Planning continues for the 2008 AAPG Annual Convention in San Antonio, with the official meeting announcement and technical program due in January.
The meeting will be held April 20-23 at San Antonio’s Henry D. Gonzalez Convention Center. The theme is “Deliver the Conventional; Pursue the Unconventional.”
For now, meeting organizers are focusing on something that has become crucial to convention success stories: sponsorship opportunities.
Last year’s meeting in Long Beach, Calif., attracted 65 sponsors who donated anywhere from $500 to more than $40,000 dollars apiece to help ensure the convention’s success.
Already nearly 20 sponsors have pledged their support of the 2008 meeting, and San Antonio officials are hoping to at least match the Long Beach level of support.
Sponsors’ importance to the meeting is perhaps obvious – but the benefits to the sponsors are just as significant.
“AAPG’s Annual Convention is a proven gathering place for geologists and other petroleum professionals from around the world, and sponsorship is a great way to connect your company instantly with the global geosciences community,” said Alan Wegener, director of the AAPG Convention Department.
“I think most sponsors recognize that they’re ultimately supporting the entire industry by backing the activities of AAPG,” Wegener said. “AAPG always has been focused on serving and growing opportunities for petroleum businesses and professionals.
“The value of sponsorship goes way beyond the annual meeting.”
Those who have sponsored past meetings apparently feel the same way.
“My company’s support of AAPG convention activities has been an excellent and heartwarming experience for me in recent years,” said Dave Eby, owner and president of Eby Petrography and Consulting in Littleton, Colo.
Eby, an AAPG member, has attended every convention for the past 31 years.
“I own a small consulting company,” he said, “(and) sponsorship of the AAPG conventions allows me to give back and support activities that I feel particularly close to.”
For Eby, that often means finding a way to “encourage students and young professionals to come to the national AAPG meetings.
“I feel that I owe so much to this profession, to the AAPG and to many people,” he added. “Sponsorship of activities is one of the ways I can give back to the organization and people who have been so important to me and my company.”
There are seven financial levels of sponsorship opportunities being offered. Donors can contribute to the general fund, or request their money be used in specific purposes, such as in support of field trips, short courses, luncheons, publications or various other activities.
As Sponsorship Committee Chairman Harry Balling said, all gifts are “critical to the continuing success of AAPG and our shared geosciences community.”
Details and e-submittal forms involving sponsorship and exhibitor marketing opportunities are available online at http://www.aapg.org/sanantonio/sponsorship.cfm.