in and place your bids. All proceeds will benefit the OWAA Operating Fund this year. If you’d like to make a donation, please contact Kevin Rhoades at OWAA headquarters, krhoades@owaa.org.

Special Rooms Assigned

• Working Press Room: Cypress. Open daily during conference hours.
• Literature Room: Sycamore A. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Materials and press kits supplied by supporting members will be available Saturday through noon Tuesday.
• Interview Rooms: Will be assigned. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A schedule will be posted on each room. Please pencil in appointment times.

Weather

During early June, we should experience temperatures ranging from the mid to high 80s with humidity.

What to Wear

Wear comfortable shoes and casual clothes to the Saturday evening opening dinner, workshops and outdoor activities (breakout/shooting programs). Evening meals are an opportunity to dress up. Office casual attire is suggested as a minimum.

Workshop Audiotapes

Audiotapes from the daily workshops will be sold by Inter-Mountain Media. An order form will also be posted on this Web site following the conference.

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Conference Mentors Needed

OWAA is continuing and expanding the mentoring program it began six years ago at the Greensboro Conference. This year, OWAA members in good standing are needed to help make the first conference of fellow members as successful as possible. That means contacting the person before the conference to see if he or she has any questions; describing the conference experience; sitting down with them at a meal or two, especially on the first day; introducing them to fellow members and generally making them comfortable. It requires little effort on the part of the mentor, but mentorship can have a significant impact on the first-timer’s conference experience.

We’ll hook you up with the first-timer. All you need to do at this point is contact the chairman of the Mentor Committee, Jay Cassell (45 Sunny Ridge Rd., Katonah, NY 10536, 914-232-2933, jhcassell@aol.com) and let him know you would like to participate in the program. He’ll match up volunteers with first-timers who have requested a mentor, and let you know well before the conference with whom you’ve been matched.

First-Time Attendees Welcome

The other half of the mentoring equation is the first-time attendees. For those of you who have not yet attended a conference, you are missing out on perhaps the greatest benefit of OWAA membership. The information disseminated, the networking opportunities presented and the moneymaking possibilities you can tap into are incredible. You will also have the opportunity to see and try new products, make pre- and post-conference trips complimentary or at great discount, make friends and have fun. Knowing the ropes, however, before you have to skip over them, can help you maximize the benefits of your first conference. If you would like an experienced attendee to help ease you into and through your first conference—to offer tips, introduce you and just provide a familiar face—please contact Jay Cassell (45 Sunny Ridge Rd., Katonah, NY 10536, 914-232-2933, jhcassell@
aol.com).

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Meals

Most breakfasts and luncheons (Sunday through Tuesday) are sponsored. Meals begin promptly at the listed hour. Late arrivals may not be served.

Sponsors are Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Department of Culture Recreation & Tourism, Allen Parish Tourist Commission, Beauregard Parish Tourist Commission, Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau, Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission, River Parishes Tourist Commission (local conference sponsors including Saturday Welcome to Lake Charles Dinner); Southwest Louisiana/Lake Charles Convention & Visitors Bureau (Sunday shooting day luncheon and Monday breakout day luncheon).

Sponsorships are currently available for Sunday breakfast and contest dinner, Monday breakfast, Tuesday breakfast, luncheon and dinner. If you wish to pay for sponsored meals, please request an invoice from OWAA Meeting Planner Eileen King (eking@owaa.org). Money will be donated to the John Madson Fund.

Inform King if you have special dietary needs. Special tables are provided for special diet attendees; you must sit at the assigned table for every meal.

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