 |
 |
I sure do hope you have signed up to attend the TLA Annual Conference in Knoxville next week. If you haven't yet, you still have time. Just visit the TLA website at www.tnla.org For those of you who have registered, there are several things I sort of know that you might want to know: You were sent a link to the conference program Sched. This web site has the conference schedule and tons of extra information. We just got a hot tip that the TLA Conference is also accessible on the Sched app! Just search for TNLA! Sched also contains the link for the UT-K/SIS Alumni reception on Wednesday. Tickets are still available for the Children's/Young Adults Lunch featuring J. Kasper Kramer, the Trustee and Friends Lunch featuring Mary Pom Claiborne and the All Conference Reception at theEast Tennessee History Center. And while we are talking about tickets, we still have a few seats available in our four pre-conference sessions on Tuesday. For more information, just send me an email. The Scholarship Committee is still accepting donations for their annual Silent Auction. The auction supports the Dr. Gleaves Memorial Scholarship Fund. Be sure and check out the donations at the auction, which will be set up in the Exhibit Hall. And speaking of Exhibits, we have 24 vendors participating this year that are very eager to see you andhelp you spend those end of the year allocations. Be sure and visit the Exhibit Hall and thank them for attending and supporting TLA. Covid protocols for the conference are as follows: Masks are not required in the Knoxville Convention Center. The Conference Committee chose a color-coded armband system for your convenience to communicate your comfort levels with fellow attendees. The armbands are available at the Registration Counters along with explanations on the color coding system (red, yellow, or green). If you are staying at the conference hotel, first and foremost, thank you! Meeting that room block helps us save money and plan for future conferences. You may know that the hotel went through a major renovation recently and is now a Marriott property. They are honoring the contract we had with the previous owner, Holiday Inn with one exception - parking. The Marriott only offers valet parking. The Marriott is currently offering us half off the valet rate of $28 daily. I am trying to negotiate this rate lower, but for now, you need to plan on parking being $14 daily. There is a lot one block over that is self park and the daily rate is $7. If you would like information on that lot, let me know. Final thing - your Conference Planning Committee is working very hard behind the scenes to make this conference an amazing opportunity for you. PLese take the time to say thank you to them for their efforts! Whew - that was a whole bunch of stuff! My fingers are tired now! If you have any questions about the conference, just email me or our Conference Chair Jamie Osborn at [log in to unmask] I look forward to seeing you next week! Cathy Cathy M Farley Executive Director Tennessee Library Association PO Box 6297 Sparta, TN 38583 931-607-1182 [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>