2009_01_summary

The planning committee met at Dave & Buster's in Homestead to review the 2008 conference and begin planning the 2009 event. Brian Lang from the Pittsburgh Technology Council share some key points about the 2008 conference:
 * The conference had a small growth in total attendance from 2007.
 * The number of vendors increased providing $22,650 in revenue.
 * The cost for producing the event increased due to additional costs for food and room space.
 * The event margin was $13,890, not counting the costs for the Pittsburgh Technology Council to manage the event.

Brian also shared the results from the 2008 vendor survey. Fourteen out of twenty-five vendors completed the survey. Key findings from the survey:
 * There was an overall 3.5 rating on a scale of 1-5.
 * The vendors found the Council Staff very professional.
 * There was overall satisfaction with the registration process.
 * There was overall satisfaction with the venue and time of the event.
 * There was a mixed reaction to the quality of the event.
 * 50% of the vendors discovered the event through email.

Several vendors provided additional comments. The one common issue revolved around giving participants more time to spend with the vendors.

The committee members brainstormed some ideas for the 2009 event. The committee decided to:
 * 1) Keep the event in November at the Learning Alliance
 * 2) Look at the possibility of using the ballroom for vendors to increase contact time
 * 3) Investigate ways to market a virtual component to IUs where teachers and staff members may not be able to attend in person
 * 4) Increase the attendance of the evening session by offering vendor presentations
 * 5) Develop a poster for distribution before the summer break in June
 * 6) Mobilize more participants by using an Obama style campaign of personal contacts by committee members