YAPC::NA::2009 Columbus.pm Bid

Thu, 05-Jun-2008 by Jeremy Fluhmann edit post

Here is Columbus.pm's bid for hosting YAPC::NA 2009 <h1 style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">NAME</h1> YAPC::NA::2009 Columbus.pm Bid <hr /> <h1 style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">DESCRIPTION</h1> Overview In 2006 Columbus was ranked as the United States 15th largest city, with 733,203 residents, and is the country's 32nd largest metropolitan area. Located with Columbus is the world renowned Ohio State University. OSU is currently the largest university in the nation and is ranked (in the US News and World Report) within the top 60 best universities in the country. All around this grand campus are many wonderful restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and shopping for just about anything. And if that all is not enough, you can take a nice stroll across the oval. Columbus.pm is comprised of people who use Perl in the Columbus Metro area. Most of our members work for some of the largest corporations in Columbus. Our membership includes Nationwide Insurance Co., AEP (American Electric Power), BankOne, Battelle Institute, Huntington Bank, and many more. Bringing YAPC into Columbus would energize our Perl infrastructure and help to fortify its importance in our major industries. One of the topics mentioned at prior YAPC::NA's and at the YAPC BOF was the need to get larger industries involved YAPC and with the Perl Foundation. Columbus.PM has been working with Nationwide Insurance Co. to bring Damian Conway to its Columbus branch for a four day lecture series July 28th - 31st. We have seen a need for perl technical training in the Columbus area and the excitement that this generates when a world renowned lecture is brought in. There is no reason that YAPC::NA needs to be any different. If we are given the opportunity to run YAPC::NA::2009 we would like to work with Damian and Columbus area companies to bring him back again! Who We Are? We are Columbus.pm! Here are some of the many people involved in making YAPC::NA Columbus 2009 something truly amazing: <pre> * Heath Bair (Candybar) * Dallas Deeds * Kevin Nichols * Jonathan Hogue * Jay Oconer * Steven Norland * Lokesh Bangalore * Bryan Abfalter * Zachary Mcartor * Len Jaffe</pre> There are many others that have offered to help but would like more of an opportunity to attend the conference rather then plan and work it. Proposed Dates We propose that the YAPC::NA::2009 be held a month earlier to help to accommodate some of the perl lecturers. The dates that we are look at are May 4th - 6th, or May 11th - 13th. We've also considered continuing the tradition of adding the two-day Perl classes to the end conference either May 7th - 8th or May 14th - 15th. UPDATE: Proposed dates have been changed to June 22nd - 24th, 2009 or July 13th - 15th, 2009 YAPC::NA::Corporate Getting Large Companies Involved One of the biggest problems facing YAPC::NA and Perl in general is the continued shift of companies toward 'newer' and 'cooler' languages. But the companies tend to forget that Perl and CPAN can do all of the things those 'other' languages can and do them better. We would like to use YAPC::NA::2009 as an inexpensive way of reeducating companies about Perl and what it can do for them. Bringing down the employees The best way of getting companies involved in YAPC::NA and Perl is to get the technical people to the conference. To do this we would propose a standard rate (as listed above) and a corporate rate. The corporate rate would include: * A shuttle bus from the downtown buildings to the conference area. * Lunch cards * One or more Perl books The corporate rate has not been completely determined as of yet but would probably be in the range of $400-$500 a person. ($100 registration fee, $50 Lunches, $50 Books, $200-$300 Transportation). Bring the Conference to the Companies Many of the company buildings in downtown have their own lecture halls and theatres. We would like to see some of the Conference speakers be shuttled down to the company buildings and present from there. This would allow for the employees or managers to hear about Perl without having to take a lot of time out of their schedules. Location The Columbus.PM group researched and came up with three possible locations for YAPC::NA. The three possible locations that were researched are as follows: Franklin University, Ohio Dominican University, and Ohio State University. Due to the fast opportunities that Ohio State University offers it was selected as our proposed location. For information in regards to Franklin University and Ohio Dominican University proposals please see the Columbus.PM YAPC::NA::2008 bid. <a href="http://news.perlfoundation.org/2007/08/yapcna2008_columbuspm_bid.html">http://news.perlfoundation.org/2007/08/yapcna2008_columbuspm_bid.html</a> Ohio State University Ohio State University is located just north of downtown Columbus and is surrounded by several major freeways. There are always things to do on and off campus and with it being so centrally located there would be no need for extra travel expenses to any offsite events. For more information on the conference services that OSU offers please check out their flash pitch at <a href="http://www.bclip.com/venue_viewer/osu/">http://www.bclip.com/venue_viewer/osu/</a> . The Ohio State University provides conference facilities, housing, and dinning halls all located together in the north campus area. ( <a href="http://www.osu.edu/map/google.php">http://www.osu.edu/map/google.php</a> ) Their conference facilities are able to accommodate 2 to 5000 people with several theatre style rooms, small, medium and large classrooms, and 250+ Auditoriums. Each of the rooms can be fitted with electronic equipment and podiums. There is internet available in all rooms for a one time per conference fee of $50. OSU has been contacted about the conference and even though they are unable to pencil this conference in until after October 10th 2008, they do have both sets of dates currently available, and they