The 2016 National Convention will be held at the Hyatt Regency - Downtown Columbus - July 4 - 7, 2016. We will conduct 1/2 day of programming on July 4 and full days of programming on July 5, 6 & 7.
Proposals must be submitted by December 31, 2015 to be considered.
A few things to keep in mind:
Presentation Title & Description - Each breakout session will likely be one of 5 concurrent workshops. We will be running separate 'session strands" for treatments & strategies at each stage of a child's life - infant through adult. The session description should be brief, but detailed enough to facilitate an informed choice by attendees, and reflect the actual content, activities, and objectives.
Target Audience – Please be sure to specify the audience to whom the content is directed. This will assist us in assembling a well-rounded and diverse group of sessions, inclusive of a broad range of continuing education needs, and help attendees to choose the session most appropriate for their needs/concerns.
Session Length – Workshops are 75 minutes long. Please leave at least 15 minutes for questions.
Attendance – Average attendance per session is 75-100; however, the number can be as high as 200 or as low as 30. The flexibility of presenters in accommodating their audience, whether large or small, is appreciated.
Speaker Honorariums – The conference has a strong commitment to maintaining affordability for our attendees; travel expenses will be covered for those who are traveling less than 200 miles. Travel & lodging will be provided for all speakers who will be traveling more than 200 miles (or with pre-approval). Requests for honorariums in addition to travel and/or lodging should be noted on the presentation proposal. Limited honorariums may be available. All presenters are welcome to attend convention sessions on the day of their presentation.
A / V Equipment –audiovisual equipment to provide the tools necessary for effective communication are provided –LCD projectors are provided, but we ask that if your presentation includes PowerPoint, you provide your own laptop.
Handout Policy – Convention attendees are appreciative of handout materials. The WSA provides a book of handouts to all attendees. However, we must receive your handouts in either Microsoft Powerpoint or Adobe pdf format 30 days prior to the convention for inclusion in the book. If you are not able to provide the electronic file by the deadline, you will be responsible for providing copies of your handouts to all session attendees. Additionally, mp3 recordings are made of all sessions (subject to speaker approval). All powerpoint presentations must be provided to us in pdf format for the audio recording company.
Communications – All communications from WSA will be through email and coordinated through the Primary Presenter. If you have co-presenters, please make sure you share all convention information with them.
Presentations are selected by the WSA Convention Program Committee, which carefully considers each proposal within the context of the needs and interests of our attendees. All applicants will be notified via e-mail within 30 days of their submission regarding their proposal status.
