by Janet Dickelman
Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes, the Mall of America, Garrison Keillor and the 2016 ACB conference and convention! Minneapolis is a wonderful city to visit, especially during the summer. There may be a day or two in the 90s, but average temperatures are in the low 80s! The Hyatt Regency, home to ACB in 2016, is located in downtown Minneapolis at 1300 Nicollet Mall. The hotel is close to restaurants, shopping, museums and the Minnesota Twins and Vikings stadiums.
Traveling to Minneapolis is easy. Fourteen commercial passenger airlines service the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP); nine are located at Terminal 1-Lindbergh, and five are located at Terminal 2-Humphrey. MSP is the hub for Delta and Sun Country; other airlines serving the Twin Cities include:
- Air Canada
- Air France
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- Condor
- Frontier
- Great Lakes
- Icelandair
- Southwest
- Spirit
- United Airlines
You can also travel to Minneapolis by Amtrak, Greyhound or the Megabus. Both bus stations are less than a mile from the Hyatt; the Amtrak station is in St. Paul, approximately 12 miles from the hotel.
Minneapolis is served by a light-rail system that stops 8 blocks from the Hyatt. You can travel by light rail to the airport, downtown St. Paul, and the Mall of America. City buses stop within two blocks of the hotel. Information regarding certification for paratransit will be sent out closer to the convention.
Conference and convention dates are Friday, July 1st through Saturday, July 9th. As usual, the convention will feature an exhibit hall showcasing vendors from around the country. The exhibit hall will be open from Saturday, July 2nd through Wednesday, July 6th. ACB’s opening general session is Sunday, July 3rd, with daily sessions Monday through Thursday mornings, and all day Friday. Tech sessions and committee and affiliate programming begin on Saturday and run through Thursday. Convention week culminates with our banquet Friday evening, July 8th. Our first tours will be on Friday, July 1st; our final tours will be on Saturday, July 9th.
Stay Connected
Once again this year, the convention announce list will be filled with information about the convention. Subscribe to the list today by sending a blank e-mail to
[email protected]. If you’ve been on the list in the past, you need not subscribe again.
Don’t have e-mail? No problem! Convention updates will also be featured on ACB Radio and by telephone through Audio Now at (605) 475-8130.
Hotel Details
Room rates at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis are $89 single or double; there is an additional $10 per night charge per person for up to four people in a room. Applicable state and local taxes are currently 13.4%. For reservations by telephone, call 1-888-421-1442, and be sure to mention you are attending the ACB convention in order to obtain our room rate. To make reservations online, visit www.acb.org and follow the 2016 convention link.
Convention Contacts
2016 exhibit information:
Michael Smitherman, (601) 331-7740, [email protected]
2016 advertising and sponsorships:
Margarine Beaman, (512) 921-1625, [email protected]
For any other convention-related questions, please contact Janet Dickelman, convention chair, at (651) 428-5059 or via e-mail, [email protected].