2008 Conference DiaryBy Greta Deininger
July 15 What a fabulous Conference! It was great to see all of the familiar faces again and equally as exciting to meet so many new attendees. We certainly hope that you enjoyed yourself. Now we begin gearing up for our next fantastic Conference being held in Reno, July 20-23, 2009. Believe it or not, we begin planning for the next Conference once the last one ends. So, don't forget to complete your Overall Conference Evaluation soon! Your feedback for planning our next Conference is very important to us. If you haven't checked out the host hotel, here is a link. http://www.grandsierraresort.com/. The hotel has a movie theater and bowling alley on site. So, if gambling isn't your thing, there will be plenty of other things to do in Reno. We hope to see you there! Well this is the last entry of my 2008 Conference Diary. I appreciate all of the comments and ideas on this new feature. See you in Reno! Greta
June 18 Okay, this is it! Less than three weeks until NATP's Conference begins. As you are packing your bags and getting ready to leave, we have a check list of items we think you will want to bring with you: - Business cards (and a lot of them)
- More than one pair of comfortable shoes
- Sweater or a light jacket
- Hotel and flight confirmations
- Emergency contact information for you and those left at home and in the office
- Charger/cord for your cell phone
Along with your clothes, cash, and other miscellaneous items, that should cover it. Now get ready to learn and have a lot of fun. We are looking forward to your arrival in Atlanta. Greta
June 11 It's mid-June already! I can't believe it. If you haven't made your Conference registration and sleeping room arrangements, there is still time. You may still be able to get sleeping rooms at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis at our group rate. Just check with them when you call or register online. Be sure to use our group code of "natnata." Attendance has picked up considerably the last few weeks and we are looking forward to a fantastic event. With 33 continuing education credits, this event is definitely jam-packed with learning and networking opportunities. To make your experience even better, we have created a Facebook group to allow you to begin networking with Conference instructors, NATP staff members, and other Conference attendees. Facebook is a social networking site that allows you to connect with others. In this case, we have a NATP Conference Bound group that allows you to connect with other members going to National Conference. Come check it out. You'll need a profile on Facebook, which you can get at: www.facebook.com. Then, search for and add the NATP Conference Bound group. And finally, did you know that you can access the Conference session materials before you arrive in Atlanta? Well, you can! If you are registered for Full Conference or an individual day, when you log into www.natptax.com, you will find a link on the left side of the window that says 2008 Conference Attendees. This is where you can find the session handouts. See you in Atlanta! Greta
June 4 Greetings! Well the cutoff for the hotel is just two days away, along with the registration price increase. No more time to wait! We've begun receiving the textbook material from the speakers this year and the content looks great. While we have some speakers who have taught at Conference before, we do have some new names and sessions this year that will prove to be worthwhile. Hey, if it is your first time coming to Conference this year, please be sure to stop me and say, "hello" and ask me any questions about the event. I'd be glad to help, as would everyone else. I'm sure many of you know this….NATP has the best members of any tax association. Our staff realizes this, our members realize this, and even speakers who teach for us realize this. So, you can't really go wrong by coming to Conference. You get the best tax education in the country with the best group of people you could ever imagine. Greta
May 30 Did you know that you can find close to 50 vendors in our Expo Hall? If you are looking for new products or services, then Conference is the place to be! The Expo Hall is open only the first two days – Monday and Tuesday, so plan your day to include a visit with the vendors. They have great raffles/drawings, wonderful company representatives, and great product information. Don't miss it. One my favorite events at Conference is the Chapter Showcase. NATP Chapters have an opportunity to promote their state and their Chapter to all of our attendees. The Chapters each have a table around the room and attendees get to mingle and visit each table and collect goodies. In fact, it is like trick or treating for adults! I don't know what it is about Chapter Showcase that makes it so special to me and others. It could be that it is the official halfway point of Conference. Or, maybe it is because it is such a great networking and social event – great food, great people, and great fun. Whatever it is, don't miss it. Greta
May 23 Tick tock, tick tock. Time is running out. Your sleeping room reservation must be made before June 6 (unless our room block sells out early, which has happened in the past). So, don't delay! Make your sleeping room reservation today! If you haven't registered for Conference yet, you will want to do this soon as well. The prices for this event will increase $100 after June 6. Register online or call our Member Services team today at 800.558.3402. Enough administrative talk - let's talk about Conference. My friends at the TAXPRO Symposium in Orlando asked me a few years ago what Conference was about (you know who you are ;-). They were used to going to the TAXPRO Symposium but had never been to a Conference before. I'll tell you what I told them. Conference is great. I don't know how else to say it. I'm always amazed by the camaraderie each year amongst the attendees, Board of Directors, and staff. Most people at Conference know me as the "Ask Me" girl. I created this sign back in 2002 and during the Conference you can find me holding the sign high above my head so that I can help point you in the right direction (sorry, I can't answer questions like "what's the next winning lottery number," but I'm always willing to share with you if you win). Our wonderful and helpful Board of Directors also carry signs to help as well, when they are not introducing the session speakers. I guess that is the key to the success of our Conference – teamwork. We bring a great team from the National Office who work tirelessly to ensure that you have the best event you can. We also have Board Members and Chapter Volunteers who help with scanning badges, passing out newsletters, and more. We create a great synergy in working together to benefit you. That is our goal. If you've never been to Conference before, you are missing a worthwhile and utterly fabulous experience. I can't say it better than a member from our 2007 Conference: "This was simply an outstanding conference. This is the first one I have been able to attend and will definitely attend more. This kind of event and the other education programs offered by NATP is the reason why this is the biggest and best tax preparer organization in the country. I loved every minute and took a lot of things home with me."
