Meeting News - July 21, 2008 - (Page 73)

Cover Story Floods continued from cover said Tim Boyle, president of the Cedar Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Many of our distinctive venues and attractions were right on the river bank.” Among those were the National Czech and Slovak Museum & Library, the African-American Museum of Iowa, and the Paramount Theatre, a replica of a 1920s movie and vaudeville palace that was just restored in 2003. Groups that still can come are trying to do so, but some likely can’t be accommodated, Boyle said. “Many organizations are honoring their commitments, but all those places were used for meeting or event space, so it’s a huge impact.” The Barbershop Harmony Society, a fraternal group, was booked for the Paramount this October but does not expect the theater to be restored by then. It is considering another venue in town, but the theater isn’t the only concern, said Kevin Barker, vice president of events for the group’s central states chapter. “We’re hearing from people that a lot of the downtown is flooded, and we need enough eateries within 15 minutes driving distance of the venue to feed 1,400 people,” said Barker, who is based in Wichita, KS, and is considering a site visit. He is mulling moving the event to either Davenport, IA, or a city in Nebraska and returning to Cedar Rapids in 2009. Coralville, IA, a suburb of Iowa City, lost out on a meeting of the Iowa Hospital Association that was slated to be held at the Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center June 18 and 19. Planner Stacey Nay, director of education services at the Des Moines-based organization, has rescheduled the meeting in its home city for next month. “The hotel was shuttling guests over from distant parking lots because, otherwise, they had to walk through 18 feet of water,” she said.“We couldn’t put our attendees in harm’s way.” A call to a Coralville Marriott executive was not returned. In Waterloo, IA, a Cedar Rapids neighbor, the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum was “destroyed from the inside out,” according to associate director Kyle Klingman. The 16,000-sf building’s exterior is largely intact, but most of the interior was ravaged, he said, including irreplaceable artifacts like a book from the 1700s. Portions of the facility, which often hosted events of various types, have to be gutted while others need new drywall; it will take at least six months before the venue can reopen, Klingman said. Costs of the rebuilding haven’t been determined. Outside of Iowa, Columbus, IN, was struck, too. The Holiday Inn Columbus, the town’s largest property, was evacuated and sustained water damage, though it did reopen within a few weeks, www.meetingnews.com according to officials at the Columbus, Indiana CVB. The hotel’s general manager declined to comment, however. Other areas in the Midwest either weren’t hit as hard or were struck mainly in residential areas. On the plus side, there were some lessons learned by planners who dealt with the floods. “I always hear planners talking about requesting a hotel’s emergency plan, and I did that for this meeting,” said Iowa Hospital Association’s Nay. “That allowed me to ask, ‘What happens if it floods?’ It made me conscious of my disaster plan.” r Contact Rayna Katz at rayna.katz@nielsen.com AD INDEX Advertiser Page Advertiser Page ARIA Resort & Casino . . . . . . . .10A-H (insert), 24 www.arialasvegas.com Arlington CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 www.arlington.org Atlantis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28-31 www.atlantis.com Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino . . . . .26-27 www.arubamarriott.com Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables . . . . .32 www.BiltmoreHotel.com Chateau On The Lake . . . . . . .34-35 www.ChateauOnTheLake.com Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau . . . . . . . . . .36-37 www.choosechicago.com Colonial Williamsburg . .18A-H (insert) www.ColonialWilliamsburgMeetings.com Encore Wynn Las Vegas . . . . . . .5, 7 www.wynnlasvegas.com www.wynnmeetings.com Excalibur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 www.excalibur.com Gold Strike Tunica . . . . . . . . . .38-39 www.goldstrikemississippi.com Grand Sierra Resort and Casino . .40-41 http://sales.grandsierraresort.com Greater Miami CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 www.MiamiMeetings.com Hilton Anaheim . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 www.hiltonanaheimtour.com Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City . .43 www.hilton.com Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 www.HiltonSandestinBeach.com HSMAI Affordable Meetings . . . . .72 www.affordablemeetings.com LA Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44-45 www.discoverLosAngeles.com/meetings Mirage Hotel & Casino . . . . . . .46-47 www.mirage.com Mohegan Sun . . . . . . . . . . . . .48-49 www.mohegansun.com Mundo Imperial . . . . . . . . . . . .50-51 www.mundoimperial.com New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau . .52-53 www.neworleansmeeting.com New York New York Hotel & Casino . . . . .54-55 www.nynyhotelcasino.com Palm Beach CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 www.palmbeachfl.com Palms Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56-57 www.palmsplace.com Radisson St. Martin Resort, Marina & Spa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 www.Radisson.com/StMartin Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 www.worldgolfrenaissance.com Riviera Hotel & Casino . . . . . . .60-61 www.rivierahotel.com Rosen Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . .62-63 www.rosencentre.com Sandpearl Resort . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 www.sandpearl.com Sands MEGACENTER . . . . . . .68-69 www.SandsMEGACENTER.com Starwood Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . .76 www.StarwoodMeetings.com/artistry Swissotel Chicago . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 www.swissotelchicagomeetings.com Vail Plaza Hotel & Club . . . . . . . . .67 www.vailplazahotel.com Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort . . . . .70-71 www.swandolphinmeetings.com The Index to Advertisers is published for the convenience of our readers. Every effort is made to list advertisers’ names, web addresses and page numbers correctly. The publisher is not liable for errors or omissions. July 21, 2008 MeetingNews 73 http://www.mohegansun.com http://www.arialasvegas.com http://www.mundoimperial.com http://www.arlington.org http://www.atlantis.com http://www.neworleansmeeting.com http://www.arubamarriott.com http://www.nynyhotelcasino.com http://www.BiltmoreHotel.com http://www.palmbeachfl.com http://www.ChateauOnTheLake.com http://www.palmsplace.com http://www.choosechicago.com http://www.Radisson.com/StMartin http://www.ColonialWilliamsburgMeetings.com http://www.worldgolfrenaissance.com http://www.wynnlasvegas.com http://www.wynnmeetings.com http://www.rivierahotel.com http://www.excalibur.com http://www.rosencentre.com http://www.goldstrikemississippi.com http://www.sandpearl.com http://sales.grandsierraresort.com http://www.SandsMEGACENTER.com http://www.MiamiMeetings.com http://www.StarwoodMeetings.com/artistry http://www.hiltonanaheimtour.com http://www.swissotelchicagomeetings.com http://www.hilton.com http://www.vailplazahotel.com http://www.HiltonSandestinBeach.com http://www.swandolphinmeetings.com http://www.affordablemeetings.com http://www.discoverLosAngeles.com/meetings http://www.mirage.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - July 21, 2008

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