A last thank you

Friday was my first night back to work after ACES, and I tried to use the time off as a complete break. So now that I'm back, I just wanted to thank everyone just one more time for all your work and contributions big and small. It all went off hitch-free on our end (or at least appeared so!) It was such a pleasure getting to know all of you, and I hope we stay in touch. As the editing and communications world remakes itself, there is safety in numbers.

There was some talk about building on ACES and trying for a Twin Cities or Upper Midwest chapter. Any interest? I am going to leave this blog up for a bit if you want to comment on that one way or another.

Thanks again!

Want to help ACES and get some writing experience?

David Sullivan of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the newsletter editor, sent out this note Wednesday. I think I might be blogged out from the conference prep and city guide.:

From: Sullivan, David [dsullivan@phillynews.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 6:01 PM

Friends of ACES,

I am delighted that we will be seeing each other and many of our friends at the conference. It will be smaller than past years, but what isn't, except my belt size?

As I know you to be longtime friends of ACES I am coming to you, albeit very late in the game, to see if you would be willing to do some reporting for the newsletter and for online coverage. Each year we have an overview story, reports on three or four sessions, and interviews with the winners of the prizes -- Robinson, Glamann, and Aubespin.

I am hoping that some (most? all?) of you would be willing to undertake one of these assignments, and also we are looking for people to write online about sessions that we will not cover in the newsletter.

I hope you will be willing to do something along this line. If you would like to write about a session you plan to attend, 7-8 grafs for the newsletter (you'll have 2-3 weeks afterward to write it) and a brief thing to post online the day of; or if you can interview the winners, post two or three grafs, and then write a 10-to-12-inch story for the newsletter; or if you can do one of these things but not the other -- please let me and Daniel know. If you know of someone I have not contacted whom you think would be willing, also, please let me know -- Vince, that means you in particular, I know you will have your hands full but you may know of people in the Cities who would be willing to help out.

Thanks and again I apologize for the late notice. My one advice on sessions is this -- write about a session you want to go to, but remember that a session that is mostly give-and-take rather that a presentation of advice and ideas does not work as well in a recap.


David Sullivan
ACES newsletter editor

When you have a chance this week

* Check out all the Twin Cities (OK, mostly Minneapolis) material on the site. Got suggestions, especially on eating and drinking establishments? I hope to do "Notes from locals" on both in the next week.

* All of you who have commitments for the auction, please send me a list of items. Trying to put together a master for the national folks.

Checking in

No luck with General Mills. They, like Caribou, have specific charities they deal with and no others. It was a good idea, though.

The PiPress will be printing the conference booklets. Our marketing director is in charge; if I hear anything from her, I'll pass it along. It sounds like there are still discussions about size and whether it will need folding.

I'll check in again with Lauri Hopple and make sure she's still planning on the Saturday yoga session.

What else?

One month to go!

With April just days away, so is the conference, if you can believe that. We'll have a bunch of work ahead, like stuffing bags, in that last week or two. But right now, here is what I can think of:

1) We need to pull together a master list of the goods we've gathered for the auction. Either post what you have in the comments or e-mail me.
2) Pens and notebooks: I'm still counting on Jenn Bellefeuille in Eau Claire for the notebooks. Nancy Olson pledged 50 pens, and I'll make up what whatever we need to get to 300. Anyone else? Any other swag for bags? I know in the past, they've put a small bag of chips or a candy bar in there?
3) Blog and city guide for bags: As I mentioned before, any and all contributors to the conference website are welcome, and I'll probably mine that for material for the city guide to be included with the conference bags.

Any other thoughts/concerns/ideas/priorities?

A call for help and an update

Sorry, it's been a while. Busy, busy -- and not just thawing out. Not a lot to do either -- until now, on the silent auction front.

I had asked a co-worker to contact some companies to see if they'd offer some auction items. But life and work got in the way. So now, I am asking for folks to choose one to contact to see if they'd help out. Sign up in the comment field, and I'll take the last one.

The companies: Target; Northwest Airlines; Caribou Coffee; General Mills and the Walker Art Center. I think there is one more I was thinking about, but it's not coming to mind right now.

Also, ACES has launched a new Web site tied to the conference: http://www.copydesk.org/conference/2009. We're compiling some city guide information. I'm trying to do tips on getting around and places to eat and things to see. If you're interested in helping out now or later, contact Daniel Hunt at thedanielhunt@gmail.com.

I'm hoping also to repurpose much of this for info packets for the conference. Emily King asked about these, and I'm not sure if there is any big plan for them. I was just planning to print out and copy them. Nothing fancy. But is there a desire to do more?

