 | Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers
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Meetings
2009 SARA Annual Meeting and Technical Conference
National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Green Bank WV
28 June - 1 July, 2009
| Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers
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Conference Registration Fees:
The fee for the 2009 Conference has been set at $165 US for all registered participants. This fee includes Conference registration, payment of your 2009 SARA membership dues, one copy of the published Conference Proceedings (to be distributed at the meeting), morning coffee breaks, afternoon snack breaks, evening refreshments, and eight meals, as indicated below. Please note that all SARA 2008 memberships expire on 15 June 2009. Since SARA Membership Dues are now inseparable from Conference registration, all registered attendees automatically become SARA Members in Good Standing through 15 June 2010.
SARA Life Members, or those who have already paid their 2009 membership dues prior to registering, may deduct $20 from the above amount. Those registered for the 2009 Conference who subsequently purchase a Life Membership any time during the 2009-2010 membership year may deduct $20 from the Life Member Fee (currently set at $400 US). And, because SARA offers a 33% membership discount for students, all fulltime students under the age of 18 may deduct $6.67 from the above Conference registration fee.
The attendance fee for an accompanying family member (non-participating spouse, child, or companion of a registered Conference attendee) is $80, which includes morning coffee breaks, afternoon snacks, evening refreshments, and meals. The cited fees are calculated on a break-even basis, and apply only to advance registrations received prior to 31 May 2009. All registrations received thereafter are subject to an additional late registration fee, as indicated below.
Included Meal Plan:
Green Bank is a small community with few dining establishments. Thus, SARA has arranged for conference registration to include a meal plan at the NRAO employee's cafeteria, to include:
Exceptions to the meal plan will be considered on a case-by-case basis, for those Conference attendees residing on site, or others with special dietary needs. Please contact our Treasurer directly with your specific requests. In general, except under unusual circumstances, one should consider the cost of meals to be a part of, and inseparable from, the conference registration fee.
Conference Proceedings:
Once again this year, a formal, bound Proceedings, including technical papers and supplemental material, is being professionally published by ARRL. One copy of the Proceedings is included in your paid Conference Registration. (Proceedings are not provided to accompanying family members.) A limited number of additional copies of this year's and previous years' Proceedings will be available at Green Bank for $20 US each. You may, if you wish, reserve and prepay additional Proceedings copies, by including the appropriate amount in your check to our Treasurer.
Advance Registration Deadline:
Because SARA Conferences require quite a bit of advance planning, early registration is encouraged. To register for the 2009 SARA Conference at the rates cited above, your remittance in full must be received by our Treasurer (not simply postmarked) not later than 31 May, 2009. All registrations received after that date, or walk-in registrations, will be assessed an additional 15% late registration fee.
Payment of Conference Fees:
Checks (in US Dollars only, drawn on a US bank) should be sent in advance to:
SARA Treasurer Melinda Lord
treasurer_at_radio-astronomy_dot_org
354 N West Cir NW
Cleveland, TN 37312-1011 USA
phone +1 423 478-9043
NOTE: You may now remit your SARA Conference Registration via PayPal, through the following link. It is still necessary to send your name, address, membership status, name(s) of accompanying person(s), and other pertinent registration information to our Treasurer, via post or email.
Lodging:
Attendees should make their own reservations at one of the (regrettably few) motels or Bed & Breakfasts located in the Greenbank vicinity. Do not try to "show up" and expect to find a room, as the motels are not that big and may fill up if anything else is going on in the area.
Dorm Rooms:
There are usually a few dorm rooms at NRAO made available to us which are assigned in the following priority:
We often do not know until close to conference time exactly how many rooms are available. It is very dependant on how busy NRAO is with visiting scientists. The SARA president makes the room assignments. So do not call NRAO asking about these rooms. We will stay in contact with NRAO and email people if rooms become available. If you would like to be placed on the standby list, email our President.
The SARA Vice President chairs our annual Conference. To enhance your standings on the dorm room list, contact our Vice President and be a presenter at the conference. We usually only get 8-11 rooms. It is therefore recommended that you do not wait until the last minute to make reservations at local motels, thinking you might get a dorm room. And, to enhance your standings for next year, run for an office in SARA and/or be a presenter.
Dorm room prices are comparable to the local motels.
Bed and Breakfasts:
There are a few Bed & Breakfasts within reasonable driving distance:
Jim Sky and Andrea Peace have stayed a couple times at:
Buffalo Run Lodge
HC 63, Box 38C
Arbovale, West Virginia 24915
(304) 456-3036
Toll Free: (800) CALL WVA (225-5982)
Email: buffalorunlodge@yahoo.com
Hosts: Bruce and Carol Stewart
Camping:
There is a campground beside the Boyer Motel for those wanting to make it a family camping vacation. I don't have the phone number but the folks at the Boyer can probably tell you all about it. (Note: NRAO policy does not allow overnight "parking lot camping" in RVs on their facility.)
Nearby Tourist Attractions:
Cass Railroad - a shay steam locomotive ride for the whole family. Located about 10 miles west of Greenbank. An enjoyable hour ride up a nearby mountain and back aboard a restored logging train.
Snowshoe Ski Resort - Nothing going on in summer. But a fun ride if you've heard of it but never been. Kind of an upside down ski resort. By that I mean the hotels are at the top of the mountain, and you ski down and get chair lifted back up. The same mountain also sports a challenging golf course with unusual tee to green elevation changes.
Spruce Knob - State Park about 30 miles north of Greenbank. Views of several states from a mountain lookout tower on a clear day.
Seneca Caverns - A limestone cave tour and rocks for your collection.
Luray Caverns - Luray Virginia. A several hour ride from Greenbank, but well worth it on the way there or on the way home. One of the largest cave tours in the east. Sports an unusual console organ that plays carefully selected stalactites with small solenoid driven hammers.
...know of some more? pass them along to webmaster_at_radio-astronomy_dot_org and we'll post them here for others to enjoy.
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