I hope to see you soon! Greta
May 16 Conference is less than two months away and our team is working hard to ensure that this year's event runs smoothly. We are working on the program guide, pulling together badge information, as well our list of items to transfer to and from the event. A lot of little pieces and tasks fit together to create this huge event. A special bonus offer is available now through the end of May for the pre-registered attendees. They will have an option to receive the Conference textbook material on a 1 MB jump drive (also known as a memory stick or USB flash drive) instead of receiving a paper copy (over a ream of paper) of the textbook. Why do this: - Because it is better for the environment – go green,
- No heavy materials to carry around during Conference,
- Weight and bag limits on the airlines, and
- The jump drive is reusable.
If you are interested in this bonus offer, just click here – pbunker@natptax.com and let Polly know that you want the jump drive. This great offer ends May 30. If you prefer to receive the paper version of the textbook, no response is needed. On a different note, this year we are selling advance copies of the recorded sessions through Playback Now. They have been our vendor for audio recording for the last few years and always do a fabulous job. You can save $50 by purchasing the recordings in advance. For more information, click here. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask! By the way, did you know that 96% of those who attended Conference last year were either satisfied or very satisfied with the overall Conference? Wow…impressive. I hope to see you in Atlanta! Greta
April 16 Tax Season is over! Let education season begin! Registrations for Conference have started to come in and we are thrilled! It's exciting for us to see that so many people have already decided to join us for what will be a fabulous event. Our Expo show is almost completely sold out. I think you will be pleased to hear that we have a few new vendors this year for you to meet in addition to lots of familiar ones. The Expo is a one-stop shopping experience with representation from a variety of services that can help your business, including: software, office supplies, products to streamline your office, investment specialists, insurance programs, and so much more! It's like a mall made just for tax professionals! In other news, we have selected our 2008 Conference charity. This year our donations will be given to Atlanta's CURE Childhood Cancer. This 23-year-old organization is dedicated to conquering childhood cancer through research, education, and support of patients and their families. You can read more about this worthy cause at http://www.curechildhoodcancer.org/default.asp?contentID=9. I would hate for you to miss this great event, so I encourage you to reserve your sleeping room at the Marriott Marquis soon so you can get the Conference rate of $145 per night. The group rate does expire on June 6, 2008, or when the room block is full, whichever is first. If you haven't received your Conference brochure yet, you will soon! It is scheduled to arrive in your mailbox this week. If you just can't wait to see it, you can download one from our Conference web page. If you have any questions about the event, please don't hesitate to contact us at natp@natptax.com or at 800.558.3402. I look forward to seeing you at Conference! Regards, Greta Zeimetz
Director
Tax Knowledge Center
March 13, 2008 Hello All – We took a leap of faith a few years ago when we chose the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel for our 2008 Conference location. At that time, the hotel had a number of improvement plans in the works, and while the concept sketches were impressive, we didn't really know if it would turn out to be the high-quality location we wanted for our attendees. All concerns were recently put to rest when I paid a visit to the hotel and found so much more than I could ever imagine.  The first impression you will experience is the lobby. Absolutely breathtaking! As you look up you can't help but notice that the floors containing the sleeping rooms appear to wind almost like a flowing river.
In the center of it all is a 50-foot lighted boat sail, which changes colors every three hours, originating a floor up on the Atrium Level. On this floor you will find the hotel restaurants and bars, like Sear, High Velocity Sports Bar, and Pulse, meeting rooms, and the indoor/outdoor pool. For the sports fans in the group, the Media Room boasts a 40-foot screen and reclining lounge chairs. 
| Sear Restaurant | 
| High Velocity Sports Bar | 
| Pulse Bar |
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The Mall at Peachtree Center is accessible from the Atrium Level and has a bevy of eatery options for all, including: Dairy Queen, Chick-fil-A, Great Wraps, Oriental Express, KFC, Subway, and much, much more. The first food court is about five minutes from the hotel, and the best thing – it's all indoors.  Below the Lobby Level is the Marquis Level where our primary meeting space will be located, as well as our Registration/Help Desk. The space is beautiful and very convenient. All our breakout sessions will be held on this floor, we are the only group who will be using it while we're there, and it's accessible by escalator, stairs, or even the same elevator you use to access your sleeping rooms.
The Expo will be located on the floor below the Marquis Level known as the International Level. The space is extremely professional looking with beautiful wood paneled walls to accent the space. One final note I wanted to add was that if you are planning to visit the Aquarium while you are in Atlanta, you should purchase your tickets as soon as possible because dates do sell out. Hopefully this introduction to our Conference location gets you excited for the event. If you haven't registered yet, now's the time! I'm fired up for another great Conference. We have some new speakers, new topics, a GREAT hotel and the best members to share it with. I can't wait to see you there. Regards, Greta
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