2008 National Storm Chaser Convention

[David Drummond]

Hi everyone!

The 10th Annual 2008 National Storm Chaser Convention web site is back on line, being updated and you CAN NOW SIGN UP!!!! If you are interested in being a sponsor, please contact me for details.

Check it out at: www.chaserconvention.com (http://www.chaserconvention.com/)

We are still waiting on a few RSVPs from speakers, but as of now the outstanding lineup includes:

Dr Josh Wurman and Sean Casey as our keynote speakers. Sean will unveil the NEW TIV II!!!!!

Dr Greg Forbes from TWC

Dr Howie Bluestein

David Hoadley

Tim Marshall

Tim Samaras

Jon Davies

Mike Umscheid

There will be a few more as we get confirmations back. As you can see the line up is HUGE this year and will only get better!

Same hotel as last year. And the dates again are Feb 15-17, President's Day Weekend.

The rate was raised $7 per person to cover the increase in food and catering costs. Remember, Tim Samaras and I don't make anything off of this. We sweat it out each year, pricing it to only cover our costs, hoping we break even! This convention is solely for YOU, the CHASER!!!!!

Roger Hill

*******************************

[David Drummond]

If you would like to help us promote the convention on your website, and get a link on the convention website in return, please check out this link:

http://chaserconvention.com/content/view/17/33/


Additionally, I am looking for some fresh images for the "pic of the day" image rotator I have on the main page. Looking for tornadoes from 2007 and especially pictures from the 2007 convention. If you have something you would like to contribute, please contact me PM or email. Thanks!

[David Drummond]

Also, stop by the website and vote in the poll so we can get a gauge of how many are planning on attending!
http://chaserconvention.com

[David Drummond]

If anyone has any actual pics from last years convention, and wouldn't mind me putting them in the random image generator on the convention site, please PM me. Thanks!

[PaulChambers]

Is there any idea when an agenda will be posted telling what topics will be presented?

[David Drummond]

Roger mentioned the other day he is about done with it. Once he gets it to me I will post it and post here too.

[Darrin Rasberry]

I am sorry if I've asked this before (I can't remember) but will there be official training during this convection? Thank you.

[Mickey Ptak]

David,

I could not find a link for a vendor booth registration. Is there one, and how do we go about setting a booth up for the Storms of 200X (http://www.thestormsof2007.org)?

Thanks

Mick

[Roger Hill]

Hello everyone,

There will be basic and advanced spotter training conducted Sunday afternoon, which of course is free to attend for anyone. Mick, I will put you down for a booth for the Storms of 200X DVD sales, no problem.

The agenda has been developed, pending a couple of topics from various speakers and David Drummond should have it posted soon.

Hope to see a bunch of you there!

[Mickey Ptak]

Hello everyone,
Mick, I will put you down for a booth for the Storms of 200X DVD sales, no problem.



Fantastic, thank you. I will email you tonight with some other questions as well about vendor pricing and such. I will not be able to make it due to other obligations but Verne Carlson will be there to man the booth.

Mick

[David Drummond]

The agenda has now been posted on the website. http://chaserconvention.com

[Bill Hark]

I just made my reservations at the convention hotel. I had forgotten that the hotel offers a free shuttle to the Denver airport. Nice, for those flying in if they don't intend on renting a car.

Bill Hark

[John Wetter]

I just made my reservations at the convention hotel. I had forgotten that the hotel offers a free shuttle to the Denver airport. Nice, for those flying in if they don't intend on renting a car.


This is nice. One note is that a couple years ago, my flight in was delayed and we didn't get there until around midnight and the shuttle stopped at 11pm. The only thing still running was the SuperShuttle and they wanted $40/person!

I'm getting in mid-afternoon this year, so that better not be a problem this time!

-John

[cdcollura]

Good day all...

I am solo out there this year, and eager to see all of you guys!

I am coming in a day earlier (Thursday 2-14) to play in the mountains Friday before ice-breaker and will be staying until Afternoon on Sunday the 17th.

I have a large room there, anyone wants to split with me and / or cannot find a room let me know.

