Re: [emergency-adopt-events] Status of Host Location for FallEvent

[Rex Brooks <rexb@starbourne.com>]

Hi Jane,

I'm sure this is as much of a surprise for us as 
it was for you, and I wholeheartedly agree that 
we should get in synch. However, Wednesday, June 
17 has an Emergency Inteoperability Consrtium 
(EIC) Meeting scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Eastern 
Time. I believe there's some overlap in 
membership among the EIC and EI Member Section. I 
thought I should pass that along before we get 
too deeply attached to Wednesday. I suggest 
Thursday noon or later Eastern Time or Friday 
1:00 p.m. or later Eastern Time.

I have a SOA Reference Model TC Reference 
Architecture SC meeting from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 
p.m. Wednesday, so my day is pretty shot. Just 
FYI, I have not heard back about MITRE, but I am 
likely to hear during that telecon since my 
contact at MITRE is part of that group.

Cheers,
Rex

At 5:05 PM -0400 6/15/09, Jane Harnad wrote:
>Dear Emergency Management Committee Members,
>
>Dee Schur forwarded the notes from the last 
>Member Section conference call.  The notes 
>addressed concerns with the Emergency Management 
>Adoption Event Sub-Committee's approval to 
>attempt to secure a facility in the 
>Gaithersburg, MD area.  Unfortunately, it sounds 
>like the Event Sub-Committee (SC) and Member 
>Section (MS) are NOT on the same page.  In an 
>effort to re-connect everyone, I'm addressing 
>this email to the MS, Event SC, and Adoption TC. 
>Please be sure to let me know if anyone else 
>needs to be involved in this decision-making 
>process because I don't want to waste any more 
>time on miscommunication.  In addition, I'd like 
>to arrange a special conference call this 
>Wednesday at 2:00 PM ET to address the issues 
>noted below, as well as any other event-related 
>concerns.
>
>Background on why the DHS facilities didn't work out:
>
>1.       Space Availability - only one DHS 
>facility in the DC area was able to accommodate 
>the space required for both the conference and 
>interoperability demonstration - the NOAA 
>facility in Silver Springs, MD
>2.       Lack of Internet Access - for security 
>reason, no internet would be available to 
>conference participants (interoperability 
>demonstrations would have to be deleted from the 
>program, as many vendors require internet access 
>to prove interactive data retrieval)
>3.       No September Dates - the only dates 
>NOAA had available were October 15-16, which are 
>also very close to both the NEMA & IAEM events
>
>Background on the hotel search & obstacles:
>
>1.       Available Space & Dates - at last 
>check, no hotels in the Crystal City area had 
>space available in the Sept/Oct timeframe for 
>our event
>2.       Sleeping Room Guarantees - many hotels 
>won't allow clients to book meeting room space 
>without guaranteeing a certain number of 
>sleeping rooms each night, which would expose 
>OASIS to financial liability
>3.       Catering - lunch would be a requirement 
>each day or a higher room rental fee would be 
>charged (again exposing OASIS to financial 
>liability)
>4.       Internet Access - most hotels will 
>require payment for Internet access, which may 
>prove to be very expensive (audio visual will 
>also be an expense)
>
>Reasons why the sub-committee decided on the 
>NIST facility:  
><http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/gallery/adbldg1.htm>http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/gallery/adbldg1.htm
>
>
>Accessibility - DC metro area, metro 
>accessibility with complimentary shuttle 
>service, free parking, shuttle service would be 
>provided by OASIS - to & from host hotel(s)
>Space Availability - auditorium, 
>interoperability demonstration room, and 
>registration/break area would be made available, 
>free of charge
>Catering - coffee, continental breakfast, and 
>luncheon options are available for fee as a 
>group or on an individual basis (by the attendee)
>Audio Visual Equipment - standard audio visual 
>equipment would be made available, free of charge
>Internet Access - wireless Internet access is 
>available to everyone in the conference 
>facility, free of charge
>Hotel Sleeping Room Rates - NIST would allow us 
>to use their rate at two area hotels ($119 
>holiday inn & $140 marriott) with no guarantee & 
>liability to OASIS
>
>* Additional benefit:  The event would be held 
>in conjunction with the OASIS Identity 
>Management Conference.
>
>Budget Issues:
>
>It was noted that the MS agreed to put aside 20K 
>to sponsor the event.  Although this is terrific 
>news, and would cover most of the costs 
>associated with a DHS or NIST hosted event; it 
>would only cover a portion of the anticipated 
>costs for an event held at a hotel.  Below is a 
>rough breakdown of possible hotel expenses for 
>your review.
>
>Based on 200 people (below are estimates only):
>
>Coffee Breaks = $1,200 each day @ 2 days = $ 2,400
>Room Rental (with lunch) = $2,500 each day @ 2 days = $5,000
>Luncheons = $ 7,000 each day @ 2 days = $14,000
>Audio Visual = $2,300 each day @ 2 days = $4,600
>Internet = $4,000 ($20 per guest) = $4,000
>
>The total estimate above comes to roughly 30K. 
>This doesn't include OASIS staff time, printing, 
>marketing, reception, and/or other event-related 
>expenses.  A hotel-hosted event would most 
>likely cost us about 20K per day in the DC area, 
>which means 40K would need to be secured at the 
>time of booking.
>
>BTW:  This was the main reason we originally 
>decided to shift our focus to a member facility 
>(cutting anticipated expense in half).
>
>What's nextŠ
>
>In order for us to move forward with the dates 
>reserved at the NIST facility - 29 & 30 of 
>September, we need to have a final decision made 
>no later than the end of this week. If the 
>decision is to cancel that space, we'll need to 
>begin our search from scratch again.  The search 
>will include ideas from the Committee on other 
>member hosts, locations in the area (other than 
>Crystal City), new dates, etcŠ  Starting the 
>search over again will most likely prevent us 
>from launching the event dates & location prior 
>to the start of the summer season (as originally 
>planned).  This will also hurt our production 
>timeline, and therefore most likely force us to 
>shift potential event dates to late October &/or 
>November (of course bringing up other conflicts 
>- such as competing events, holidays, etcŠ).  If 
>we do decided to move forward with the space at 
>NIST - preliminary details on the event are 
>ready to be announced.  We're putting the 
>finishing touches on the overall event 
>description, expected audience, and website now. 
>The current plan was to launch the event this 
>week.
>
>As a reminder, I'd like to arrange a special 
>conference call this Wednesday at 2:00 PM ET to 
>address these and other issues regarding the 
>event.  Please let me know if you are unable to 
>attend.
>
>Thank you, Jane
>
>


--
Rex Brooks
President, CEO
Starbourne Communications Design
GeoAddress: 1361-A Addison
Berkeley, CA 94702
Tel: 510-898-0670