“Super-sized” in Sunny San Francisco

We are beat,” quipped one staff member, then in the next breath, “but at least we’re upbeat!” That was the general feeling of the Headquarters staff upon its return from SNAME’s largest, and indisputably best, Annual Meeting in over 10 years. In the vernacular of the day, the World Maritime Technology Conference was a ‘super-sized’ conference and exposition. For those who attended this year’s meeting in sunny San Francisco you already know this, but for those who didn’t, we’d like to share some of our successes with you. Just to highlight a sampling:

1. Largest and most diverse technical program at an Annual Meeting ever (nearly 150 papers and presentations),
2. Largest exposition ever (175 booths),
3. Largest number of exhibitors re-signed on site for next year (98),
4. Largest amount of sponsorship money contributed for an Annual Meeting by a factor of three ($45,000),
5. Largest number of walk-in visitors to the exposition in six years (500),
6. Largest percentage of online registrations ever (62%),
7. Largest total of registrants in over six years (800),
8. Largest number of attendees enrolled in the Annual Meeting courses by a factor of two (60),
9. Largest Annual Meeting planned in the shortest timeframe (22 months),
10. Largest media coverage and promotion of a SNAME event ever,
11. Best sales at the registration booth in six years ($75,000),
12. Best sales at the SNAME publications booth ever ($13,000),
13. Best overall attendance in six years (1300),
14. Best weather for an Annual Meeting,
15. First time 12 marine societies have assembled in one place for a conference,
16. First time ever for seven paper tracks at an Annual Meeting,
17. First time ever for so many panel discussions at an Annual Meeting,
18. First time the Ship Production Symposium, which significantly contributed to the attendance this year, has been an integral part of the Annual Meeting,
19. First time ever for an independent student paper track at an Annual Meeting,
20. First time ever for producing the entire Annual Meeting on one CD ROM,
21. First time ever we have successfully produced three CDs and a revised book for the opening day of an Annual Meeting,
22. First time ever the HQ staff has taken all of the photographs at an Annual Meeting,
23. First time ever we have sold the entire room block one month before the start of the Annual Meeting,
24. First time ever we have created a ‘Steering Committee’ to assist in the planning and strategy of the Annual Meeting,
25. Successfully initiated and perpetuated the World Maritime Technology Conference, which will be hosted by IMarEST in London in March 2006 and
26. Successfully created a partnership with Maritime Reporter magazine, which significantly contributed to the increased attendance and overall success of the WMTC exposition.

Our thanks again must be extended to the SNAME staff and to countless members who volunteered their considerable time and talent to make the first ever World Maritime Technology Conference a super-sized success and model for future such conferences around the world in the years to come. Now after that shouldn’t we all be “upbeat?”