The Raddison is charging only $74 bucks and those are going fast...

I will be renting my own vehicle so if anyone needs a ride and its the time I am getting in (9 PM thunrsday) feel free to PM me.

Hope you all make it there this year...

[Roger Hill]

Hi everyone!

Just an FYI on a couple items for the upcoming convention ONLY 3.5 weeks away!

The hotel has guaranteed room availability at the discounted rate of $74 through Feb 8th, only a little over 2 weeks away.

Online registration is cut off Feb 12th to allow us to complete our banquet order.

Mail in registration cut off is Feb 10th to allow for mail in time.

There will be a limited number of registrations available to be purchased at the door for a cost of $96 per person, but PLEASE don't use this as your main option as at the door registrations will be quite limited.

We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Denver in Feb!

Roger Hill

[David Drummond]

Quick reminder, the registration deadlines are FAST approaching.

The mail in deadline is Feb 10th and the online deadline is Feb 13th!

A very few registrations at the door will be allowed. Do NOT count on this.

REGISTER ONLINE NOW! (http://chaserconvention.com/content/view/13/26/)

.
.
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[David Drummond]

ALSO! Baron has donated a WXWORX Mobile Threat Net for a door prize to be given out at the convention.

[Tim Samaras]

All:

Just to amplify what Dave and Roger already have mentioned...

The mail-in registration deadline is almost here (February 10th), and the on-line registration deadline is this coming Wednesday (February 13th)!

Please remember that this convention is TOTALLY focussed on YOU..the storm chaser. This forum is to get like-minded individuals together to visit, learn new techniques, the latest in research--and above all--to share this crazy/incredible passion of ours we all enjoy.

This is the one and ONLY convention of its kind specifically for storm chasers.

Prepare for the new season.

Don't miss it.

www.chaserconvention.com (http://www.chaserconvention.com)

Our 10th anniversary.

Tim Samaras
Roger Hill
David Drummond

[Michael Paré]

Anyone looking to get a day maybe two of skiing in, I'm going up on Thursday weather permitting, and maybe part of Friday.

I tried last year but the weather put a stop to that, all the passes were closed. I instead rode along with Roger to film but i70 was closed.

[Laura Hedien]

Hi- I'm getting in Thursday afternoon and are looking to get up to Loveland Friday morning and ski until mid-afternoon.
I'd share a rental car/ride with someone.
I'm staying at the Raddison. Feel free to leave a message at the front desk for me if you are interested and/or PM me for my cell phone number.
Looking forward to a great weekend.
Laura Hedien

[John Farley]

If anyone is staying over after the convention and would be interested in skiing Sunday and/or Monday, please either respond here or PM me. I am driving so I will have my car (all-wheel drive, too) and can provide transportation up into the mountains.

Looking forward to the convention and seeing lots of you there.

[Stuart Robinson]

I booked my flights yesterday so I will again be making the trip to the Convention all the way from the UK.

See you all there.

[Chris Hayes]

I'll be there this year as well. This is my 3rd convention. We have a flight booked for Friday morning. Also staying at the Raddison. Looking forward to meeting some more chasers. :)

[Johnathan Brouwer]

Stuart wins the travel award...and I thought me coming from Indiana would give me a lock for it!

[mike scantlin]

My team of hooligans and I will be driving in on Friday. We will be wearing StormInterceptor.com shirts, even though im too much of an idiot to get the website up and running.

[Joey Ketcham]

Myself along with several other guys I chase with will be leaving early Friday morning, so we'll be getting into Denver during the evening. Look forward to seeing everyone there.

[Michael O'Keeffe]

Just like everyone else it seems my dad and I are leaving early Friday morning and will probably get their in the afternoon sometime and chill before we go and see everyone. Looking forward to seeing everyone there. :)

[Terrence Cook]

Jared Farrer and myself will be attending the conference (driving from IN), your not the only one Johnathon, we will also be picking up Derek Weston in Iowa City.

Look forward to meeting and conversing with all of you, and to think that some of you have already bagged this year... amazing!

