As of yesterday we have 1256 roomnights registered. I think last year had 750 room nights registered at the time of the conference......and we are 9 months away.
We will meet AGAIN with the Westin on Wednesday for more rooms...
Another 31 people have registered this month alone - we are well over 400 full conference tickets sold....not including speakers and exhibitors. Almost none are among the 516 local ARC members (historically host clubs register late - last year there were over 200 at the door..)
Yeh got my room yesturday - Man that is a lot of room nights and tickets for being 9 months away!! This should be awesome! Thanks for all the help Steve!
I just came back from the planning meeting and the line up looks incredible. I'm going to see what we can 'leak' but there are some great names for speakers.
There definitely needs to be a Club-Zoa mixer...would be nice to put some faces to names.
Steve just posted this on Atlanta Reef Club so I thought I would share...
We just added our final speaker for MACNA
Nancy Knowlton Ph.D. Sant Chair for Marine Science
Department of Invertebrate Zoology
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
Dr. Nancy Knowlton holds the Sant Chair in Marine Science at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Her research focuses on the ecology, evolution and conservation of coral reef organisms, and has taken her to the Caribbean, Brazil, the eastern Atlantic, and the Indo-west and central Pacific. Her analyses have led to the now widespread recognition that estimates of marine diversity are probably too low by a factor of ten.
Dr. Knowlton received her undergraduate degree at Harvard University and her PhD at the University of California at Berkeley, and was a professor at Yale University prior to moving to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Later, she joined the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California at San Diego, where she was the founding Director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation and the leader of its interdisciplinary research and education (IGERT) program.
Dr. Knowlton currently serves on the National Geographic Society’s Committee on Research and Exploration and Conservation Trust Committee, chairs the World Bank’s Targeted Research Program for Coral Reefs, is principle investigator of the Census of Marine Life’s Coral Reef Initiative, and is an Associate Editor for the Annual Review of Marine Science. She is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an Aldo Leopold Fellow.
So we have people from the Smithsonian, National Georgraphic, BBC, Scripps, the Georgia Aquarium, Dive Training, and Georgia Tech, as well as the main hobbyist fish/coral geeks talking about fish breeding, lighting, chemistry, nutrition, DYI projects, photography, etc.
This is by far the largest number of speakers ever at MACNA (over 30) with much more representation from groups not usually found represented (divers, academic scientists, public aquariums, media), and many of the leading names in ocean research and exploration.
We will get the times of the speakers etc out very soon. I was just waiting to lock in this last speaker.
As I said on ARC, the combination of Sylvia Earle, Nancy Knowlton, Alex Brylske, Bruce Carlson, Kim Cobb, etc. is very unique and each one is a keynote speaker in their own right. Add to that Borneman, Calfo, Wyatt, Fenner, Sprung, and the other usual big draws in the aquarium industry and it is amazing. That and the largest trade show in MACNA history and a banquet at the largest public aquarium in the world.....
It really is a merging of scientists and divers with hobbyists. In my mind, it is the best way for us to live up to our motto - Preservation through Education.
Going to scoop Steve (AKA MACNA) again...this is going to be a great event, buy your tickets soon! This is your chance to meet Anthony Calfo, Bob Fenner, Stephen Pro, Julian Sprung, Bruce Carleson and a host of others that bring us the knowledge we need to make this hobby successful
If there are vendors here interested in a booth, send me a PM. I know two great R2R sponsors will be there, looking forward to meeting you all.