One last update: ACES has made the early-bird rate. So even if you show up the day of the conference, you can pay $175 for the three days. So spread the word. The only caution: You'll still need to sign up early for the hotel's conference rate.

Anything else? Speak up!

Emily's updates

A few things to report.

I talked to the sole copy editor at the Onion and left her some info about ACES. She's going to pass it along to the local editor, so hopefully we'll get a few people from there to attend. The distribution manager was not in the office at the time, so I also left her a note to contact me about getting 300 papers delivered to the Hilton on Wednesday/Thursday. I'll let you know how that goes. I'll also press for some swag for the auction.

Also, for the auction, I've gotten word back from the Flat Earth and Surly breweries that they're willing to donate beer. Whoo hoo! Have yet to hear from Summit, but I guess they have less motivation to get their name out. From the Pioneer Press, I have secured 2 yoga mats, 2 laptop bags, 2 backpacks, a fleece vest and a hoodie, and 2 silver water bottles. I also have about 100 pens for the goodie bags; that's all I could get out of our marketing department at this point.

I sent out a plea for volunteers tonight, so I'll let Jim Thomsen know how many PP people are interested. Hey, as we speak, there are two e-mails saying people are down with helping :-)

Party location confirmed: The Local

This might be one way to draw copy editors or others who know who might be interested in ACES in finding out more. (Of course, it would be the ones with Saturday nights off!) Here is the pertinent info, as Deirdre posted on the ACES discussion board:

After the conference wraps up Saturday night, join us at The Local, an Irish pub about a block from the conference hotel.

The ACES party is 6-10 p.m. and will include an hors d'oeuvres buffet. Tickets are $25 and include one drink as well as the food.

Buy your ticket when you register!

Two bits of news: Sessions draft and early deadline extension

1) Deirdre has posted a draft of the sessions, providing an answer to our most-asked question. You can find it at:

http://www.copydesk.org/discussionboard/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=963

2) Also, the deadline to get the best rates has been extended to March 14.

Focus and plans

So obviously there is the promotion work. I've talked to some folks about some papers to hit:

* Trisha, if you want to try to make contact with copy editors in Rochester, at the paper, Mayo or any other places, that would be a great help.
* Emily and I have traded e-mails with Kate Kompas in St. Cloud, so that's taken care of, along with her connections to Fargo. I take it the Pi Press has a connection with Duluth? Anyone else with any ties to Forum Communications? I sent along a note to a former Duluth editor I know.
* Nancy Olson was going to approach the Mankato paper, Mankato State, UMD and Gustavus.
* I've reached out to the neighboring newspaper associations, along with Minnesota's. I've worked my connections in Nebraska and Iowa and also started reaching out to South Dakota papers. Anyone know North Dakota?
* As for Wisconsin, a Strib copy editor is married to a UW Eau Claire journalism prof. He sent word along at the school plus to the Western Wisconsin Press Club. I asked Jenn Bellefeuille if she wanted to reach out to other Wisconsin papers. (Milwaukee is big in ACES, so I think we can skip them.) Any help there?

Otherwise, Deirdre mentioned that we should focus on rounding up some auction items, as well as pens and notebooks and other items for the conference bags. We're shooting for at least 300 on the pens and notebooks. We might be good on notebooks. But pens, even commitments for 25, 50, 100, will be welcome. I know times are tough, but any little bit helps.

Sounds like the afterparty is shaping up for the Local. We have in an with ACES members who is friends with the owner, so I will be cancelling the space saved at Gluek's here soon. Also, a couple of logos are done for the bags, pins and perhaps other items for sale.

By the end of February or the beginning of March, I'm going to start work on the info packet: Cheap places to eat, the way to Target and other places where one might need items, light rail info, taxi, skyways, times for weekend Twins game, maybe a suggestion or two of offbeat or unique places to go. (I was thinking the observation deck atop the Foshay.) Any other topics people can think of?

And of course, any other suggestions are welcome.

A month to early registration deadline

From the calendar and the comments, it might be worth to concentrate and expand our efforts to get the word out, before the price goes up. Those of you who already have talked to people, papers or organizations, thank you. And perhaps you might want to consider a reminder. And should we assign people to areas of interest?

Now what?

Less than four months to the ACES conference, and plenty of work to do: Outreach, auction items, lining up ins and outs at the hotel. But what do you think we need to do? And more importantly, what do you want to do?

I can tell you what we're finishing up some logo designs, based on some ideas from Emily; the afterparty site is close to being locked up (the Local looks to be the winner); and I'm reaching out to some journalism profs I know to spread the word. And we're working on sessions et al.

But now that the new year is here, I think we need to kick it up a notch, and I'm eager to hear how we can do it!