Con runners of Earth, join us for...

SMOFCON 23

Portland, Oregon
December 2-4, 2005
Red Lion Convention Center Hotel

Theme: Expecting the Unexpected!

Files from Friday night's icebreaker:

• Hotel Analysis Summary
• Gingerbread Cottage at the Airport
• Innsmouth Downtown At the Docks
• Radison Red Spot
• Saturn Ring Mining Co.
• Toto's Retreat and Resort
• Trantor Hilton and Towers
• "Quoth the Patty" and Other Poems

What Is a SMOFcon?

SMOFcon is the annual gathering of the "Secret Masters Of Fandom," the people behind the scenes at your local Science Fiction conventions. For more info, see www.smofcon.org.

This convention is sponsored by Oregon Science Fiction Conventions, Inc. (OSFCI).

Last-Minute Info:

• A final(ish) program as of 11/28/05 is available.
• The restaurant guide John Lorentz put together for the Program Book is also available.
• John Lorentz has also provided a guide for using the light rail system to get from the airport to the hotel.

Committee:

David Schaber - Chair
John Lorentz - Treasurer
Ruth Sachter - Registration
Jen Contrares - Hotel
Debra Stansbury - Hospitality
Linda Pilcher - Publications
Patty Wells - Program
David Levine - Web Page

Hotel:

Our hotel is the Red Lion Hotel Portland - Convention Center, and the room rate is $69/night.

To make a reservation, you can:

• Call 1-800-343-1822 and ask for reservation with the SMOFcon discount, or
• Go to the website http://redlion.rdln.com/HotelLocator/HotelOverview.aspx?metaID=38 and use the group code SMOF1128.

Update October 26: It should now be possible to make a reservation at the convention rate via the hotel web site:

• Go to http://redlion.rdln.com/Reservations/MakeReservation.aspx.
• Scroll down to "Room block & group reservation" at the bottom of the page.
• Select your check-in and check-out dates.
• Enter the group block number SMOF1128.
• Select the hotel Red Lion Hotel Portland Convention Center.
• Click Find room block rates.

If this doesn't work, you can:

• Call the hotel (800-343-1822 or 503-235-2100)
• Send a fax to the hotel (503-238-0132)
  [In both cases above, be sure to use the "SMOF1128" group code to ensure that you receive the correct rate--$69 a night + tax.]
• If you cannot call the hotel or send a fax, send the pertinent information to our hotel liaison, Jen Contreras, at ory27treas@yahoo.com and she will call the hotel to make sure the reservation is in. (I don't know if she'll need to have your credit card information to confirm a reservation--ask her first before sending it.)

Nationally Known Meeting/Contracts Expert Added as SMOFcon Speaker:

The SMOFcon 23 committee is pleased to announce the addition of Tyra Hilliard as a keynote speaker at this year's SMOFcon.

Why a guest speaker for a SMOFcon, when it is normally con runners with expertise training other con runners? Good question. It was a new thought for me too. I have done program for a few SMOFcons before and never felt the need for an outside speaker. However, my perspective is different this year. Orycon and our gaming con lost the hotel we'd been in for well over a decade. I ended up taking point on hotel search and negotiation. This meant I spoke to a dozen hotels in the spring and gathered as much information on contracts as I could. It had been a few years since I had done this, and it became glaringly obvious to me that the chains are moving towards having more non-negotiable legal language and the financial consequences of some of the language that was presented to me are becoming higher all the time. There are very few professional meeting planners within fandom, and none who are in Ms. Hilliard's unique position of helping to plan the standards for contracts for years to come.

Ms. Hilliard will add to the theme of Expecting the Unexpected by delivering an interactive presentation that explains some attrition, cancellation, and force majeure language, including how to recognize bad contract language.

Below is a brief biography detailing Ms. Hilliard's accomplishments in the meeting and event planning industry.

TYRA W. HILLIARD, J.D., CMP is an associate professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, teaching courses in meeting and event management, including Meetings Law and Risk Management for Events. Tyra is a frequent contributor to meeting industry magazines, does customized training in the area of legal and risk management for meeting and event managers, and enjoys facilitating educational programs at industry group meetings. Tyra is currently the Chair of the Convention Industry Council's APEX Contracts Panel and Chair of the Professional Convention Management Association's Council on Education. She was named "One of the 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry" by MeetingNews magazine in 2004. Prior to embarking on a career in meetings education, Tyra worked in the meetings industry as an attorney, an association meeting planner, a catering manager, and a convention and visitors bureau sales manager. Her industry experience allows her to address the legal and business aspects of meeting planning from the very different perspectives of the hotel, the meeting planner, and the law.

