yes Arts center of Cannon County

Robert Boyer wrote:
> As most of you know, the Board has been hard at work on planning for 
> our first showcase/booking conference which is scheduled to occur 
> Sunday - Tuesday, November 8-10, 2008. The showcase and trade show 
> functions would happen Sunday and Monday, while presenters would stay 
> through Tuesday for the fall booking meeting.
>
> We are at a go/no go decision point and there has been some discussion 
> about the economic feasibility of the conference as planned. Even with 
> our best and most creative efforts to keep costs down, this is still 
> an expensive endeavor and before we sign any contracts with anyone, we 
> need to have a feel for what you as presenters and agents can support. 
> While we expect participation from a number of (as yet) non-member 
> presenters and agencies, you folks will be the core upon which we 
> would depend to not go in the hole on this first attempt. We also hope 
> to attract more Tennessee presenters as members through this conference.
>
> Accordingly, we need some feedback now.
>
> I'm going to describe the concept of the conference to you and include 
> some projected registration and meal fees. I need you to say whether 
> your organization can support attendance under these parameters, I'll 
> repeat, *your response is critical, so please take a minute to read 
> this over and tell us whether you could attend this conference.*
>
> The plan is to host the conference at the Niswonger Performing Arts 
> Center and the General Morgan Inn & Conference Center in Greeneville, 
> TN, about halfway between Knoxville and Bristol, just south of I-81. 
> Both facilities, as is most of downtown, is wi-fi ready. The General 
> Morgan is a historic hotel, recently renovated, and top-of-the-line in 
> both accommodations and food. NPAC is a state-of-the-art 1100 seat PAC 
> several blocks away, but still within walking distance.
>
> We are planning for 30 showcases over a 2 day period, with tables for 
> 30 agencies/artists representatives to be available in the lobby of 
> NPAC. There will be no "trade show" feel to this setup; agents will be 
> free from shipping and setting up displays and materials, presenters 
> free from having to lug around bags full of printed materials. Rather, 
> everyone will show up with their wireless laptops and do business off 
> of their websites.
>
> We are hoping to have Dixie Carter and/or Hal Holbrook as featured 
> speakers on Monday evening (subject to Lee Warren's ability to 
> convince her/them to speak to us). We have a shuttle arranged to 
> convey folks between the venues in the event of bad weather. We have 
> state of the art facilities for this conference.
>
> However. These things cost money and while for agencies and artists, 
> we are working to keep total costs (travel/hotel/food/conference 
> fees/showcase fees, etc) for attendance below that of other statewide 
> showcase conferences, the fact of the matter is that travel to 
> Greeneville will be expensive. Larry Kosson of SMG has investigated 
> some flights from northeastern cities and notes that most round-trip 
> tickets are in the range of $400. On the presenter side, there are the 
> considerations of travel time (especially from west Tennessee) to 
> Greeneville, and the cost of registration, meals and hotel.
>
> To insure our success, we need presenters to see the artists who 
> showcase and we need the artists and agencies to showcase for us. This 
> has to make economic sense (especially for the showcasing artists who 
> will have significant travel costs) for everyone. So let us know if it 
> does for you. So look over your calendar, look over these proposed 
> conference costs, and let us know by noon Tuesday, January 8 if you 
> can commit to attending this conference.
>
> Proposed Conference Fees and Meal/Hotel Costs:
>
> Conference Registration
> Presenter (TN Presenter member): $75
> Artist/Agency Representative: $200
>
> Showcasing
> Showcase Fee: $200
> Showcase Application Fee: $25
>
> Meals & Hotel
> Meals & Reception: $150/person
> Hotel Rooms: $85 single or double per night plus taxes
>
> *Please respond Monday or Tuesday with a yes or no as to your 
> ability/interest in attending such a function this fall. *We are fully 
> aware of why some may choose to attend as well as choose not to; no 
> explanations are necessary.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Bob
>
>
> Robert Boyer
> Patten Performances Director
> UTC Fine Arts Center
> www.utc.edu/finearts
> 423.425.4379