ACA 2010 Convention News

[tjudy]

Hello Everyone,

I started this thread as a place to make announcements and respond to questions specifically about the ACA 2010 convention. Thanks for looking.

• ACA 2010 online registration is open at http://www.aca2010.com

• Here are some links to two down-loadable documents that can help promote the convention. The single-page flier can be used as a quick handout at a club event or as an advertisement printed in a club journal. The pamphlet is a trifold pamphlet that includes paper registration forms and information. Feel free to use them at your club events or to distribute them to people who may want them... with our sincere thanks for doing so!
  
  single-page flyer: http://www.aca2010.com/pdf/club_print_ad.pdf
  
  tri-fold pamphlet: http://www.aca2010.com/pdf/pamphlet.pdf

[tjudy]

The speaker schedule is now published. See the following link:

http://www.aca2010.com/pdf/SChedule_April_27.pdf

The due dates for show entries and rental tank reservations is fast approaching. If you are planning to show or sell fish the time to register is now.

The hotel is filling up fast, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. We do have an overflow hotel available if you register late and miss out on getting into the show hotel. I will have a confirmation number for the overflow hotel once the need for it kicks in.

For all your registrations, convention purchases and information needs, please go to www.aca2010.com.

[tjudy]

Two ACA 2010 announcements today:

Registration for show entries and rental tanks has been extended to July 1. For more information about showing fish or renting tanks, see the following links:

Fish Show: http://www.aca2010.com/show

Rental Tanks: http://www.aca2010.com/rental-room-tanks

A Saturday-only vendor table option has been added. If you would like to come to the convention for one day to sell items in the vendor room, go to:

http://www.aca2010.com/vendor

[tjudy]

Here is a link to the new writable PDF show entry form. Thank you Rick Borstein for creating this very useful form. Show entries are due July 1, 2010. Entries are purchased with convention registration at www.aca2010.com, and this entry form is mailed separately. You can also send it with your registration if you are mailing it all in with a check. Do not forget that for every five entries you can enter a sixth fish at no extra charge.

http://www.aca2010.com/wp-content/image ... orm_RE.pdf


See you in Milwaukee!!!

[tjudy]

It is time to sign up for the Aquarium Beautiful competition. If you are coming to the convention and would like to represent your local aquarium club in a fun contest for a trophy and bragging rights.... Read on!

This contest will team an aquarium club with a commercial fish farmer to set up, decorate and stock a display aquarium using the labor of the team, and aquarium display donated by United Pet Group and the fish from a commercial fish farmer.

Entry Fee: $50 (paid by the aquarium club) & livestock for the display (donated to the convention by the fish farmer)

General Rules:

* Each team will be provided an aquarium set up.
* Convention sponsors will provide a large pile of aquarium substrates, decorations and backgrounds.
* The event starts on Thursday evening, when all of the teams gather at their aquariums and are given the signal to start setting up their display.
* The contest winners will be chosen by attendee voting using raffle tickets. All of the tanks with decorations (not livestock) will be raffled. 'Voters' are casting a vote when they enter a ticket into the raffle for a specific display. There is no limit to the number of tickets a person can use towards a display.

Awards:

* The aquarium with the most votes (raffles tickets) wins. Both the aquarium club and the fish farm will receive a trophy.

How to Enter:

* Any aquarium club that wants to participate needs to send an email to [email protected] expressing a desire to enter.
* When we have a sufficient number of entries (clubs and farms to pair together), we will call for the payment of the entry fee.
* The teams will be drawn randomly. The teams will be notified who they are teamed with so a plan of action can be made.

Have Fun with This Contest!!!

* Promote your team! Talk it up! We will announce on this website who the teams are. Talk a little trash!
* Make t-shirts for your team.
* Sit together at the banquet.

