Happy New Year!  I trust everyone is beginning with a new set of goals for the new year. If you are like me, the major theme in each goal involves change. Well, at NEWEA, things are no different.

I hope an item on the top of the list is to finalize your plans for the 2010 NEWEA Annual Conference & Exhibit to be held January 24-27 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place Hotel. We hope you will join us and make this year even more successful than last year, which had a record 1,700 attendees and 181 exhibit booths displaying the latest products and services for the wastewater environment industry. Over the last year, there have been numerous dedicated volunteers striving to improve NEWEA, and this year several changes will enhance the Annual Conference!

First, we are delighted that over the last year the Boston Marriott Copley Hotel has undergone major renovations to the first and second floors, and guest rooms that will provide a new and improved look and overall feel to the conference. The meeting management team worked directly with hotel staff to incorporate changes in order to accommodate the conference’s needs.

Second, the meeting management committees (Program, Exhibits, Conference Arrangements, Registration, and Manufacturer’s Rep.) have been hard at to incorporate changes for this year's conference.  These include:

• New registration booth location on the 4th floor

• Improved Exhibit Hall Floor Plans with two halls interconnected via an internal stairwell.

• Increased networking opportunities with a Meet & Greet on both Monday and Tuesday night in the Exhibit Area.

• A technical program packed with 30 sessions, poster session and a tour that cover the spectrum of our current industry issues.

• Improved Wednesday format with an Exhibit Hall lunch, earlier Awards Ceremony and less downtime.

Planning and running a conference of this magnitude with a volunteer organization takes many dedicated individuals and countless hours. As this is my last conference as Meeting Management Director, I would be remiss if I did not recognize some of these tremendous individuals. I also invite each conference attendee to take the time to thank each of these NEWEA leaders on the Meeting Management Team and all their committee members for their hard work. The Meeting Management Team is as follows:

Ron Tiberi is the master orchestrator and negotiator in his conference arrangements role. Ron, a committee of one, is a tremendous asset and does an exceptional job at leveraging value from the hotels we work with. Jason Waterbury, has embraced the challenging task of managing placement and dealing with the needs of the exhibitors. Matt Formica, in his second year, has led the Program Committee in putting together an outstanding program packed with technical content. Registration Chair Dana Green and Vice Chair Meg Tabaksco work the front desk along with their dedicated committee members to organize all the packets and greet the registrants upon arrival. Tim Bezler works with the manufacturers and represents their concerns and suggestions to continue improvement of the conference. Finally, NEWEA staff Elizabeth, Janice and Linda work with every committee to make the conference happen. I applaud you for all your efforts.

We hope that you will find the changes to the 2010 Annual Conference positive ones and that they will enhance your experience at the show! See you all in Boston!