2011 NEC Facts-At-A-Glance/FAQs
The SGMP National Education Conference, Expo & Tech Fair is the only national forum solely dedicated for educational and networking opportunities for government planners and suppliers in the meetings industry.
Attending planner members contribute on average $467,800,000.00 into the room night and meetings economy annually.
Registration and exhibit fees include all official functions* as well as education sessions and keynote speakers.
Non-exhibiting suppliers or non-member suppliers attending the 2011 NEC are not allowed on the expo floor, but welcome at all other official events.
Norfolk, Virginia, is served by Norfolk International Airport (ORF). Our host city is located 94 miles from Richmond, VA, and less than 200 miles from Raleigh, NC, and Washington, DC.
The average high/low June temperatures for June in Norfolk are 83/66 degrees.
SGMP is planning for ~1,000 total attendees. We anticipate that the host hotels, the exhibition hall, listed sponsorship opportunities, and pre-conference programming will be sold-out prior to June 2011.
Attendees at the NEC can gain 20 hours of education and earn 2.0 CEUs (10 hours = 1 CEU). There are also additional pre-conference programming opportunities.
Educational Session Tracks are for organizational purposes only. Any attendee can attend any session regardless of the track in which it is placed.
Planner member registration fees have not increased in three years.
Conference attire for attendees is business casual, with the exception of the Sam Gilmer Awards Banquet which is black-tie-optional/business. [SGMP chapters will often coordinate chapter-based attire to be worn at the Welcome Reception. Contact your chapter leadership for details.]
The formal opening of the NEC is the Welcome Reception on Wednesday Night. The formal closing for the NEC is the Tech Fair with speaker early Friday evening.
All registrations except for "Guest" include admission to the Sam Gilmer Awards reception & banquet and the Tech Fair with speaker session (Guests may buy a ticket to attend either of these). Guest registrants may attend the Welcome Reception.
Seating at the Sam Gilmer Awards Banquet is on a first-come, first served basis, with the exception of the national president’s table and the banquet host city table(s).
Pre-conference programming is optional and has additional registration fees. These pre-conference programs with an additional registration fee run concurrently, so an attendee may register for no more than one of them.
Participants in the CGMP training course should plan on attending one or more evening study sessions with your classmates.
The Chapter Operations Programs offered prior to the NEC are targeted to appropriate chapter leaders, but any NEC attendee may participate in any of them and any chapter can have multiple attendees.
The "So You’re New to SGMP" orientation class offered prior to the NEC is targeted to new members, but any NEC attendee may participate.
SGMP does not endorse and does not sponsor any event that takes place as part of the Supplier Hospitality Night. Each of those events is independently hosted by a Supplier organization.
All donations requested as part of the NEC will be utilized for providing education scholarships for SGMP members, with the exception of donations to the national charity project.
The full amount pledged on a credit card at any SGMP auction will be charged in full immediately at the conclusion of the auction.
The winner of any prize or auction item is personally responsible for any shipping logistics or costs.
Tours of our host city (including Norfolk, Hampton Roads and the Historic Triangle) are offered as additional and optional post-NEC events. Tours are not offered during the NEC.
Questions about the 2011 SGMP NEC should be directed to Mark at mark.harvey@sgmp.org.
*Non-exhibiting Supplier attendees are prohibited from participating in the expo hall.