2008 Schedule

**Please Note:  The Conference Starts Earlier This Year – 9:00 am on Monday, April 21st.

Sunday, April 20, 2008
  12:00 pm – 5:00 pm   Wyoming Travel & Tourism Board Meeting
  2:00 pm – 5:00 pm   WLRA Board Meeting
  6:00 pm – 8:00 pm   Welcome Reception
       

Monday, April 21, 2008
  7:00 am – 8:45 am   WTIC Board Meeting
  7:00 am – 10:00 am   Trade Show Exhibitor Setup
  8:00 am – 6:00 pm   Registration Open
  9:00 am – 10:30 am   Opening Keynote, Watts Wacker – Vision of the Future: Navigating the Sea of Change
  10:30 am – 11:00 am   Break in Trade Show Hall
  11:00 am – 12:30 pm   Session 1 – Workforce Opportunities
Having trouble finding and training your workforce? Learn new approaches for workforce development and hear about resources for employee training. Share your challenges and questions with other business leaders who have tried new approaches in an effort to build the Wyoming workforce. Get the latest information on finding legal foreign workers.
  11:00 am – 12:30 pm   Session 2 – Creative Thinking About Branding
Learn seven simple steps to building, maintaining and communicating a great brand. Bruce Turkel provides entertaining anecdotes and real-world examples to illustrate the finer points of brand building. Learn how to add value to your products by making them more valuable to your consumers.
  12:30 pm – 2:00 pm   Strolling Lunch in Trade Show Hall
  2:00 pm – 3:30 pm   Session 3 – Turning Green Into Greenbacks
Learn how to use green principles to increase your revenue and cut back your expenses. One of the fastest-growing trends in North America and Wyoming is saving businesses money while also saving the environment. Hear business leaders discuss how to take advantage of this growing trend and increase your bottom line by implementing green and sustainable practices.
  2:00 pm – 3:30 pm   Session 4 – Life After Branding
Bruce Turkel shows you how to explore the next steps for maintaining, evolving and even changing a brand as markets and brands mature. It's Branding 2.0.
  3:30 pm – 4:00 pm   Break in Trade Show Hall
  4:00 pm – 5:00 pm   Resource Development Centers:
      Wyoming Travel and Tourism Resource Development Center
Get Connected with Wyoming Travel & Tourism. Update your Web listing, learn about the new Film Incentive Program, learn about co-op opportunities, and much more.
      Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association Resource Development Center
Learn about WLRA Resources for members by visiting the Cheyenne Room. Topics covered include credit card and health insurance programs along with travel research for lodging properties. Briefings available on training and certification programs from WLRA national affiliates.
  6:00 pm – 7:00 pm   Reception in Trade Show Hall
  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm   Big WYO Banquet
       

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
  7:00 am – 12:00 pm   Registration Open
  7:00 am – 8:30 am   Breakfast
  8:30 am – 10:00 am   Session 5 – It's About Time
Harold Lloyd helps you learn to analyze your bad habits and see how they waste your time. You will learn proven time-management techniques that will save your time, money and energy.
  8:30 am – 10:00 am   Session 6 – The Changing Face of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World
Social media is transforming marketing and advertising and offering more opportunities to connect with potential visitors on multiple levels. Glimpse the future in Josh Hallett's fast-paced session that will define the tools and provide concrete examples of how they are being used effectively in today's customer-driven marketplace.
  10:00 am – 10:30 am   Break in Trade Show Hall
  10:30 am – 12:00 pm   Session 7 – Best Hiring Practices
Pat Powers, President of Management Technologies, Inc, will share ideas to help you place people in areas where their strengths are utilized for optimum productivity. You will learn how to find information on job candidates that is not given through references and resumes. Pat will show you how to be proactive and increase your success in hiring the right staff.
  10:30 am – 12:00 pm   Session 8 – Web Analytics Demystified
Eric Peterson will show you the right measurements to help you determine the success of your website and provide valuable information on how to improve your connection with web visitors. Go beyond the numbers and learn from an expert in web analytics about how to create a plan to track the key metrics that will better inform your decisions.
  12:00 pm – 1:30 pm   Lunch–Closing Keynote, Harold Lloyd – Am I the Leader I Need to be?
  1:30 pm – 3:00 pm   Trade Show Exhibitor Teardown
  2:00 pm – 4:00 pm   WLRA Education Foundation Board Meeting
       

Registration Cost

  Early Bird Registration:    Full registration received by April 5th – $249
  Registration:   Full registration received by April 6th or later – $289
       

Parkway Plaza 1-800-270-7829 or 307-235-1777 (Special Conference Rate – $60 per night)