SMOFcon is very grateful to San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions (SFSFC) and Seattle Westercon Organizing Committee (SWOC) for granting monies to help fund this speaker. And we are grateful to Tyra Hilliard for waiving her normal speakers honorarium for this event.

Tyra Hilliard is first rate and very well respected in the industry. She's also quite interested in how much we do as volunteer meeting planners. And even if you never plan to negotiate a contract, if you work on cons you need to know how difficult it can be to navigate through contracts and what we as convention planners are looking at in the future.

You will be impressed, I guarantee you.

-- Patty Wells

Registration:

Through October 31, 2005: $55.00 (US)
At the door: $70.00 (US)
Supporting Membership: $25.00 (US)

Please note: pre-registration will remain open past October 31, 2005, just the rate is changing.

To join,

• Print out and mail the membership form (Microsoft Word format). Make all checks payable to "SMOFcon 23."
• OR: Click here for online registration.

Mailed memberships should be received by November 21, 2005. After that please use the online membership form (preferably before November 30, 2005) or buy your membership at-con.

We will be accepting cash and checks at the con. Unfortunately we will not be able to take credit/debit cards at-con.

If you're sure you're coming and will be paying for your membership at the door, feel free to email smofconpdx@gmail.com to let us know.

Members (as of 11/27/05):

Please email smofconpdx@gmail.com if we need to change or correct your listing, and of course if you have purchased a membership and are not listed.

Terry Adams Kimm Antell Bobbi Armbruster Gene Armstrong Margaret Austin Renee Babcock Margene Bahm Stephanie L. Bannon (S) Kurt Baty Judy Bemis Beverly Block Gary S. Blog Kent Bloom Stephen Boucher Seth Breidbart Elaine Brennan James M. Briggs Carla Broggi Kimberlee Marks Brown Mark Burns Roberta L. Carlson Paul Carpentier Sandra Lynn Childress Michael Citrak Sue Ellen Colter (S) Steve Criss Debbie Cross Aaron G. Curtis James Stanley Daugherty Kathryn Daugherty Linda Deneroff Gay Ellen Dennett Vincent J. Docherty Bobbie DuFault Bruce Durocher

Martin Easterbrook Cecilia Eng David Evans Gary Feldbaum (S) Naomi Fisher Crickett Fox Pam Fremon David Gallaher Deb Geisler Janice Gelb Jerry Gieseke Glenn Glazer Don Glover Marc Gordon Ed Green Darrel L. Exline/The    ConFurence Group (S) Glen Gyldersleve Hal Haag Shouichi Hachiya Mrs. Kevin Standlee aka Lisa Hayes Jack Heneghan Mark Herrup Mike Higashi Phil Hilliard Tyra Hilliard Joyce Hooper Craige Howlett Andrew Nisbet III Jerry Kaufman (S) Rick Kovalcik Elspeth Kovar Grant Kruger Milton Le Ruth Leibig

David Levine Mark A. Linneman David Lohkamp John Lorentz Robert J. MacIntosh Rachael Madsen Jim Mann Laurie Mann Dave McCarty Martin McClure Christian McGuire Karen Meschke Craig Miller Sue Mohn Patrick Molloy Ted Monogue Mary Morman Liz Mortensen Jim Murray Aaron Nabil Michael Nelson Mary Olsen Mark L. Olson Priscilla Olson Margaret Organ-Kean Bill Parker Tony Edwin Parker Elayne Pelz Devlin Perez Linda Pilcher Michael Pinnick Michael Pins Gary L. Plumlee Daniel R. Reitman Sue Renhard

Susan Robinson Ruth Sachter John T. Sapienza Peggy Rae Sapienza Sharon Sbarsky Dave Schaber Andi Schecter Marah Searle-Kovacevic Ariel Shattan Kevin Standlee Ann Stansbury Debra Stansbury Ian E. Stockdale Geri Sullivan Becky Thomson Suzanne Tompkins Alexander von Thorn Barbara Van Tilburg Tom Veal René Walling William Warriner Marc Wells Patty Wells Roger Wells Tom Whitmore John Williamson Pam Wilsonsage Sally Woehrle Paul Wrigley Ben Yalow Kate Yule Scott Zrubek

And little birdies have told us to expect:

Jenn Contreras
Jane Dennis
Scott Dennis
Page Fuller
Jean Goddin
Erik V. Olson
John Piper
Melanie Schaber
Joyce Scrivner

Online Publications:

• Progress Report #1 (PDF format)
• Progress Report #2 (PDF format)

Contact Us:

Email:	smofconpdx@gmail.com
Postal:	SMOFcon 23 PO Box 5703 Portland OR 97228-5703
Phone:	503-283-0802
Mailing List:	To sign up for the SMOFcon Mailing List, send an email message saying subscribe smofcon to listserv@sflovers.org