Event: Iowa League of Cities’ Annual Conference & Exhibit
Where: Grand River Center
When: Sept. 25-27, 2013
Planned By: Bethany Crile, Communications Coordinator with Iowa League of Cities
Number of attendees: 1,080 (includes delegates, speakers, vendors and League staff), approximately 500 delegates
The Iowa League of Cities provides advocacy, training and guidance to Iowa’s communities. The Annual Conference & Exhibit is a three-day training event with more than 40 workshops and several general session and networking events. On the last day of the conference, elected and appointed city officials from across the states who are League of Cities members take part in an annual meeting.
What about Grand River Center on made it a good fit for the needs of your meeting?
The facility has enough space to concurrently host a general session and have an open exhibit hall. That really helps us bring in enough revenue to keep registration fees low for members. We also appreciate the size and flexibility of their workshop rooms.
What other types of groups would be a good fit at Grand River Center?
I think it’s a great fit for association meetings, like us. The beautiful scenery really lends itself to weddings and receptions, and the flexibility of the space would lend itself to many other group types.
What surprised you the most about the Grand River Center?
Many convention centers are full of artificial light. As the planner, I might only see natural light as the sun rises in the morning or by moon at night. The Grand River Center is different. Natural light floods the hallways—and not just from skylights, but you get a great view to go with it.
What did your attendees seem to enjoy the most?
As an association for cities, we like to highlight the uniqueness of our host city. The City of Dubuque and CVB helped us work with their local colleges/universities to bring in a jazz band before a lunch general session and to sing the National Anthem. They helped us coordinate a fun run/walk in the beautiful Eagle Point Park and mobile workshops to nearby city and regional projects.
Did you incorporate any off-site venues or interesting activities into the agenda?
We hosted a reception in honor of our out-going President at the National River Aquarium, had a pre-event golf outing at the municipal course, Bunker Hill Golf Club, and sent mobile workshops out into the city to learn more about historical preservation, housing, leveraging local partnerships, and more.