[tjudy]

Thanks to the generosity of Perfecto, Tetra and Marineland we are waiving the fee for clubs to enter the Club/Farm Aquarium Beautiful competition. Entries are limited to 10, and we already have two. The next eight clubs to email me are in. Here is what I need:

* the name of your club
* the name and email of the person coming to the convention who will be contact person for the team

Send the email to [email protected]

The Olympia Resort and Spa still has rooms available for Friday and Saturday night... but they are filling up fast! Make your reservations before all the room are sold out and you have to go to the overflow hotel across the street. http://www.aca2010.com/hotel

The tours for Thursday and Friday are filling up as well. When the seats on the bus are all gone no more tickets will be sold.
http://www.aca2010.com/tours

Do not forget that the last day to submit show entries and reserve rental tanks is July 1. That date is RAPIDLY approaching.

Six weeks until the ACA 2010 convention!!!

See you in Milwaukee!

[Jombi21]

That's a pretty cool idea. I would like to see how this turns out.

It's awesome that those companies stepped up to waive fees.

Jom

[tjudy]

We have set up ground transportation with Go Airport Connection. The more people you ride with in the shuttle the less expensive the ride becomes. Use this forum to coordinate with other people coming into the airport, and everyone saves money. Even if you do not team up with someone, if you just happen to share the ride your fee is decreased automatically.

Click here to book your ground transportation

http://goairportconnection.hudsonltd.ne ... c&LOGON=GO

[tjudy]

Here is the correct link to the shuttle service:

http://goairportconnection.hudsonltd.ne ... c&LOGON=GO

[tjudy]

Rooms are almost sold out for Friday and Saturday. If you call for a reservation and are told the rooms are sold out, ask to be put on the waiting list. We fully expect rooms to open up. There are people who reserved rooms months ago and are not going to be able to attend.

The July 1 due date for show entries, rental tank reservations and tee-shirt orders is only a few days away. Do not miss out! You can still register for the convention, tours and meals, and you can reserve used equipment right up until the show.

We have added a new speaker to the Thursday evening lineup: Laif DeMason will kick off the convention with his talk on What's new East Africa.

We still have opening for the Club Aquarium Beautiful contest. We just need a couple people from OCA who will be there Thursday to represent your club and put together a display tank.

See you ALL in Milwaukee!

[tjudy]

20 days to go!

Pre-registration, ACA memberships and banquet, brat dinner and tour tickets are still available for purchase on the aca2010.com website until the week before the convention. Shirt, show entry and rental tank sales have been stopped. All vendor options (except rental tanks) are still available.

The Greater Chicago Cichlid Association has set up a section in their Classifieds for ACA 2010. You do not need to refister to see fish that sellers can bring for delivery at the convention, but you do need to register to post an ad for fish that you can bring for sale. Here are the links:

http://www.gcca.net/classifieds
http://www.gcca.net/classifieds_faq.html

Sellers are also posting fish for convention delivery on the ACA Trading Post forum: http://www.cichlid.org/forums/index.php?

See you in Milwaukee!

[tjudy]

The Olympia Resort is sold out for Saturday night, so if you are still planning on coming and staying at the convention hotel you should:

1) Go ahead and register for the other nights you want to be at the convention and get your name on the waiting list for Saturday night. Rooms will open up!

2) Make a reservation for the night at the overflow hotel:

Hilton Garden Inn Oconomowoc
1443 Pabst Farm Circle, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, USA 53066
Tel: 1-262-200-2222

When you call tell the clerk the date you want the room and that it is for the 'American Cichlid Association Convention'. The overflow hotel's rate for Saturday night is a little more than the Olympia's convention rate... but it is the only other hotel close by the convention. Reservations for the overflow must be made by July 10 to get the rate. So register for the room, and if you get a room from the waiting list at the Olympia cancel the room at the Hilton.

It is a GOOD thing the hotel is sold out! Lot's of people are coming to the show!

[tjudy]

It took way too much time and way too many changes, but here is the schedule of events... finally!

http://www.aca2010.com/wp-content/image ... events.pdf