ITA Bulletin
The Bimonthly Newsletter of Indiana Telecommunications Association
February 2007
 

Spring Meeting, April 18-19, 2007

The Spring Meeting this year will be chaired by James Dauby, President & CEO, Perry-Spencer RTC. The meeting will be held at Swan Lake Golf Resort, Plymouth, Indiana. Jim met with his committee recently to develop the program, and as soon as speakers are confirmed, the program will be announced.

 

On Wednesday, April 18, golfers will play at the Indiana National Golf Club at Swan Lake. The Indiana National Golf Club is designed for the enjoyment of both seasoned golfers and those still learning the game. A 12 p.m. modified straight tee start will be preceded by lunch. Non-golfers will tour area attractions. A reception and banquet will be held that evening. 
 

The general session will begin on Thursday, April 19, and will include topics such as Disaster Preparedness, "Meth" Awareness, CALEA Update and a Legislative Update. After the general session, stick around to hear our luncheon speaker! 
 

Room reservations may be made in the ITA block prior to April 2 by calling 1-800-582-7539, using the group code 63735. Be sure to specify that you are reserving a room within the ITA block of preferred rooms in order to receive the group rate.

 

Sponsorships for the Spring Meeting Available

Sponsorship opportunities are available to all members and recognition of your generosity will be prominently displayed at the meeting, on programs and in advance publicity, when available. Sponsorships also provide goodwill and positive exposure for your company.  Download a Spring Meeting Sponsorship Form HERE.

 

ITA Membership Directory

The 2007 Membership Directory is being updated for distribution in April. If you have not already done so, please return the forms previously emailed to you as soon as possible or email any changes directly to office@itainfo.org. Remember, we try to include all individuals in the Directory who have contact with other ITA members in the regular course of business. Any individual from your company who serves on an ITA committee or has any other volunteer function within the ITA can and should be listed! The 2007 Directory will be going to the printer soon, so notify us of any changes as soon as possible.

 

Advertisements Available

Directory advertisements help to offset the costs of printing the Directory which is provide to ITA members at no charge. Advertisements in the Directory are offered to ITA members at bargain prices because ITA staff handles preparation of copy in-house. Full page advertisements and $375; half page ads at $275. The inside front cover of the Directory is still available for $625! To place an ad in the Membership Directory, please click HERE.

 

Midwest Expo Planning Begins
NEW DATE ANNOUNCED

It was recently brought to the attention of the Midwest Telecom Expo Committee that a national conference and expo placed their event directly on top of the dates of the Midwest Telecom Expo. In order to prevent this conflict, the Expo Committee has voted to move the dates of the Expo to OCTOBER 9-11, 2007. Exhibitors from last year’s Midwest Expo have already been offered the opportunity to place a temporary hold on preferred booth locations for the ‘07 show. At this time, 93 booths have been reserved for the Expo to be held October 9-11, 2007 at the  Grand Wayne Convention Center. Booth registration will be online and is expected to be available in late May.

 

Call for Expo Presentations Issued

If you are interested in making an Expo program presentation, please submit a written proposal to krista@itainfo.org by March 10. The proposal MUST contain an outline of the presentation, the targeted audience, benefits to attendees and the length of the presentation in minutes. Click HERE for more information.
 

The Expo Committee, chaired by Louis Mize, ElectriCom, requires that all presentations be educational not sales oriented, jargon free, and have a timely topic. The Expo Committee will meet next month to develop the Expo educational program. All proposals submitted by the deadline and containing the requited information will be considered.

 

Expo Sponsorships

The Midwest Expo also provides opportunities to increase company visibility to attendees from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois through Sponsorships. An Expo Sponsorship Opportunity order form is available HERE!

 

Annual Convention

The 2007 Convention will be held June 19-21, 2007 at fabulously remodeled French Lick Resort Casino. Visit their website to see the wonderful, first-class historic renovation: www.frenchlick.com. The Convention Committee, chaired by Anita Fledderman, Marketing Manager, Enhanced Telecommunications, met recently to put in motion the program for 2007. It’s shaping up to be an interesting and informative, not to mention fun, meeting.

 

The convention provides many opportunities to increase visibility for your company through sponsorships. Please consider sponsoring an event at the annual convention! The Convention Sponsorship Opportunities form can be downloaded HERE.

 

New Administrative Assistant at ITA

Nicole Manansala has recently joined the ITA staff as an Administrative Assistant. Nicole is a former Teacher’s Assistant from Orange County, California. Nicole resides with her boyfriend Tony Cuellar who currently works for Citizens Gas in the quality assurance department. Though a new resident of Indiana, she is delighted to call Indiana “home.” Nicole says, “I look forward to meeting and working with all of you.”

An Invitation From Mayor Richard to the Killer App Expo
Mayor Graham Richard of Fort Wayne extends an enthusiastic personal invitation to all ITA members to attend “an exciting event in the field of communications” — the first Killer App Expo & Conference at the Grand Wayne Center, April 30 to May 2. On display will be a wide array of new applications designed to run on high-speed networks, including apps in the fields of entertainment, telemedicine, videoconferencing, home office, and many others “relevant to telecommunications companies.”  Some apps will be presented by independent telcos now involved in new applications initiatives, such as a session on electronic medical records (EMR). 

Complimentary VIP Registrations And Discounts
The following special offers apply to all companies and individuals who are ITA members: The first 30 ITA members to register for the Killer App Expo will receive complimentary admissions. After the first 30 registrations, the price for the three-day event will be $75 until April 1. On April 1, the price goes from $75 to $150. To register, visit www.KillerAppExpo.com and use the VIP Code: CHITA.

(Associate/Vendor members may use the VIP Code AVITA for a $50 discount off the Full Conference - Non-Government rates before and after April 1. For exhibitor information, visit www.KillerAppExpo.com) 

Other Benefits to ITA Members
The co-host and producer of the Killer App Expo is Broadband Properties magazine, a publication for “Building the Fiber-Connected Community.” ITA attendees at the Expo will receive $100 off the price of admission to the annual Broadband Properties Summit in September, to be held in Dallas.

If you'd like to submit information for the newsletter, please email
Krista Edstene at krista@itainfo.org.
Be sure to put ITA Newsletter in the subject line.