Why is GWS2007 a “must” to attend?
- The George Wright Society Conference, which dates back to 1976, is the USA’s largest interdisciplinary professional conference on parks, protected areas, and cultural sites. It takes place only once every two years. For professionals working in national parks, other kinds of protected areas, and cultural sites, it is the country’s largest and most important meeting of its kind.
- Unlike the conferences of other professional societies, GWS2007 is not narrowly focused on a single discipline. It is is the only professional meeting that brings together the entire range of interests focused on parks: cultural and natural resource professionals, social scientists, educators and interpreters, administrators, museum professionals — if it’s relevant to parks, it’s at GWS2007.
- While the GWS Conference has never been limited to National Park Service employees, it has become solidly established as “the” professional conference for resource issues of concern to NPS. If you are an NPS resource professional, the GWS is a can’t-miss event.
- The GWS2007 program will be the largest and most diverse ever offered. There will be well over 100 sessions that cover virtually every resource-related topic in the realm of parks, protected areas, and cultural sites.
- The conference will have numerous presentations from people in various federal and state agencies, from outside the USA, from NGOs and other partner organizations, and from academia. Interchange among all these people provides fresh viewpoints and access to innovative thinking.
What will attendees take home with them?
- A sense of “connectedness” — to the peers in one’s discipline and to other parks in the National Park System and beyond. It is critical for resource professionals to keep up with the state-of-the-art in their discipline, and the easiest and most economical way to do that is to attend GWS2007. In addition, going to GWS2007 gives attendees a chance to see how their work fits in with what is going on elsewhere in the world of parks, protected areas, and cultural sites. This is especially important for people working in smaller parks or at isolated duty stations.
- A solid sense of the latest trends and innovations affecting parks.
- Practical solutions that can be applied immediately to problems at one’s home park or office. Many sessions at GWS2007 are oriented toward hands-on knowledge that managers can use in their daily work right away.
- Links to new colleagues — the GWS2007 is the premier place to meet others who do what you do.
Budgets are extra-tight — how can I cut my travel costs?
- Pick your airline carefully. The government fares you obtain through your normal channels may not be the cheapest available. You might do better booking a regular flight on the web.
- Stay over Saturday night. If you are planning on arriving Sunday, April 15, consider coming a day early. You might save enough on airfare to more than cover the extra night’s room charge and your food for another day. You can also beat the long registration lines by registering on Sunday afternoon.
- Consider a roomie. You can cut your hotel room costs in half by doubling up. If you don’t have someone to room with, call the GWS office at 1-906-487-9722 or email us at conferences@georgewright.org and we’ll put you in touch with others seeking roommates.
- Get exempted from the hotel room tax (if you are a federal employee). See how on our Lodging page.
- Skip the rental car. Downtown St. Paul is very walkable, everything you need is nearby, and with parking at the hotel running $20 a night, you’ll do much better to skip the rental.
- Cheap eats nearby. You can grab low-cost lunches at several places near the Crowne Plaza. There are also plenty of moderately priced places for dinner within close walking distance. We have maps on our enjoying the Twin Cities page.
