More than 1,300 attendees joined expert speakers and exhibitors for a total of 1,800 people at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla., for the Disaster Recovery Journal Spring World 2007 March 25-28.
"We’d like to thank everyone for making our 20th year special with such big numbers," said Bob Arnold, vice president of Disaster Recovery Journal. "It’s not just the number of attendees, but the level of the attendees is increasing as well. That says something about business continuity being more important in the corporate world than ever before."
Conference sessions featured a wide variety of topics, coinciding with industry trends and the latest disastrous events.
"We have to thank the many wonderful speakers, sponsors and exhibitors who participated in the show," said Arnold.
SunGard Availability Services was the gold sponsor of Spring World 2007, sponsoring the Monday Night Hospitality. SunGard’s "Beach Party," featured a live band, food, drinks, and good times for all.
"All of our attendees enjoyed the Monday Night Hospitality," said Arnold. "SunGard did an outstanding job."
Citrix, Forsythe, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM were the silver sponsors of Spring World 2007. Bronze sponsors included eBRP, ESi, and MessageOne.
Co-sponsors included: Avalution, COOP Systems, Fusion Risk Management, Optimus Solutions, and Red Alert by Amtelco. MHA Consulting and Pinnacle Training Solutions sponsored the mock disaster while Rentsys sponsored the Cyber City. FedEx Custom Critical is the official transportation sponsor of DRJ conferences. DRI International and PPBI are non-profit sponsors of the conference.
The exhibit hall at Coronado Springs Resort featured more than 100 exhibitors manning 130 booths. Dottie Ronhovde and Bob Faskowitz each won a pair of Disney park-hopper tickets and $500 cash in the exhibit hall attendance prize drawing.
A variety of attendance prize drawings were held during general sessions throughout the week as well. Scott Pearce and Nancy Teed won Disney gift baskets Monday and Tuesday. Brent Elison won the $500 grand prize and a Disney cruise while Steve Shupe and Brian Evans each won $250. All three Wednesday winners also received a free conference attendance to a future show.
"If you did not have a chance to join us for this great show, we will be in San Diego in the fall and back in Orlando in the spring of 2008," said Arnold.
DRJ will hold its 37th conference Sept. 16-19, 2007, in San Diego. For more information on Fall World 2007, see pages 81-87.
"We’re always looking for lessons learned from paractitioners," said Arnold. "If you have a topic you think our attendees might be interested in, get in touch with us."
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Jon Seals is the editor and chief of Disaster Recovery Journal. Seals is also a member of the Disaster Resource Guide Editorial Advisory Board and the Mid-America Contingency Forum.
"Appeared in DRJ's Spring 2007 Issue"
