We are Sheila A. Arens, Stephanie Fuentes, and Antonio Olmos,members of the Colorado Evaluator’s Network (COEN) and the Local Arrangements Work Group (LAWG). We are honored to be hosting the upcoming 2014 AEA Conference in Denver! The LAWG is comprised of members from the COEN community who are working on a number of subcommittees to make your conference professionally and personally gratifying. When you are in the registration area, stop by the information desk and say hello. Volunteers will be available to provide information about the area and provide advice about nearby restaurants (for fast Mexican, try Colorado’s own Chipotle), coffee shops (Dazbog is a local favorite), and the like. They may also share some fascinating Denver facts [Denver brews over 200 different beers daily—more than any other city in the nation or warn you about “zombies” roaming downtown October 18th, when Denver hosts the world’s largest Zombie Crawl (we couldn’t make this up if we tried!)].
Hot Tip: Downtown Denver is teeming with places to stay and things to do. Check out the searchable Colorado Convention Center site for housing options. With the support of COEN the LAWG created guides about the Denver area that provide information about Denver restaurants, public transportation, and suggestions for activities. Electronic versions of these can be accessed via the AEA 2014 Conference websiteor directly via the following links:Guide to Denver, Dining in Denver, Events in Denver, and Visiting Boulder. If you have questions at the Conference, look for COEN members (and our local friends) identifiable by their “Denver” badges.
First Time Attendee Tip: In the registration area pick up a First Time Attendee ribbon for your name tag! This is a great way to meet veteran and fellow first-time attendees. And be on the lookout for evaluators wearing a “Conference Ambassador” ribbon who have volunteered to answer your questions.
International Attendee Tip: The LAWG International subcommittee is working with the International and Cross Cultural Evaluation (ICCE) TIG to connect evaluators from other parts of the globe with U.S.-based evaluators (buddies). There will be an informal opportunity for buddies to share a meal immediately after the ICCE TIG business meeting on Thursday, October 16th.
Need More Information? The AEA Conference website has other useful information about the conference, including a conference schedule, searchable program, information on pre-sessions, accommodations, and even more conference activities.
We’re looking forward to October and the Evaluation 2014 annual conference all this week with our colleagues in the Local Arrangements Working Group (LAWG). Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to contribute to aea365? Review the contribution guidelines and send your draft post to aea365@eval.org.