[Johnathan Brouwer]

Stormcam will be arriving on Thursday afternoon...but we don't ski! (No mocking us, Laura!) A travesty I know, but we plan to see the sights when we get a chance, since I am working on a documentary for the 08 season, having some mountain shots will be required!

we cant wait to meet and chat with all!

[Patrick Martin]

I'll be there as well. I'll be leaving work at 5 and be there by 5:05. Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. Safe travels to all coming from out of town.

[Tim Bond]

Another UK'er here, not travelling quite as far as Stuart as he is a bit further from the airport! Very much looking forward to meeting other chasers, so if you see an enthusiastic Brit with a big grin then please do say hullo.

Tim

[Gary Shuford]

Hey Guy's:

I will be flying in from Louisiana on Thursday morning with my chase partner, Don Wheeler. We are also staying at the Raddisson. Was wondering if anybody would be around Thursday night for dinner and weather chat???

Thanks,

[Phil Kurimski]

I am coming in on Friday afternoon. However I will be staying until Monday morning. It was cheaper to stay an extra nite than fly late sunday nite...very strange.

[Gary Shuford]

Same here...leaving at the crack of dawn Monday morning!

[Jason Foster]

Yeah, for flights from the DC area, the cost difference was well worth the extra night. Glad to see some folks will be sticking around, makes it a little more fun to keep the weather talk going.

[Bob Schafer]

This is an invitation to anyone who will be in Denver first thing Friday morning and is looking for something unusual to do:

I need to check the tuning of my car, as the oxygen sensor seems to be giving false data. I've arranged to put the car on a dynamometer at a racing shop near I-76 and Federal. We'll probably start around 8:30 or 9AM, and I'm guessing we'll play around with it until around lunchtime.

I've never seen a (chassis) dynamometer used before, and I'm sure it'll be pretty interesting and fun. If you think you might also like to see this, PM me and I'll give you more details.

[Chris Wilburn]

Our group will be leaving around 6am Friday morning from Pittsburg, KS. We will be picking up another member of our crew in Wichita around 8am and leave Wichita to head to Denver. We will be meeting a couple other people when we get to Denver. We should be in Denver Friday evening. Looking forward to it and see everybody there!

[Paul Austin]

Our team should be arriving Thursday afternoon. We're meeting up with some people, but our plans are not firm. If anyone wants to hang out with some Floridians, feel free to call me at 352-359-7374. You can PM me, but I might not read it 'til Thursday night or later. See you all there!

[Mark Farnik]

I'll be leaving home about 2:30 on Friday and will use a handy shortcut east of Denver to bypass most of the city, which will be predictably snarled being Friday rush hour. If the shortcut works as well as it usually does, I should be checking in at the Raddisson about 4:30-5ish and will possibly go out and grab a bite to eat before going to mingle and hobnob at the ice breaker.

Fwiw, if anyone is looking for an excellent place to eat close to the hotel during the Saturday lunch break or for breakfast/lunch Sunday, there is an absolutely amazing '50's eatery called Rosie's Diner about a mile north of the Raddisson on I-225 and just two blocks east on East Iliff. My dad and I stumbled across this shiny chrome joint while driving around looking for a place to eat during the 2007 convention, and we fortunately decided to give it a try and we fell in love with it. You walk through the doors, and suddenly it's no longer 2008 - you've gone back in time 50 years to 1958, and the menu, the atmosphere, the waitstaff on roller skates, and the customer service only further enhance the startling authenticity of the experience. And if you go there, you MUST have one of their handmade malts or milkshakes. I've had lots of malts/milkshakes in my time, and I've never had better than the one's they whip up at Rosie's. They are quite well renowned for them, and for very good reason. If you order nothing else off their menu, order a milkshake or malt. You'll be glad you did, trust me.

Looking forward to seeing old friends and even more so to making many new ones - see y'all Friday evening! :D

[Aaron Wesson]

I attended the conference last year. It was GREAT! I will miss you all this year as our budget at work only allows for one conference and they want me to attend the SPC one March 6-8 in Norman.

Stewart will miss you M8 have not heard from you in a year. Will James be with you?

Have fun everyone and please take lots of pictures.

