MACNAXX in Atlanta!!

[MACNAXX]

MACNA XX September 5-7, 2008 in Atlanta

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We are excited about this year's MACNA conference. We already have Pre-registered and paid as many as most of the total attendance of the first 15 or so MACNAs, so it should be huge. Combine that with a great hotel, great speakers, cheap flights, and the Georgia Aquarium and we have everything to try to get you guys to have a good time while in Atlanta.

The hotel is great, and the room night of $119 can't be beat, it usually is in the $250-300 range. We were able to negotiate pretty well, but rooms are going fast.

There is a lot to do in Atlanta if people come early or bring significant others - CNN, Olympic Park, the Georgia Aquarium, the Children's museum, the world of Coke, and Hooters (hey, I know my audience) is within a 5 minute walk, and MARTA goes from inside the airport to the hotel for $1.75 - so no cab charges. The same MARTA can take you to the Braves, shopping centers, etc. We are also getting together a kids program (popcorn and movies in the hotel) to allow parents to go to the banquet and speakers. We will offer that at cost.

Oh, and the banquet is food by Wolfgang Puck. No open bar like Pittsburgh, but good food inside a great banquet hall inside the largest aquarium in the world with two windows - one toward the largest indoor aquatic exhibit in the world (over 6 million gallons - the size of a football field) that includes four whale sharks and the other one toward the four beluga whales.


Please use this thread to ask questions and I will try to check in to answer them. You can also check out our website. If your administrator could make this a sticky and add a banner that would help alot.


So who is going and how can I help?

Steve

www.macnaxx.com

[dianeww]

I'll be going, signed up already! How easy or hard is it to get to the hotel from the Amtrak station? I don't fly, I do trains!!

Diane

[MACNAXX]

I don't know where the nearest train station is, but the hotel has MARTA directly to the hotel from the airport and other places, so I am sure it would be no problem.

Macna Update....

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A MACNA teaser - our main banquet speaker....


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Joanne Ruxton

Behind the Scenes as a Underwater Wildlife Producer for the BBC

Joanne studied Zoology at London University and moved to Hong Kong in the 80's. She joined the World Wildlife Fund Hong Kong in 1990 to establish their Marine Conservation Programme; a significant task in a place that had no legislation to protect the coastal waters and where massive development was taking place before the handover to China. After four Marine Protected Areas had been set up, she joined the BBC’s Blue Planet team in 1997. Since that time she has been involved in numerous underwater film projects.

Prior projects include:

Blue Planet
Deep Blue
Death on the Reef
Deep Trouble
Live from the Abyss
Under the Skin - Antarctica
Under the Skin - Penguins
Smart Sharks
Shark Roulette
Shark Coast
Dive to Shark Volcano
Wild Caribbean
Pacific Abyss

[An t-iasg]

I am going! I signed up during early registration. I have to find my confirmation email to get the room code. I haven't yet reserved a room and I know I had better hurry!

[MACNAXX]

Go to Travel Info on the website and it will let you book your hotel room.

If you have problems, e-mail Kevin at macnaxx@gmail.com

See you there!

[An t-iasg]

Thank you!

[MACNAXX]

No problem. We want you guys to have a great time while you are here and enjoy some Southern hospitality.

[An t-iasg]

I am looking forward to seeing and enjoying Atlanta! We are polite up here in the North as well but there's nothing like a good dose of Southern hospitality. Several years ago I had a layover in Atlanta but didn't have time to explore then. Now I will! I hope the Weather Channel gives tours!

[MACNAXX]

CNN is literally right next door, and they do give tours.

[MACNAXX]

Ok, time for another MACNA XX update before the price goes up at the end of the month!!! Check out our website at www.macnaxx.com for more information (the website is also going through a transformation by the end of the month). Let us know if we can do anything else to make your stay in Atlanta enjoyable!

As you know, we have record numbers of attendees and exhibitors this year, and a huge number of incredible speakers!!

We are also trying a few new things to entice you – including a Children’s Program involving local venues within walking distance of the hotel for those of you that want to appease your family (ages 5-12) to justify the massive amounts of money you pay for raffles and other goodies. The Children’s Program is being offered at cost, and can be pre-registered on our website starting later this week.

Also, UPS will have a booth in the trade show to allow easy shipment of all your animals and equipment (or your family if they object to your purchases!)

You may have heard about the tornado that went through downtown Atlanta a few months ago, damaging the Westin Hotel (but missing the Georgia Aquarium). There was damage to many windows, which are in the process of being replaced, but there was no structural damage and it is basically business as usual. Friday they gave us another 20 rooms, and they will go fast, so if you want to be at the conference hotel, you had better hurry! We also have contracted at other hotels next door at the same low rate, so there will be plenty of room.

