Conference Insider – Your ‘Out of Office’ Dates for April
By Erin Engstrom
Are you wondering if you need to book off Wednesday, April 25th for conference or not? The answer is ‘we hope so!’ You won’t want to miss our preconference events on the 25th but the official two day conference is Thursday, April 26th and Friday, April 27th.
If you are looking to maximize CHRP credits with your conference registration fees, note that the two preconference panel discussions are eligible for one CHRP credit each at no extra charge. You’ll get laughs (not CHRP credits) for seeing Rick Mercer. He is a fun way to kick off our association’s 70th birthday and 50th annual conference. All work and no play makes for a dull conference!
Tell your friends that BC HRMA is having an open house of sorts — called the HR Public Tradeshow — on Wednesday, April 25th. Admission is free and we are opening our doors and encouraging people to visit the largest human resources tradeshow in Western Canada. Free activities, demonstrations and celebrity walkthroughs are happening in the tradeshow area throughout the day. Even if you aren’t attending conference, you should block your calendar as ‘out of office’ on the afternoon of April 25th and come to the new building at the Vancouver Convention Centre to check us out.
If you are registered for conference, book the babysitter or someone to cover your desk from 11:30 on Wednesday, April 25th to 4:30pm on Friday, April 27th and maximize your conference experience.
Your Pre-Conference ‘options’ for Wednesday April 25th:
| Registration | 11:00 am | 6:00 pm |
| Rick Mercer: A Nation Worth Ranting About*(followed by short meet & greet in the tradeshow) | 11:30 am | 12:30 pm |
| HR Public Tradeshow100 exhibits, speakers’ corner presentations every 30 minutes, prizes, demonstrations, industry bookstore, plus more!(free admission, open to the general public) | 12:00 pm | 6:00 pm |
| The Business of Politics in 2012* (1 CHRP credit) | 2:00 pm | 3:00 pm |
| Ms CEO: A View from the Top* (1 CHRP credit) | 4:00 pm | 5:00 pm |
| Happy Hour in the Tradeshow (cash bar, one free drink for conference delegates and Speaker Series ticket holders) | 5:00 pm | 6:00 pm |
| *HR Public Tradeshow – Speaker Series ticketed event. Admission rates: $45 for BC HRMA members, $55 non-members, free for conference delegates with pre-registration. Seating is limited. Speaker Series tickets for Wednesday include entry to all 3 keynote sessions, the HR Public Tradeshow and one Happy Hour drink ticket. Tickets are available online here. | ||
Erin Engstrom is the conference and events manager at BC HRMA. When Erin isn’t working, she can be found cooking for friends at an impromptu kitchen party or racing her kids between the pool, rink and pitch. Erin never stops—but that’s because she’s afraid that she would be too tired to jump back into the race of her wonderfully chaotic life. e.engstrom@bchrma.org.