[Cameron Redwine]

Hey everyone. I'll be around this evening and all day tomorrow so if anyone wants to see some of Denver and grab a bite or go out on the town and see some music or something, just let me know. Shoot me a PM and I'll give you my number.

Cameron

[Bart_Comstock]

To anyone that is interested, one of the nights, maybe Friday or Saturday I will be going to the Hard Rock downtown. I have a special vip membership with them so we wont have to worry about lines and our food order will be placed first. Let me know if you are interested. A free Nacho appetizer is in it for those who want to go. :P
Just send me an email at a.yellow.miata@gmail.com instead of a pm because I receive them on my phone.

[Tim Samaras]

All:

I finally have a title to Josh and Sean's keynote talk:

"Marrying Science and Television: The DOW, TIV, TV collaboration 2005-2008"

See y'all this weekend!

Tim Samaras

[Johnathan Brouwer]

We are on the road and streaming video...check us out! on Ustream.TV The chat client is a bit buggy.but I'll open up and give it a shot...

EDIT: siggy link fixed...if not....http://ustream.tv/channel/the-stormcam (http://ustream.tv/channel/the-stormcam)

UPDATE: We are here!!! Our data connection met MR. Murphy-having been on the road for 17 hours might have something to do with it. My chase partner says operator error was most of the problem:)

[Evan Bookbinder]

See you guys all tomorrow night after a what is expected to be the ultimate 9 hour boring drive across I-70!

Looking forward to old friends and new faces.

Evan

PS Johnathon, tried to punch up the video in your signature below and got a 404.

[Kory Hartman]

The SevereStudios crew will be departing Mitchell, SD around 8am tomorrow and making the 9 hour trek to Denver via automobile.

The team is excited to meet everyone and enjoy the 10th annual Convention, the first we've been able to attend.

We are planning to update our site with the sights and sounds of the convention, including video. If any of you would like to volunteer to be interviewed on camera, hit me up on my cell phone. You can find the number under my profile at SevereStudios.com.

[Dann Cianca]

Wow, we have a Moderate in Texas during the convention ... I'll still be here in Denver ... anyone skipping to chase?

[kenny_allen]

SevereStudios.com Team is still going to Denver. No live streaming of a chase from us this weekend.

But.. if you check out site now, we are blogging, posting photos, and streaming live video through our Beta Live Portal. (We are still missing some features that we will introduce later this month)

So if you want to see some Nebraska and Colorado roads, check out the stream. We are keeping it up whenever possible, and testing the whole way to Denver!

Looking forward to seeing everyone there! Drive safe.

[Johnathan Brouwer]

Nice job....you guys have the General Lee cranked up! Let's see some shots of inside the car...

[kenny_allen]

Thanks Mr. Brouwer -- Looking forward to meeting you guys.

http://www.severestudios.com/files/live.html

Everyone hook up and try to max out our server. :)

Man.. it is a beautiful day in Colorado.

[Johnathan Brouwer]

Kory's team working the back roads of CO and NE:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTFl1ZWdMgI

Can't wait to meet you guys too!

[Joey Ketcham]

Our group has arrived in Denver, we are at the Radisson in room 231 if anyone wants to stop by.

[Bart_Comstock]

No one cares Joey and we all hate you! >:O

((I'm in Joey's party))

But seriously if anyone has a deck or cards and some chips or pennies to burn stop by and we can get a game of hold'em going in room 231. There are 3 of us here.

[Joey Ketcham]

I have created a gallery where I will be posting pictures throughout the weekend, you can get to it by going to:

http://www.kschaser.com/cpg1410/thumbnails.php?album=51

[Susan Strom]

Wish I could come; I have a gallery show running. It is a great conference. Next year perhaps for me! I'll try not to schedule a gallery show in the month of Feb.

[Kyle Flannigan]

First time in 4 years that I haven't been able to make the convention (go figure, this one's the biggest, yet). But, being a civilian again and living back on the East Coast, I just didn't have the time nor finances to go. Next year, though, I should have some $$$ and vacation time accrued.

