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Planner’s Perspective - Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs

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Debbie Wallentin
CMP; Director of Meetings; Society for Vascular Surgery; Chicago

Describe your event. The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) held its 63rd Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) at the Colorado Convention Center June 11-14, 2009, and drew almost 3,000 attendees, exhibitors and affiliates. The VAM is a leading source of vascular health and continuing medical education credit presented by the top vascular surgeons in the country.

Why did you decide to host the meeting in Denver? Denver was considered to be an attractive destination for our attendees due to its location and many amenities.

What surprised you the most? Even during the recession, our attendance was only 5 percent down from the previous year’s meeting, which was held in San Diego. 

What did your attendees seem to enjoy the most? They particularly commented on how beautiful the convention center was and how conveniently located it was to the headquarters hotel, the Hyatt.

Was anybody particularly helpful? The Denver Metro CVB’s convention services manager, Tiffany Hoambrecker, was extremely helpful. She was very hospitable and extremely knowledgeable about the city. In addition, our event manager at the Colorado Convention Center, Christy Calvin, was awesome to work with. In fact, all the staff members at the convention center were some of the most professional and competent I’ve had the pleasure to work with.

What local suppliers did you utilize? We utilized Snelling Personnel Services to supply our registration staff and room monitors. Dottie Peterson and her team were some of the best people I’ve worked with. They were professional, knowledgeable and exceeded my expectations.

How does Denver compare to other cities where you have hosted meetings? Denver is a great destination for the SVS. I would say that it is one of the best destinations we’ve frequented over the past few years.

Would you return? SVS is definitely interested in returning to Denver.

Do you have any advice for other planners who might bring a meeting to Denver? For those groups who haven’t had the opportunity to meet in Denver, I would say that you won’t be disappointed! You will be surprised at what an attractive destination Denver can be.