X-Message-Number: 4373 Date: 08 May 95 09:46:04 EDT From: "Kent, Saul" <> Subject: Houston Conference I'm pleased that a cryonics/life extension group has formed in Houston. I'm also pleased that a conference is planned for next October. I plan to attend the conference and would be happy to promote it in LIFE EXTENSION MAGAZINE (LEM) through a newsletter called Life Extension Events. Each issue of LEM is sent to at least 30,000 people every month. As someone with considerable experience in putting together conferences, I have the following suggestions: 1) You *must* make your arrangements with a hotel as soon as possible. You have relatively little lead time and many hotels may already be completely booked for the dates you want. 2) I advise using a hotel near Houston International Airport. This will help those who fly in from out of town to attend the conference. 3) I suggest that you go to several hotels near the airport and get them to give you competitive rates for the conference. 4) I think it is important that you come up with a preliminary program for the conference by the end of May and a "final" program by the end of June. 5) I suggest get a get a brochure printed for the conference by no later than the end of July and that it be distributed to all pertinent groups and individuals immediately thereafter. 6) Before you have a brochure available, you should send notices of the conference, and opportunities to register for it, to all pertinent groups, forums, and individuals. 7) You should have tables/exhibit hall booths paid for by organizations and appropriate room for them. You need to start soliciting commitments from groups for these tables/exhibit hall booths right now. 8) It is also important to leave enough time on the program to enable registrants to visit the tables/exhibit hall booths. 9) I suggest you have one or more panel discussions at the conference. (I recently directed a conference that consisted *only* of panel discussions, which are sometimes more compelling than single speakers. 10) I suggest you have at least one microphone in the audience and that you leave enough time for questions from the audience after (and sometimes even during) presentations. Good luck. ---Saul Kent Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=4373