Hope all goes well and everyone out there has a good time!

-Kyle (stuck in Philly)

[Jay McCoy]

Sometimes it is hard for some of us to get away or to have the $$ for such a trip. Maybe they could set up a seperate smaller fee and have the conference webcasted. INstead of the $79 to attend we could pay like $20 or someting to catch the webcast so some of us could still get the information.

Just a thought. I would still prefer to be there in person by family matters (daughters BBall) kept me here. Maybe a DVD of the whole thing offered afterward would also be cool.

[Johnathan Brouwer]

I am working on a web presence for next year for this!

For any interested, I am blogging live from the convention floor.

See my blog linky at bottom of sig...

or use this:
http://stormcam.blogspot.com/

As always, feel free to PM me or post comments on my blog...

Game on!

[Kory Hartman]

SevereStudios has posted another video with interviews from ChaserCon 2008. We are attending a few more presentations tomorrow morning from Mike Umscheid, Jon Davies, and David Hoadley and then hitting the road back for South Dakota.

[Phil Kurimski]

It was great meeting SevereStudios at the conference. You did a great job capturing the goings on and have a nice website...I will be monitoring it during this chase season to see what you post on it. Have a safe drive home and I hope to see you on the road this spring.

[Eric Flescher]

I could not come because of school stuff/ teaching and $$$$.
Good idea. And the proceeds can go to the conference and/or stormtrack? I was at the conference in 2001 when I came down Sat morning looked on the TV and saw that the space shuttle was being ripped apart. It was a sad day and hard to go on that day.
Hope you all are having a good time and I look forward to hearing about the conference.

::
Sometimes it is hard for some of us to get away or to have the $$ for such a trip. Maybe they could set up a seperate smaller fee and have the conference webcasted. INstead of the $79 to attend we could pay like $20 or someting to catch the webcast so some of us could still get the information.

Just a thought. I would still prefer to be there in person by family matters (daughters BBall) kept me here. Maybe a DVD of the whole thing offered afterward would also be cool.

[kenny_allen]

Someone was trying to stream the conference at the very beginning, but it was quickly shut down. This is because of intellectual property and copyright laws. Roger and Tim would have to get non-disclosure agreements, copyright agreements, privacy statements, etc. etc. in order to stream the majority of this conference. In fact, video cameras were not allowed for much of the conference.

This is why SevereStudios.com did private interviews, photos, video updates, and blogged from the conference. We also had the capability to stream the events, but it was not our place, nor would it be legal.

The entire weekend went great. I was glad to meet so many of you! We hope you enjoyed our coverage of the event.

Special thanks to Roger Hill, Tim Samaras, and everyone that helped with this great event!

[Joey Ketcham]

I had a great time at the chaser convention and meeting those I had a chance to meet here. We are leaving early in the morning Monday for the long drive back to Pittsburg, KS. If anyone is still around Sunday night we should all meet up in the bar at the Raddison for a drink.

[Chris Hayes]

Currently waiting on our 730 flight at DIA. Had a good time at the convention this year. Met up with Joey Ketcham, Jay Cazel, Chris Wilburn, Gerardo Estrada, and Angie Norris. Also met Bob Schafer. Nice meeting everyone!

[Angie Norris]

Got home about an hour ago after another great weekend of learning new stuff, making new friends and seeing old friends. Big thank you to Roger and Tim S. for another awesome convention!!!!!!

[Verne Carlson]

Had a great time at the convention - it was awesome to see everyone again and meet some new friends!

Thanks to everyone who purchased the Storms of 20xx charity DVDs. We managed to raise $1060 in proceeds for storm victims at the NSCC alone!

[Bill Hark]

Just got back to Virginia after a fun weekend at the convention. Huge turn out of new and experienced chasers. Great talks. Obviously a lot of effort by many people. Thanks to the organizers and presenters. I enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new people. It's also nice to meet folks who I've only seen their posts or looked at their websites.
I am very excited about upcoming research possibilities with the DOW/TIV and later with Vortex 2. Kudus to Tim for documenting some very interesting phenomena before positive lightning strikes.

I will post some images in a couple of days.

