NECA Blog

All The Latest News from NECA

Oct 02

NECA’s Not Shutting Down — Neither is DC!

from washington.org

Despite a partial government shutdown, DC still brims with exciting activities

Even though Washington, D.C. is experiencing a partial government shutdown, many of the city’s most popular attractions, such as the International Spy Museum and Newseum, are still for business, as is Metro rail and bus service to get around town.

Visitors can still tour famous D.C. monuments by Segway and bike, or enjoy the Moonlight Monument Tour by trolley. Artistic alternatives to the National Gallery of Art  include the Phillips Collection and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Many area attractions, tours and restaurants are also offering deals and discounts throughout the government shutdown, including yoga studios and gyms. There’s no cover for the Dueling Pianos show at Bobby McKey’s at the National Harbor either.

Everything you need to know about what attractions, public transportation and venues that are happily open for visitors and locals is available on washington.org!

Read more >>

Sep 19

No, It’s Not Too Late to Add a Pre-Convention Workshop to Your Registration!

Congratulations to you for taking full advantage of the education available at NECA 2012 Las Vegas! It’s easy to add a pre-convention workshop, special session, extra Opening Reception tickets or a tour to your existing registration. Pre-convention workshops run Friday, Sept. 28-Saturday, Sept. 29, and tours are scheduled throughout the event.

You can add pre-convention workshops and tours to your existing registration online or call Katie at 301-215-4506 for help.

If you want to make the changes to your registration online, follow these steps:

1. Visit the 2012 Las Vegas registration page: https://www2.cmrreg.com/neca_c3/ (Click on Attendee Registration button at the top right of the NECA Convention website.)

2. Scroll down to “Already Registered?” You will be prompted to enter the confirmation number and email address included in your registration confirmation you should have received by email. Click “Resend Your Confirmation” if you can’t locate your original confirmation email.

3. Click “Review or Change Your Registration.” Your registration contact information will be displayed.

4. Click through the pages until you reach “Pre-Conference Workshops.” Select any workshops you would like to add to your registration.

5. Click through the pages to see if you need to update any other information. The cart at the top of the page will display any items you have added.

6. Click “Update Registration” once you’re finishing reviewing. You will receive an email confirmation of your additional registration items and billing information.

That’s it!

Jul 05

More about Mandalay Bay

It’s been 14 years since NECA brought its annual convention and trade show to Las Vegas, well before Mandalay Bay opened its doors. We thought you’d like to know a little more about where you’ll be for the electrical industry’s favorite annual event!

NECA 2012 Las Vegas will be the first convention held in a single location, with housing and meeting facilities under the same roof – but what a location it is! Two hotels, the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino and TheHotel, book-end the convention center. Each hotel tower is magnificent with its own unique style and room accommodations. Both hotels are large enough to host industry events like NECA, but intimidate and family-oriented so that everyone will enjoy their time at NECA 2012 Las Vegas.

The Mandalay Bay Convention Center opened its doors as the fifth-largest convention facility in the United States, and the largest meeting facility located on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.

The entire Mandalay Bay complex – from hotel to special resort features to meeting and event rooms – are luxurious without pretention. The clubs, restaurants, casino and outdoor water activities are amazing here.  Owing to the outsized nature of Mandalay Bay, it’s possible to really never leave and yet be fully entertained.

If you do want to hit the Strip or check out some of the city’s other sights, see visitlasvegas and Las Vegas Monorail website on getting around the city. You should also check out the NECA 2012 Las Vegas special tours and excursions.

Sep 16

Why San Diego?

By Andy Berg, Executive Manager, San Diego County Chapter, NECA

Every year at the Association Executives’ Institute, the chapter manager for the NECA Convention host city – AEI is always held in the same city, usually six months prior to the convention – is asked to give a brief introduction to the area.

Most of us have learned to include the phrase, “No, I cannot help you get baseball playoff tickets.”  Of course, this year I didn’t even have to worry about that.

Since you won’t be heading over to PetCo Park to watch a World Series game,  you can spend some of your time in San Diego thinking about what you want your company’s future to look like.  Chances are, it’s going to look a lot different than its past.

San Diego and the state of California have been on the leading edge of the green energy revolution which makes it entirely appropriate that NECA’s first-ever Energy Forum will be held in our fine city.  That’s where I will be on Saturday, Oct. 22, and you should be there as well to learn about everything from Utility Grade Wind Power to Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, and even financing options for your customers that want to “go green.” Starting Sunday morning, Oct. 23, please make sure to spend time at the NECA Show where almost 300 exhibitors will be on hand to show the latest and greatest tools and technological advancements to help make your business more successful.

Don’t worry; you will have plenty of time to explore America’s Finest City and some of its world-famous attractions such as the San Diego Zoo, Sea World and my favorite, the Wild Animal Park.  If you are looking for a great restaurant, San Diego has hundreds of them. Perhaps the easiest way to find one is just to walk up 5th Avenue into the Gaslamp District and read the menus posted in front.  You cannot go wrong eating at any restaurant on 5th Avenue.  For you golfers out there, no trip to San Diego would be complete without playing a round at Torrey Pines. But if you don’t want to challenge the course the pros play on, there are many other alternatives less than 30 minutes from your hotel.

One other thought on how to spend your free time:  Since the Opening Reception aboard the USS Midway is going to give convention-goers a behind-the-scenes look at the ship you wouldn’t ordinarily get on a standard tour, consider using free time you may have to take the water taxi to visit sites across the San Diego Bay, like the Hotel Del Coronado. You can pick up the water taxi from the terminal right behind the Convention Center or just stroll along the Bay’s pathways and bridges for a breath of fresh air.

Actually, NECA 2011 San Diego promises to be big breath of fresh air for everyone. Our industry has gone through a lot in past few years, and I always appreciate spending time with my colleagues from across the country who can give me a different perspective and some new ways of thinking about our work.  And although the nearest baseball playoff game will be in neighboring Arizona, I am sure that you will still enjoy the Convention and your stay in San Diego.  Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help make that so.

 Check out other special NECA 2011 San Diego tours >>