are able to host multiple conferences at a time. The following information was taken directly from the rate sheet above and is subject to change. We are also going with the impression that the conference rooms would be required for a full day. There are several other lecture halls available all with the same base price. <pre> Lecture Rooms Capacity Price/Day ================= ========== ========= Royer Main Room 180+ $300 Royer North Room 150 $550 Royer Classrooms 25 $250 Auditorium 250+ $350 Office Space $25 Storage Space $25</pre> The following would be the costs and prices for audio/visual equipment. <pre> Equipment Charge/Day ================= =========== TV/VCR/DVD $75.00 Microphone $25.00 Table top podium $10.00 Regular podium $25.00 Easel and Paper $30.00 Internet Hookup $50.00 (1x Fee)</pre> Here are the on campus housing costs. <pre> Dorm Rooms with Air Full Linen Limited Linen No Linens Conditioning Bed & Towel Bed Only ==================== ============ ============== ========== Single $52.00 $46.00 $38.00 Double $26.00 $23.00 $19.00 Multiple $21.00 $23.00 $18.00</pre> <pre> Dorm Rooms no Air Full Linen Limited Linen No Linens Conditioning Bed & Towel Bed Only ==================== ============ ============== ========== Single $46.00 $38.00 $36.00 Double $23.00 $19.00 $18.00 Multiple $19.00 $18.00 $17.00 The rate information below can be reviewed at <a href="http://conferenceservices.osu.edu/ratesheet.asp">http://conferenceservices.osu.edu/ratesheet.asp</a></pre> On campus Hotel accommodations are available: The Blackwell Inn ( <a href="http://www.theblackwell.com/">http://www.theblackwell.com/</a> ) ~ $210 per night before any group rate Holiday Inn Columbus-OSU Area ( <a href="http://holidayinnosu.com">http://holidayinnosu.com</a> ) ~ $110 - $140 per night before any group rate Meal plans can be purchased for the conference at a rate of: <pre> Breakfast $5.50 Lunch $8.75 Dinner $9.75</pre> For a flat cost of $50 per conference the network will be enabled in all classrooms and conference halls. And straight from their FAQ: .There are Ethernet ports in each room and these remain active during the summer. However, due to a varying maintenance schedule, Internet connections are not guaranteed during your stay. The connections in your rooms, should they be active, are available for use by summer conference guests at no charge. Cost/Affordability OSU We plan on keeping the registration fee at $100 for the 2009 YAPC. We hope to follow a similar approach as the 2008 YAPC in offering an early registration discount. Assuming that an attendee takes advantage of the low-cost approach to experiencing YAPC, they would stay in a multiple non-air conditioned, limited linen room in the dorms and choose the on-campus dining option. <pre> Expense Cost =================== ======== Conference $100.00 Day 1 meals $24.00 Day 2 meals $14.25 Day 3 meals $14.25 3 Night Dorm Stay $54.00 -------------------- --------- Total minus travel $206.50</pre> Depending on the various options for snacks and drinks, the cost per attendee will be around $60. <pre> Expense Cost ==================== ======== Snacks (3 Days) $35.00 Auction Dinner $20.00 T-Shirt $5.00 -------------------- --------- Total $60.00 -------------------- ---------</pre> With the registration fee set at $100 and the cost per attendee at $60, the amount per attendee left over to cover conference expenses is $40. <pre> Attendees Available Funds ============ ================ 150 $6000.00 200 $8000.00 250 $10000.00 300 $12000.00 350 $14000.00</pre> To help entice people to present we would like to wave the speakers registration. Assuming that we have 50 speakers at $100 registration then the overall expense would be $5000. The worst case scenario would be 200 attendees with the Royer Main Room ($300) plus two Royer Class Rooms ($250 each or $500 total), Office space ($25), Storage Space ($25), Internet Hookup ($50), 5 Microphones ($25) and a Podium ($25) for a total cost of $950 per day or $2850 total. Now add the $5000 speaker expense brings the total to $7850, $150 under the $8000 budget for 200 attendees. If course though the more attendance the higher the revenue, and the more the speakers the higher the speaker costs, but these numbers should be close. Also this does not take into account any fund received through sponsorship. The University has assured us that they can easily accommodate any conference up to 5000 people. Transportation Columbus has one major international airport, Port Columbus International Airport (CMH). CMH is located 6 miles west of downtown and provides over 190 direct flights to and from 44 other airports daily. ( <a href="http://www.columbusairports.com">http://www.columbusairports.com</a> ) Upon arrival to Columbus, there are several options for getting downtown. * Taxi Cabs will cost you $20-$26 for the trip. * COTA Bus will take you about an hour and cost $1.50 ( <a href="http://www.cota.com/">http://www.cota.com/</a> ) * Rental Cars, there are a full range of car-rental companies that offer vehicles in various price ranges. * Driving, Columbus is in the heart of Ohio. Downtown area is at the intersection of I-71 and I-70. Tourist Attractions Ohio Historical Center - The 1989 Smithsonian Guide to Historic America describes this museum as probably the finest museum in America devoted to pre-European history. Franklin Park Conservatory - This conservatory offers 90 acres of international gardens to be enjoyed and explored with some of the habitats you may visit including the Japanese Gardens, the cool Himalayan Mountains, a Pacific Island, a Tropical Rainforest, and a Bonsai Garden. (www.fpconservatory.org ) Sports - Clippers (New York Yankees, Minor League), Blue Jackets (NHL) , Crew (MLS) Conclusion We believe that Columbus is a hot technical area and that with our major industries and universities it would be a wonderful place to hold YAPC::NA::2009. So lets get this party started!

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YAPC::NA::2009 Columbus.pm Bid

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