Bill Hark

[John Farley]

Also just got back from the Chaser Convention - I, too, had a great time re-connecting with old friends and meeting new folks, and learning from the many excellent presentations. I would like to thank Roger and Tim for all their efforts year after year to make this event happen, and to make it happen bigger and better every year. I have been involved in planning a number of conventions, and know how much work goes into it - so thanks much, Roger and Tim!

[Phil Kurimski]

The convention was great! I finally got to put a face to many of the names I have come across these past few years. I just got done putting the photos I took from the convention on my website:

http://www.mesovortex.com/ChaserCon/

If you are in one of my pics and would like the original email me and I will send it to you. I had a great time and I can't wait to see you all out on the plains.

[Joey Ketcham]

I have posted some more pictures from the National Storm Chaser Convention at
http://www.kschaser.com/cpg1410/thumbnails.php?album=51

[Tim Bond]

To add to the thanks, it was great to meet some of you this weekend! Thanks particularly to Laura Hedien for great company and suggesting the Friday trip up to Loveland, Bill Hark for very interesting discussion about eastern storms and general chasing, and Phil Kurimski for spotting my nametag after my post here and saying hello. Hoping to see you out on the plains in May!

I had a great time this weekend thanks to Roger and Tim's superb line up of speakers, more than worth the trip from the UK.

Tim

[Laura Hedien]

Great time as predicted. Thanks to the organizers as I am sure it is a logistical nightmare to put this together. Hopefully there is some reward in knowing how much people appreciate it.
Mike, Tim(s), Patrick, Karen, Jackie- great meeting you and thanks for reaching out and introducing yourselves!
Nice to put faces to names. I knew you guys were real!
Thanks for everything everyone!
Laura

[Patrick Martin]

My thanks to all the time and effort put in by the organizers, the presenters, and the vendors. It was a fantastic weekend that did not dissapoint.

It was good to connect with familiar faces throughout the weekend and also put faces with names for people I had not met before.
Laura - Likewise, it was a pleasure meeting you!
O'Keefe's - Great to see you guys again!
Rocky R - It was very nice to meet you and chat during one of the breaks.
Mark Farnik and the guys from Indiana (apologies in advance, I can't recall your names) thanks for letting us crash your table Sat night.
Mark Blue - Good to see you again and to meet Jane. Looking forward to May!
Tim Bond, Tim L, Mike P, Karen, Jacquie, Kathy - Safe to say a good time was had by all.

[Stuart Robinson]

now that I have arrived back in the UK I Just wanted to echo everyone thoughts regarding the convention - a huge success and long may it continue. It was great to meet every one.

[Michael Paré]

Thanks again to Roger and Tim, just like last year, this year's convention did not disappoint! I had a great time learning from the presentations, and as has been echoed here - meeting many new friends and putting faces to names, plus reacquainting with friends made last year! It was a great time!

Thanks again to Laura Hedien for hanging out and the great day of skiing on Friday at Loveland! Also to Karen and the Tims, thanks for driving and hanging out Thursday and Friday too!

I can't wait until next year, but not before a great 2008 chase season!

Mike

[Charles Kuster]

Thanks to Roger and Tim for another awesome convention! This was my fifth convention and they are always a lot of fun. The speakers were amazing and it was great to interact with other chasers over the weekend. Thanks again to all who made it possible!

[Evan Bookbinder]

Best conference ever -- although you guys go to bed way too early! (Must be the altitude). :D

The fact that the conference room was maxed out at just shy of 300 people is a testament to the incredible work that Tim, Roger and their spouses do each year. Looks like we'll need new digs next year at the astounding growth rate this conference has seen. Given its growing success (and the long travel distance for so many), I'd actually like to see it expanded to 3 full days.

It was worth every one of the 1222 miles of travel to see old friends and meet so many new. Looking forward to seeing you all out on the Plains this year!

