Solicitation for GHSA 2020 Annual Meeting

From: Jonathan Adkins
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 9:54 AM
Subject: Solicitation for GHSA 2020 Annual Meeting: Respond by May 1, 2017 

GHSA Members,

We are beginning the process of selecting a location for the GHSA Annual Meeting in 2020. As you know, in 2017 we are in Louisville. In 2018, we are in Atlanta and in 2019, we will be in Anaheim. The process for selecting the 2020 location is that states that are interested in hosting need to send me an e-mail by May 1 indicating where in their state the meeting would be held, what type of meeting space is available and what the typical hotel room rate is for late August/early September. If you would like more specifics about the hotel requirements, please contact Denise Alston (dalston@ghsa.org). If there are more than two states interested in hosting, the Annual Meeting Planning Committee Chairman will work with me to narrow the list to two. The two finalists will present their bids to the GHSA Executive Board June 6th or 7th at the Board’s regular summer meeting in Helena, Montana.

Following the Board’s decision, Denise Alston and I will visit the selected location this fall with the host state to look at hotels and off-site social venues. Our goal is to have a hotel contract signed by the end of 2017.

What’s involved in hosting the Annual Meeting? Financially, the state should plan to contract with GHSA for $50,000 for expenses including printing and security. The state will also have to pay for its staff and volunteers to attend the meeting and is strongly encouraged to send grantees to the conference. All of these expenses are 402 eligible. The state will also work with GHSA on a conference theme, speakers and activities for the conference. Additionally, the state staff will assist with on-site registration and logistics. The GHSA Annual Meeting Planning Guide is attached for reference.

How does the state benefit from hosting the Annual Meeting? There are many benefits. First, the state’s highway safety program gets significant exposure both statewide and nationally. The SHSO can also benefit from the prestige and economic benefits the state experiences from hosting a conference of this size. Some SHSO’s have been able to utilize the conference to build partnerships with other areas of state or local government that have otherwise been challenging to reach. The SHSO may also benefit from exposure to the wide-range of partners and sponsors that attend the conference.

If you have any questions about hosting the Annual Meeting, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or to Denise Alston.

Jonathan Adkins
Executive Director
Governors Highway Safety Association
202-789-0942, ext. 130
202-669-9746, cell
www.ghsa.org
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