You may have also heard the exciting news that the Georgia Aquarium is now expanding to include another 1.3 million gallons – making the total 9.5 million gallons. That is the good news. The bad news is that this new section will not be ready for this year’s MACNA. The general exhibits at the Georgia Aquarium will not be affected by the construction at the time of MACNA (other than possibly the outdoor sea lion exhibit).

The following is the schedule (subject to change). The workshops are limited to a small number of pre-registrants to allow more of an intimate atmosphere. There is a nominal charge to ensure that the workshops are filled. The proceeds will be donated to a non-profit charity of the speaker’s choosing. You should be able to sign up for workshops by the end of this week.

MACNA XX – Conference Schedule

Friday – September 5, 2008
09:00 am MASNA Board Meeting
11:00 am MASNA Member Preview of Trade Show
11:00 am Raffles Begin
12:00 pm Tradeshow Opens
12:00 pm Welcome
12:00 pm Dr. Hugo Freudenthal: The Role of Zooxanthellae
01:00 pm Children’s Program: Children’s Museum ($27.50)
01:15 pm James Fatherree: The Latest Advances in Aquarium Lighting
02:15 pm Dr. Bruce Carlson: Status of Reefs in the Wild
02:15 pm Workshop: Jake Adams: MacGyver Aquarium Techniques
03:15 pm Scott Fellman: Authentic Biotope Presentation for the Aquarium
04:15 pm Eric Borneman: Conservation and Coral Nutrition on the Reef
04:15 pm Workshop: Dr. Al Dove: Test Kits and What do they really mean?
05:15 pm Matthew Wittenrich: Fish Breeding Techniques
06:15 pm Steven Pro: “I touched it – NOW WHAT?” Reef Toxins
06:15 pm Workshop: Bob Fenner/Marj Awai: Photography
07:00 pm Silent Auction Begins
07:00 pm Children’s Program: Young Chef’s Academy ($32.50)
07:30 pm Cocktail Party: Speaker: Koji Wada: Japanese Aquariums

Saturday – September 6, 2008
07:30 am SaltwaterU Teen Program – Teen Presentation for 2008 trip
08:00 am Children’s Program: New World of Coke ($27.50)
08:00 am Dr. Sylvia Earle: Sustainable Seas: Recognizing Finite Resources
08:00 am Trade Show Opens
09:15 am Ray Davis: Whale Shark Research
09:15 am Workshop: Jake Adams/Tim Woolston: DIY Filtration/Plumbing
10:15 am Cathy Sakas: NOAA Resources for Educators
10:15 am Jim Walters: New and Unusual Fish for Nano Reef Aquariums
11:15 am Larry Jackson: Reef Travel Destinations
11:15 am Workshop: Anthony Calfo: Coral Propagation
01:00 pm Children’s Program: CNN Center ($27.50)
01:00 pm Dr. Nancy Knowlton: TBA
01:00 pm Tom Wyatt: Advanced Aquarium Chemistry
02:00 pm Dr. Rob Toonen: What can deep coral reefs tell us about coral bleaching, reef resilience and reef aquaria?
02:00 pm Workshop: Kelly Jedlicki: Fish Necropsy
03:00 pm Bob Fenner: TBA
03:00 pm Christine Williams: Keeping Fishes Healthy and Treating Diseases
04:00 pm Scott Fellman: Marine Plants and Algaes
04:00 pm Workshop: Julian Sprung: How to grow your own food
05:00 pm Special Behind the Scene Tours of the Georgia Aquarium
07:00 pm Children’s program: Pajama Party with Pizza/Movie ($24.50)
07:15 pm Banquet in the Georgia Aquarium by Wolfgang Puck
Speaker: Joanne Ruxton – Behind the Scenes as an Underwater
Wildlife Producer for the BBC

Sunday – September 7, 2008
08:00 am Children’s Program: Georgia Aquarium ($32.50)
08:00 am Dr. Alex Brylske: Uses of the Reef in Medicine and Industry
08:00 am Trade Show Opens
09:15 am Charles Delbeek: Coral Diseases and Pests
09:15 am Workshop: Anthony Calfo/Phillip Root: Large Aquaculture Techniques
10:15 am Dr. Kim Cobb: Records of Climate Change through Coral
10:15 am Kim Hall: The Tropical Diver Exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium
11:15 am Michael Cottman: Researching a Sunken Slave Ship: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie
11:15 am Workshop: (Panel) How to prepare, bid for & plan a MACNA
01:00 pm (Panel) The Future of the Reef-Keeping Hobby
02:00 pm Grand Finale Raffle Drawing