Best,
Evan

[Mark Farnik]

This was my 3rd conferenence, and it was the BEST one yet, far and away! It was very exciting to see close on 300 chasers all in one place!
I agree wholeheartedly with Evan, at the rate the convention is expanding, I think a new, larger venue needs to be considered for next year. Ditto expanding the conference to three full days as well.
After this conference, I feel like my chase forecasting abilities are fifty times better than they were before. I look forward to testing my newfound knowledge and forecasting confidence in-situ starting in a few weeks.
I'll echo what has been already been said - it was excellent to put names to faces, to see old friends and to make new ones!

A personal shout out to:

Tim and Kathy Samaras and Roger and Caryn Hill - I think it goes without saying that everyone who attended the conference is grateful to you for once more putting on an amazing conference! Your hard work is truly appreciated, and we know without a doubt that you'll outdo yourselves again next year! :)

Terrence Cook, Jared Farrer and Derek Weston - Getting to chill with you guys throughout the conference was the personal highlight of the conference for me. It was truly a pleasure for me to show you around the area and I'll always remember our lunch at Rosie's fondly. We're going there again next year, btw, just tellin ya now lol. You'll be hearing from me soon :D

Patrick Martin - It was our pleasure to have you crash our table. We really enjoyed talking with you, Cathy and Mike on Saturday evening.

The Carlson Crew, John and Mike O'Keefe, Tony Laubach - great to see and chat with you all again, and a special thanks to Tony for the immensely helpful advice on Denver neighborhoods, I really appreciate that and will take it to heart

Harold Smith and Chris Hayes - always a pleasure to talk with the two of you

Angie Norris and Bob Schaefer - was very nice to meet you both and finally put faces with the names

I was able to put countless other familiar names with faces, but alas did not have the time to get around to everybody.

So on that note, I know that everyone had an amazing time at the conference, and hopefully I'll see many of you out on the plains this spring and summer.
If you see a black and silver Subaru Forester with Colorado plates bedecked with numerous chaser stickers and antennas out in the field, feel free to stop and say hey! ;)
And if for some reason our paths don't cross this season, I'll see ya next year at the convention when we all share our amazing video from the great 2008 season!

[Tom Dulong]

What could I say that has not already been expressed. So many thanks to all you contributors. It was great to mingle again with the Florida bunch and the Colorado gang...and to meet several new folks.

Meso dreams to everyone.

[Tim Samaras]

All:

Thanks for all of the kind comments regarding the convention. We all had a great time, and we're certainly going to keep the tradition going.

I want to recognize David Drummond for ALL of his hard work constructing, promoting, updating our terrific chaserconvention.com (http://www.chaserconvention.com) website. You absolutely rock.

We would like to get some 2008 conference pictures up on our website so it can go dormant (well...sort of) for 6 months for the chase season.
:)

I know folks were shooting pictures like mad-if y'all want to share 'em on our website, please send 'em off to Dave when you have a chance.

Until next year!!

(and yes---we plan to top this year in 2009)

Tim

[Sarah Austin]

Thank you so much to everyone who put the convention together! It's always nice to see familiar faces and meet new chasers. I had a blast!

[Bill Hark]

I have posted 40 images from the National Storm Chasers Convention last weekend in Denver. I really had a great time. Thanks to Roger and Tim for putting it together and David for the website.

http://www.harkphoto.com/NSCC2008.html (http://www.harkphoto.com/NSCC2008.html)



BTW, David, you can use any of the pics for the NSCC website.


Bill Hark
http://www.harkphoto.com/ (http://www.harkphoto.com/)

[cdcollura]

Good afternoon,

Thanks to all who organized and attended this awesome event...

Some pictures available at the link below ... Enjoy!

http://www.sky-chaser.com/picnic08.htm

[John Farley]

I've put a few pictures from the Chaser Convention on my Web site as well. You can see them here:

http://www.johnefarley.com/ChaserConpics.htm

[J Robert Prout]

I too must express my deepest appreciation to all who planned and organized this event! I am so grateful to all those who shared their knowledge, experiences and sense of humor! What an amazing learning experience this has been; each and every speaker had so much information to present. Thanks again, and see you next year! :)

[Jason Foster]

I finally finished my 2008 convention page. See link below.

