Sept. 24–27, 2009
Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel
64 South Water St.
Mobile, AL
National Newspaper Association
P.O. Box 7540
Columbia, MO 65205-7540
(573) 882-5800
(800) 829-4NNA (4662), option 2
Fax (573) 884-5490
www.nna.org
Mark your calendars now!
NNA’s 125th Anniversary Celebration
at the 124th Annual Convention
and Trade Show
Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2010
Omaha Hilton and Qwest Center
Omaha, NE
And in 2011...
NNA's 125th Annual Convention
and Trade Show
The Hotel Albuquerque
Albuquerque, NM
Pub Aux articles
Convention considered ‘money in the bank’
Originally published in Publishers' Auxiliary, July 2009
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE MOBILE BAY CONVENTION VISITORS BUREAU
NNA will hold its extravaganza at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. Along the shores of Mobile Bay, NNA members and guests will be able to explore this Alabama park that spans more than seven decades of military history from World War II to Desert Storm. Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the USS Alabama, which was the recipient of nine Battle Stars in World War II.
Networking with your peers is one of the most important ways to keep your newspaper knowledge current, engaging and fresh for both you and your readers. Having a group of people from the same profession to learn from, share with and support could possibly be the most valuable resource you could find in this tough economy.
Under Attendee information, you will find your 123rd National Newspaper Association Convention & Trade Show registration materials. We are meeting in a great city this year—Mobile, AL—where you will enjoy great seafood, saltwater breezes, interesting architecture and Southern charm steeped in this city’s history.
“It’s money in the bank” many past attendees have proclaimed. The first event is the opening reception on Thursday evening, Sept. 24. Join your friends and colleagues for some great fun as you cruise the exhibit hall where the trade show vendors will showcase their products and services and offer some great deals. Everyone will want to meet again in the exhibit hall on Friday for a light lunch where you will have the opportunity to revisit the companies you missed the previous evening. Take advantage of this time and share ideas with your peers on what products and services you and they have found to be helpful in day-to-day operations.
Share ideas and strategize with your peers over dinner at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. Prepare your imagination for takeoff as you walk the flight line displaying historic aircraft inside the huge pavilion. Go back in time while enjoying a seafood feast amidst the aircraft. Following dinner, experience life the way it was over seven decades ago on one of America’s most decorated battleships. Displacing more than 44,500 tons, the USS Alabama measures 680 feet from bow to stern, half as long as the Empire State Building is tall. The USS Alabama saw 37 months of active duty during World War II, earning nine Battle Stars. The “Mighty A” as it came to be known, safely carried its crew throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean campaigns, and never suffered any casualties or significant damage because of enemy fire.
In 1964, a campaign was launched to bring the “Mighty A” home to Alabama as a memorial to the state’s sons and daughters who had served in the armed forces. Alabama schoolchildren raised nearly $100,000—mostly in nickels, dimes, and quarters to help bring the ship home to her final resting place. A corporate fundraising campaign raised the balance of the $1 million needed for the Navy to donate the ship. The money raised financed the cost of what is still the longest non-military ton per mile tow in history.
Join your friends for NNA’s annual business meeting followed by the Amos, McKinney and Phillips awards luncheon, where we will honor three deserving individuals. As we wrap up the luncheon, be on hand as NNA President John Stevenson, publisher of the Randolph Leader in Roanoke, AL, passes the presidential gavel to your new president Cheryl Kaechele, president of Kaechele Publications Inc in Allegan, MI.
Rise and shine Saturday morning for one of the best networking sessions of the convention–NNA’s Great Idea Exchange. Enjoy a continental breakfast as Jerry Bellune, publisher of the Lexington (SC) Dispatch, Jump starts your innovative thinking to survive the 21st Century. Then grab your pen and notebook as Robert M. Williams Jr., chair and publisher of SouthFire Newspaper Group in Blackshear, GA, moderates the sharing of great ideas. This session works because of you the attendee. So pull out a sample of your best idea or two and bring it along to share with your peers. You are guaranteed to go home with more ideas than you brought to Mobile.
Once the workshops, general and educational sessions are over you can participate in some roundtable discussions. The roundtables are designed as small discussion groups on hot topics for community newspapers. Each roundtable is limited to 30 attendees so that everyone has an opportunity to share their successes or ask that burning question. Each topic is facilitated by a professional who has already experienced success on the topic. You will have the opportunity to choose from two of the offered roundtables as part of your registration.
As we wrap up the day, join everyone for a glass of bubbly during the Toast to the Winners Ceremony to honor the Best of the Best in all of NNA’s contests. NNA’s contests are another great idea/networking opportunity. Winning entries from these contests will be displayed in the exhibit hall.
Don’t keep us guessing, we want to know whether we can count on you to be in Mobile in September. Complete the registration form available here today.