Welcome to the home of the 2010 Exchange Network National Meeting! This year we will be gathering in Chicago, IL to share ideas on how the Exchange Network can continue to provide better access to better information for better environmental management. The national meeting is one of the best opportunities to interact with and learn from other members of the Exchange Network community.
With the basic infrastructure of the Exchange Network now in place, we'll be focusing on creating opportunities to maximize use of the Network through data publishing and building out data exchanges that support national data access needs. Together we'll grow and enhance the Exchange Network and Exchange Network user community by:
Discussing opportunities for using the Exchange Network in innovative ways or in new business areas;
Sharing and learning about successful applications of the Exchange Network;
Discovering tools and resources available to the Exchange Network User community to assist in the rapid adoption of the Exchange Network; and
Meeting Exchange Network practitioners working to solve similar problems in similar environments.
The Exchange Network governance is now working on the meeting agenda and a draft will be available in the near future. In the meantime, we encourage you to share your ideas for presentations or discussion topics. Please send your input to Kurt Rakouskas at kurtr@sso.org.
For travel planning purposes, you can assume that we will begin at 8:00 AM on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 and end at 12:00 PM on Thursday, April 22, 2010.
Hope to see you in Chicago!
For more information on the meeting, please contact Kurt Rakouskas at
.
who should attend
Anyone interested in learning more about the Exchange Network or sharing your related knowledge and experience is more than welcome to attend. Typical attendees include representatives from environmental program and information technology offices in states, tribes, territories and U.S. EPA. If you are interested in improving your access to higher quality environmental information, we want to see you in Chicago!
A block of rooms is being held on a first-come first-served basis at the meeting hotel at the rate of $142.00 per night plus taxes. You must reserve your room by Friday, March 26, 2010 to be eligible to receive the group rate. All meeting attendees are responsible for making their own reservations and paying for the room. State government employees may request travel expense reimbursement from ECOS under the terms in the Travel Expenses section below.
If you wish to extend your stay for personal travel at your own expense, the hotel will honor the group rate 3 days before and 3 days after the meeting dates. This offer is subject to room availability at the time of reservation.
72 hours notice is required for cancellation on individual reservations. A cancellation charge equal to one night's room and tax will be charged to the guaranteeing credit card for cancellations made less than 72 hours prior to the arrival date.
transportation
Chicago is served by 2 airports - Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW). Public ground transportation from both airports is available via the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). More information on using CTA to reach the meeting will be posted shortly.
travel expenses
The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) will reimburse states for travel expenses for up to two employees--one technical staff member and one program representative. Reimbursable travel expenses include:
Air or rail transportation (Coach class only)
Personal vehicle mileage (currently $0.55 per mile)
Airport Parking Fees
Fare for local ground transportation to and from the airport
Lodging - capped at $142.00 per night plus taxes
If you have difficulty reserving a hotel room at or below $142.00 per night, please contact Kurt Rakouskas at kurtr@sso.org.
ECOS will reimburse lodging expenses for the nights of April 19-21, 2010.
Meals and Incidentals - capped at $59 per day ($71 Federal per diem less $12 for breakfast which will be provided). Also, please note that ECOS will only reimburse up to 75% of the per diem or $53.25 on the first and last days of travel.
State employees planning to seek reimbursement should make their own travel arrangements and submit an expense reimbursement form to ECOS after the meeting.
Please complete the expense form electronically. The form will automatically perform all necessary calculations. Print a copy of the completed form and sign and date it in the appropriate field. Mail the form along with original receipts for all items $25 or more to Kurt Rakouskas at the address shown on the form. You do not need to include receipts for meals and incidental expenses since ECOS will reimburse you in accordance with the Federal per diem.
If you have any questions, please contact Kurt Rakouskas at
kurtr@sso.org.
