Dear NABJ Family,
From what we see with registration numbers, it is clear that we are anxious to see each other and experience a rich immersion of training and career enhancement engagements.
When we signed the hotel contract almost four years ago, who would have thought that NABJ and NAHJ would have had such healthy growth? That growth and an unanticipated surge in registrations over the past few weeks have taken us past capacity. Caesars is a huge facility and we expanded our footprint for more space.
That said, sessions will be packed, and there may be many in which you may not be able to enter. There are some important things you should consider.
1. For the first time in our history, we will not allow onsite registration if you have not officially started the process before arrival. (The deadline is today at 11:59 p.m. ET)
2. We strictly enforce mask mandates, so please understand if security asks you to leave our space for violating this protocol. Please help us by reporting violations to security personnel.
3. Our vaccination/booster requirements for registration remain mandatory per the layered registration process you patiently completed.
4. There will be thousands more in Caesars throughout the hotel, not under the NABJ-NAHJ umbrella, and therefore not required by the hotel to wear masks or be vaccinated. We do not control that policy outside of our spaces, for example, at the slot machines, hotel room reservation desks, hallways, restaurants, bars, etc.
5. We cannot “stop” the spread of COVID, but we can help reduce the chances of spreading it at our event with our protocols.
Taking all of this into account: if you are having second thoughts about showing up at the conference because of the new variant or significant attendance, you are eligible to request a refund BEFORE the start of the convention on August 3. Once requested, you will be refunded AFTER the convention ends.
To request a refund: send an email to registration@nabj.org. Again, you must take this action BEFORE the conference to receive a refund.
Safe travels!
Dorothy Tucker, NABJ President