Fall Conference Keynote Speakers

We’ve got a couple of wonderful keynote speakers lined up for the Fall Conference. The opening keynote speaker, Ken Schmidt, will be speaking from 8:45-9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 30. Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger will deliver the closing keynote speech on Thursday, October 2 from 10:30-11:15 a.m.

Read on to find out a bit about these men and what they have to offer you during their presentations:

Ken Schmidt, a specialist in corporate positioning and media relations, started his own business, Ken Schmidt Company, in 1999. That was, however, after spending 12 years working for Harley-Davidson and two years in partial-ownership of Chicago-based VCA Partners marketing firm. Beginning in 1985, Ken worked with Harley-Davidson to successfully restore the company’s image and increase sales. He also became the company’s director of corporate and financial communications and served as its spokesperson to media and financial communities. From 1997 to mid-1999, Ken’s time with VCA Partners allowed him to work with brands such as General Motors, Coca-Cola, IBM and Campbell’s Soup. Ken now speaks to business groups and academic communities around the world, sharing his philosophy on business and life: “Never do what’s expected, make yourself as noticeably different as possible, and have a lot more fun than you’re supposed to.”

Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger is probably best known for his work on the University of Notre Dame football field, where in the last 27 seconds of the only play in the only game of his college football career, he sacked the quarterback of the opposing team. The story of his dream to play football for the Fighting Irish and the obstacles he encountered along the way became the subject of the major motion picture “Rudy”. Since then, Rudy has become a motivational speaker, co-authored several books and appeared in print media as well as television shows such as CBS Good Morning, ABC Good Morning America, NBC Talk Live and Entertainment Tonight. He has recently established the Rudy Foundation, whose mission is to help children of all ages around the world reach their full potential. Today, Rudy entertains corporate audiences, students and athletes alike with his motivational “Yes I Can” message.

Make sure you attend both of these inspirational and motivational presentations!

BICSI's Gone Green!

We’re doing our part to reduce our conference waste and are inviting you to take part in the go green initiative.

Did you know that, according to a study by Meeting Strategies Worldwide, a typical five-day conference for 2,500 attendees will use more than 90,000 cans or bottles, 750,000 cups and 87,500 napkins. Additionally, on average a 10’x10’ exhibit booth generates 35 pounds of waste. That means a tradeshow of 300 booths can easily generate 1 million pounds of waste!

BICSI is committed to changing those statistics. Here are a few ways we are reducing our carbon footprint at the Fall Conference:

- USB flash drives to replace loose paper stuffed in the attendee bags
- The Tradeshow Wayfinder
- Organic conference totes
- Final Announcement made available digitally
- Refillable sports bottles with water stations instead of bottled water
- Less printed materials at the conference
- Use of recycled paper for printed materials

And this is just the beginning! Look for more Earth-friendly changes in the future, such as placing recycling bins in high-traffic areas throughout the conference and biodegradable cups and napkins in the Exhibit Hall.

Join us in our mission to go green! Here are a few links to tips and ideas to do your part in saving our planet:

- Go Green! monthly newsletter (from the EPA)
- TreeHugger.com
- The Green Life blog from the Sierra Club—also check out The Green Life's 10 Ways to Go Green at Work.

The Future is Green. The Future is BICSI.

Fall Conference Firsts Continue

To go along with the previous entry, here are two more amazing things to look forward to with the 2008 Fall Conference:

1. The Exhibit Hall has moved this year. It is now located in the beautiful new 92,000-square-foot Marquee Ballroom, offering wireless Internet access and plenty of space for both attendees and exhibitors.

2. If you are not yet a BICSI member, when you register for the Fall Conference as a nonmember, you will receive a complimentary one year membership. You can’t beat that! Find out all of the benefits you will receive just by being a BICSI member by clicking here.

We are excited, and we hope you are, too!

Do you have a question about the Fall Conference? Ask it here, and we will happily answer! We look forward to hearing from you. You can also find answers to many questions by visiting the FAQ page of the Fall Conference Web site.

New for the 2008 Fall Conference—What’s New? What’s It Do?

Technology is an ever-changing entity that adapts to its users wants and needs, and so is BICSI. To go along with a slew of seminars, speakers and sessions, this conference marks the introduction of What’s New? What’s It Do?

What’s New? What’s It Do? replaces the former Product Forum Theater in the Exhibit Hall. Representatives from 24 ITS companies will deliver short, informative presentations about their latest business products and solutions.

Here’s where it gets even more fun! To go along with the conference theme “Your Passport to ITS Education!”, when you visit these presentations you will receive your own personal passport to go on an adventure around the Exhibit Hall and get it stamped by all the participating exhibitors.

Once the passport is fully stamped, race back and drop it off at the What’s New? What’s It Do? area, where you will be entered into a random drawing to win one of 24 American Express or Visa gift cards!

Now, who couldn’t use one of those?

The session times for What’s New? What’s It Do? are:
- Monday, September 29, 5:30-6 p.m. and 6:30-7 p.m.
- Tuesday, September 30, 5:30-6 p.m. and 6:30-7 p.m.

We hope you’re just as excited as we are for this event!

Welcome to the 2008 BICSI Fall Conference Blog!

As we count down to the 2008 BICSI Fall Conference at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, it seems appropriate for our organization to extend the reach of our communication efforts past fliers, Web sites, e-mails and snail mail to a truly fascinating and valuable Internet tool: the blogosphere.

BICSI strives to share information and educate individuals while incorporating the most up-to-date technologies. Therefore, we are thrilled to be utilizing social media to bring our attendees information regarding BICSI conferences. Feel free to leave comments, ask questions and check back frequently for updates. You can also subscribe to the RSS Feed. Let’s all work together to make this year’s Fall Conference a memorable event!