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 Previous: ARRL Headquarters Responding to Hurricane Katrina on Several Fronts |  Next: Director/Vice Director Elections Set in Three ARRL Divisions |
NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 8, 2005--AMSAT-NA has announced that it's canceling the 2005 AMSAT Symposium, which had been set to take place October 7-9 in Lafayette, Louisiana. The AMSAT-NA Board of Directors made the difficult decision during a teleconference session September 6.
"We regret that Symposium will not be held this year," AMSAT-NA President Rick Hambly, W2GPS, said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims on the Gulf Coast who are now relocated to Lafayette and surrounding states." Hambly noted that thousands of Gulf Coast evacuees are now housed in Lafayette's hotels and other accommodations for the near future. The AMSAT Board of Directors and membership meetings as well as an Eagle Team meeting planned for the same weekend are being rescheduled.
In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, AMSAT had announced the Symposium was still on, but once the enormity of the disaster became clear, the organization began looking into relocating the gathering to an alternate site. AMSAT says it explored a number of options, such as Baltimore-Washington, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Orlando, Tampa, San Francisco and Tulsa. Several AMSAT teams also looked into whether the Symposium could be moved on short notice.
"This required finding appropriate hotel facilities and putting local host committees together to coordinate Symposium at each potential location," AMSAT said in a statement announcing the cancellation. "It became obvious that with less than five weeks before the Symposium was scheduled to take place, there would be insufficient time to make a successful change in location."
Changing the Symposium dates was considered impractical too, since attendees typically must schedule their leave time well in advance, and most individuals already have commitments for other weekends.
Hambly said the Board also was concerned that attempting to relocate on such short notice would impact the quality of the Symposium. He also expressed appreciation to AMSAT members who suggested potential new locations.
AMSAT Vice President for Marketing and User Services Barry Baines, WD4ASW, said, "Clearly, these volunteers have worked very hard to find an alternative site and would have done their best to host a Symposium. Unfortunately, time is working against us." The Board thanked Nick Pugh, K5QXJ, for "the extensive work that he has done to plan for the Lafayette Symposium and to his team for organizing what would have been an excellent Symposium in Louisiana."
The AMSAT Board of Directors called on members to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort and expressed the wish that those who had planned to attend will donate a portion of their costs of attending to one of the organizations aiding the relief effort on the Gulf Coast.
AMSAT now is processing refunds to those who already registered for the event, and checks will be sent to individuals whose fees have been processed; unprocessed checks will be returned. For registrants who registered on line using a credit card, AMSAT says those charges will be destroyed.
AMSAT advised attendees holding reservations at the Holiday Inn to cancel their reservations prior to their scheduled arrival date to avoid first-night room charges. Since the Holiday Inn in Lafayette has been experiencing telephone problems, AMSAT says it may be best to contact the Holiday Inn Reservation Center (888-HOLIDAY) or use the Holiday Inn Web site, provided the individual has a reservation confirmation number.
Recognizing that most 2005 Symposium attendees have already purchased non-refundable airline tickets to Louisiana, the organization notes that carriers may apply the value of non-refundable tickets to a future flight, provided cancellation occurs prior to the original flight date. Other restrictions on making changes to non-refundable reservations may also apply. AMSAT notes that some airlines have waived change fees for altering a flight associated with current reservations into New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette.
The 2006 AMSAT-NA Symposium will be held in the San Francisco Bay area. Details, including exact dates and location, will be announced as they become available. AMSAT advises those holding airline reservations for the Lafayette gathering to hold off making changes until details of the 2006 Symposium have been announced.
| Previous: ARRL Headquarters Responding to Hurricane Katrina on Several Fronts | Next: Director/Vice Director Elections Set in Three ARRL Divisions |