The convention went well. While it's true that I mostly go as an excuse to go up into the Rockies, this year going snowmobiling, but I also had a great time at the convention.

I will suggest, not as a complaint, but perhaps a slight change in the format. With many of the other conference I attend, there are typically breakout sessions that are held in different and smaller rooms. They are more specific topics and are for different levels of knowledge. In this case, there could be higher level forecasting sessions, while others are for beginners. There could be more unique photography and videography sessions. There could be video editing sessions. And the Skywarn training could be held as a separate session as well. Of course there would still be the big presentations like the Keynote speakers, and video night. Something to consider.

Anyhow, here my link, hopefully others with conference webpages will list theirs here too.

http://www.weatherwarrior.net/nscc/nscc08.html

[J.B. Dixon]

Sorry this is late. Another top-notch convention filled with great presentations! Kudos to Tim, Roger, and David (and spouses) for making it happen!

[Paul Austin]

Only my second year attending, but 2008 was fantastic, a big improvement over 2007. 2007 was great, but IMHO the presentations this year were all excellent. I only wish it could last a week long (and that I could actually leave work that long to attend). Thanks to Roger, Tim, the wives, et al for a superb job of organizing. And I enjoyed meeting and rubbing elbows with so many of you I had previously only read here on Stormtrack. May next year be better still! I'll see some of you out there on the plains in May!

[Jeff Miller]

As a comment to the suggestion of conference format:

Breakout sessions have been a long-established method of conferencing for many different forms of conferences. The drawback is you need to either have more rooms available, or divide the room into different "classrooms" for the "breakout sessions".

This kind of a format however does require more rigorous planning. Usually the methodology of this kind of conference would be morning breakout sessions, lunch, afternoon breakout sessions, then an all-conference session in the evening that appeals to everyone.

The advantage is that it would offer training for all different levels of experience and skill.

Hypothetically, Tim Vasquez could have breakouts specifically for forecast training. At the same time, Beginner Chaser Training could run concurrently in another area. Photography skills and practice could be in another room, and the possibilities are endless. Imagine breakouts for hand analysis, lessons on targeting, setting up a chase vehicle, intercepting a supercell thunderstorm, and many, many more breakouts. The evening all-conference gatherings could have big name speakers like Doswell, Forbes, Edwards, Hoadley, Samaras, Casey, or others.

Typically 3-4 breakouts run concurrently for 2 sessions in the morning, lunch, 3 afternoon sessions, dinner, and then the evening session. The conference organizer decides if the attendee needs to select from the breakout session before hand or pick and choose session by session.


Increase the conference from 2 to 3 days. change the format from all-conference activities to breakout sessions, and hosting all-conference big ticket evening sessions - and I think the event will go from GREAT to WORLD CLASS. And I'll be there if this happens.

[Jonathan Merage]

A BIG Thanks to all the Convention organizers for hosting this year's awesome event!! It's always great seeing old friends & meeting new ones. Each Convention serves as a point of inspiration before the upcoming chase season, a time to get our gears revved up & ready to go while we talk with friends, watch some of the most incredible, unique, and fascinating storm videos ever made:D, and admire our past achievements while planning for new ones.
Here's my 'little' album of select shots from the convention (click here (http://mistertwister.smugmug.com/gallery/4391756_xQ4SR)). Feel free to browse & enjoy! Keep in mind there are no thumbnail photos here, only full size pics which I downsized from the original RAW files. I'll be adding more soon.

PS--David, let me know if any catch your eye--I'm also more than happy to send a few in whatever format you prefer.

Jon Merage

[Phil Kurimski]

Anyone who stayed at the hotel needs to check their credit card bills when they come in! I was charged an additional $100 that was not on my bill and I did not find out about until I got my Credit Card statement. It will take some perseverance...as it took me a few hours to get someone to pick up the phone in accounting and reverse the charge.

[Jared Farrer]

I know this is really late but I have a crazy story that involves the stretch of highway from Des Moines to Iowa City. I drove from IN to go this year.
I will post my video in the next few days I have been really busy. I dont really use You Tube, so.....does anyone else besides me not use you tube a whole lot?