This was the rate negotiated by the WAPED board pre-covid. This rate is half the cost of the hotel’s going rate. The rate is also higher due to the convention center being connected to the hotel. In researching hotel rates within the last month, conference committee members found that this rate was the cheapest in the area. Please check with your institution for options when hotel rates are higher than per diem.

There is a no-host Happy Hour on April 27th from 6-8pm for WAPED members and the board will be there to usher and support new members. Along with the Happy Hour, there will also be three working sessions (one each day) from 9am-10am for networking and a 2-year and 4-year breakout session from 3:30pm-5:00pm on April 27th.

There will be three catered lunches and three catered breakfasts. This also factors into registration cost being increased this year. This will reduce the per diem need for food from your institution.

While the DSSC and the WAPED Conferences are two separate events, the WAPED conference committee is working with DSSC leadership on the planning process. We are also happy to report that we have two members of the DSSC board that are also part of the WAPED Board.

The contract and cost of hosting the conference at the Wenatchee Convention Center was signed by the WAPED board pre-covid and we are locked into the agreement. This coupled with the increase of room rental and tech fees is the reason for the increase.

This is a tentative schedule and will be shifting things around. The board has discussed moving sessions up or removing some on that Friday. The conference committee wanted to get registration out for members to start working with their financial departments to reserve and pay. Please, be on the lookout for possible changes so we ensure our members have a great conference experience.

We are so pleased to report that many of our current WAPED affiliated presenters are nationally recognized speakers and are presenting for free at the Conference. The Conference Committee is also trying to find a right balance between in-person and virtual conferences, which includes selecting speakers who are willing to present in-person. The Conference Committee has reached out to national speakers and they are willing to present virtually but many of them are not willing to present in-person due to Covid restrictions and cost of travel. We encourage you to join the conference committee for next year to help with the planning and selection of speakers.

Currently, we are not paying honorariums to any Spring 2023 Conference presenter. We are reimbursing non-WAPED affiliated presenters for travel and lodging. Fall 2022 nationally recognized speakers were each given a $500 honorarium for their presentations. If you have further concerns, you may email Alice LeFlore, leflore7@uw.edu, for a copy of the treasurer report. A Conference Treasurer report will also be given to membership during the Business Meeting at the 2023 Spring Conference.

Please email the WAPED Board at board@waped.org and we will respond to you as soon as possible.