-Loren
MACNA XX – Conference Schedule*
Friday – September 5, 2008 9:00 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 – Dr. Hugo Freudenthal – Keynote Speaker – Peachtree Ballroom 1:00 pm – Children’s Program Imagine It! Children’s Museum (ages 5 to 12 - $27.50) 1:15 pm –James Fatherree – The Latest Advances in Aquarium Lighting 2:15 pm – Dr. Bruce Carlson – Status of Reefs in the Wild 2:15 pm – Jake Adams – MacGyver Aquarium Techniques – Workshop** 3:15 pm – Scott Fellman – Authentic Biotope Presentation for the Aquarium 4:15 pm – Eric Borneman – Conservation and Coral Nutrition on the Reef 4:15 pm – Dr. Al Dove – Water Quality Workshop – Everyday Test Kits and What do they mean? – Workshop** 5:15 pm – Matthew Wittenrich – Fish Breeding 6:15 pm –Steven Pro – “I touched it – NOW WHAT?†Reef Toxins for Divers and Reef Keepers 6:15 pm – Bob Fenner & Marj Awai – Photography – Workshop** 7:00 pm – Silent Auction Begins – Peachtree Ballroom 7:00 pm – Children’s Program - Young Chef’s Academy - Popcorn Fun (ages 5 to 12 - $32.50) 7:30 pm – Koji Wada – Japanese Aquariums - Cocktail Party and Key Note Speaker – Peachtree Ballroom Saturday – September 6, 2008 7:30 am – SaltwaterU Teen Program – Teen Presentation for 2008 trip 8:00 am – Children’s Program New World of Coke (ages 5 to 12 - $27.50) 8:00 am – Dr. Sylvia Earle – Sustainable Seas: Recognizing Finite Resources – Keynote Speaker – Peachtree Ballroom 8:00 am – Trade Show Opens 9:15 am – Ray Davis – Whale Shark Research 9:15 am –Jake Adams & Tim Woolston – DIY Filtration and Plumbing – Workshop** 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 – Anthony Calfo – Coral Propagation – Workshop** 1:00 pm – Children’s Program CNN Center (ages 5 to 12 - $27.50) 1:00 pm – Dr. Nancy Knowlton – 1:00 pm – Tom Wyatt – Advanced Aquarium Chemistry 2:00 pm – Dr. Rob Toonen – What can deep coral reefs tell us about coral bleaching, reef resilience and reef aquaria? 2:00 pm – Kelly Jedlicki – Fish Necropsy – Workshop** 3:00 pm – Bob Fenner – Education Topic TBD 3:00 pm – Christine Williams – Bigger, Stronger, Fatter: Keeping Fishes Healthy and Treating Diseases Successfully 4:00 pm – Scott Fellman – Marine Plants and Algaes 4:00 pm – Julian Sprung – How to grow your own food – Workshop** 7:00 pm – Pajama Party with Pizza and a Disney Movie (ages 5 to 12 - $24.50) 7:15 pm – Joanne Ruxton – Behind the Scenes as a Underwater Wildlife Producer for the BBC - Key Note – Georgia Aquarium Ballroom Sunday – September 7, 2008 8:00 am – Children’s Program Georgia Aquarium (ages 5 to 12 - $32.50) 8:00 am – Dr. Alex Brylske – Bioprospecting Uses of the Reef in Medicine and Industry - Key Note – Peachtree Ballroom 8:00 am – Trade Show Opens 9:15 am – Charles Delbeek 9:15 am – Anthony Calfo & Phillip Root – Large Aquaculture Techniques – Workshop** 10:15 am –Dr. Kim Cobb – As the world warms – Coral: Records of Climate Change 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 – Panel – Moderated by Steve Pro – How to prepare, bid for & plan a MACNA – Workshop** 1:00 pm – Panel TBD – The Future of the Hobby - Major Panel– Peachtree Ballroom 2:00 pm – Grand Finale Raffle Drawing – Peachtree Ballroom * Subject to change ** Workshops are limited to 48 attendees, require pre-registration and an additional (small) fee
Registration for the workshops will occur soon. We have to develop that part of the website. The entire website is going thru a transformation later this month.
FYI Folks, prices for tickets go to the next tier June 1st. They are $129 now and will go to $149. So if you are planning on coming, get you tickets soon
Saturday night is going to be a great event. Joanne Ruxton is going to give the keynote at the GA Aquarium ballroom. You couldn't ask for a better location...one side of the ballroom has giant windows for the baluga whales, the other side for the whale sharks. It's going to be a great dinner event.
I heard some great vendors are going to be there that are sponsors on this site. Should be some nice corals to purchase.
One more bump before the end of the month. Tickets go up from $129 to $149 starting June 1st. So get your tickets now for what may be the greatest MACNA ever...amazing speakers and an amazing location.
The banquet at the GA Aquarium will be a memorable event. Plus, you will see many familiar faces from the various boards and vendors.
PM me if you have any general questions...both regarding general tickets as well as exhibition space.
Registration for the workshops is now open (and about 25% filled already).
We have about 600 people pre-registered (100 just in May), not including the 150+ people from the exhibitors, the speakers, etc., etc. This will be huge.