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A Veritable Vegas-Style Buffet

GANA, IGMA Let Glass Week, BEC Attendees Choose an Event That Meets Their Needs
by Megan Headley

What do Las Vegas and Paris have in common? Okay, besides the stellar nightlife, countless cultural activities and intriguing people-watching? Fantastic food. Think of this year’s IGMA Annual Meeting, Glass Week and Building Envelope Contractors (BEC) Conference, set at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas this March, as a menu of options from which you can select any of those options most likely to sate your appetite for information. Event organizers—the Glass Association of North America (GANA) and Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance (IGMA)—are allowing attendees to register for one, two or all three events, maximizing their time by choosing the package that is right for the attendee, their expertise and position in the glass and glazing industry. The full eight-day event, March 22-29, will provide attendees an opportunity to shape the glass industry by contributing to technical meetings during Glass Week or the IGMA Annual Meeting, while also learning more about the challenges facing the glazing industry (and take part in the latest BEC addition, the first BEC trade show, as well). Attendees also may select individual options from among several networking receptions and the annual golf tournament.

Technical Presentations
IGMA members, IGU manufacturers and suppliers will focus on technical topics during the IGMA Annual Conference, March 22-25. Beginning on the 23rd, association members will meet to fine-tune the latest updates to working group activities.

On March 24, registered attendees can listen in on several technical presentations on topics including electrochromic products, solar applications, spandrels and triple silver low-E coatings. An “Ask the Expert” session will allow listeners to get the most out of their attendance—come armed with questions or discussion points.

During Glass Week, March 24-27, GANA will hold its full gamut of committee and division meetings. Several guest speakers will address attendees as well. After its successful presentation at the GANA Fall Conference (see October 2010 USGlass, page 38), the Protective Glazing Committee will once again be inviting a speaker to its meeting to talk about real-world security topics. During the GANA Membership meeting, special guest Kerry Haglund of the University of Minnesota will present information on a “Life-Cycle Analysis for Windows.”

Attending BEC
During last year’s BEC Conference, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman made an appearance to thank attendees for the work they do for the city, both in helping to construct the glittering skyline and in regular meetings in the city’s conference centers. “Las Vegas is a serious place for serious people when they want to do serious things,” Mayor Goodman told attendees. “And when they want to have fun—there’s no place better.”

BEC planners have taken that as their mission for this year’s event, March 27-29, with a number of “serious” sessions planned to keep glaziers informed on current trends, combined with networking opportunities that provide just the right mix of work and play. This year’s BEC Conference is no exception. Attendees will learn about a range of topics including the broad “State of the Aluminum Industry” as presented by Kawneer’s Diana Perreiah and “State of the Glass Industry,” presented by Serge Martin of AGC to the more specific “Issues in Anchoring Curtainwalls,” presented by Victor Yakin of Halfen or “The Case for the NFRC CMA Program,” offered by John Lewis of the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). To learn more about this last topic, attendees may want to check out the NFRC’s Spring Committee Week, March 28-30, just next door to BEC at Bally’s Las Vegas (visit www.nfrc.org for more information).

Glaziers also can learn more about technical issues, such as “Common Causes of Curtainwall Failures,” as shared by a consultant with CDC or the more business-oriented talk from Courtney Little of Ace Glass, “Good Business Practices: Knowing the Cost of Doing Business.”

This year the conference is adding something new to the mix: the first BEC trade show. During breakfast, lunch and following the first-day sessions, visitors can learn a little more about suppliers including 3M, Azon USA, C.R. Laurence, Erdman Automation Corp., General Glass International, Glasswerks L.A. Inc., Guardian Industries Corp., Huntsman, Kawneer, PPG Industries, Prelco Inc., Project DocControl, SAGE Electrochromics, Sapa Extrusions LLC, Vitro America, Walker Glass and, of course, USGlass Magazine.

The Paris Las Vegas provides more than just an opportunity for guests to practice their French. The hotel boasts custom European furniture, rich fabrics and warm decorations that give its rooms a distinctive French feel, while business amenities also are provided.

If signing up for the full eight-day glass event, you might want to consider scheduling in a stop at the Paris Spa by Mandara, or at the very least find some time to pull out the smartphone poolside. Nestled inside a manicured French garden, the hotel’s two-acre rooftop pool sits beside the replica Eiffel Tower. If you’re not making plans to bring the family along, search for souvenirs at the boutiques that line the “rue” that connect guest rooms to convention center.

As every Las Vegas hotel seems to be a city in itself, there are enough dining options to keep visitors content within the venue. Several lounges provide a place to relax at the end of the day.

If looking for activities outside the hotel, well, the choices are virtually endless. Ask the concierge or your colleagues to provide a menu of the activities that Las Vegas provides.

 

Now There’s an App for BEC The Glass Association of North America (GANA) has released its first iPhone/iPad app in Apple’s iTunes App Store and it’s all about the Building Envelope Contractors (BEC) Conference. The BEC Conference app provides the event’s schedule, directions to the event, event-related videos and a live feed from GANA’s Twitter stream. It is available at no cost through iTunes and works on all iOS devices. “We are very pleased to release our first app,” says Brian Pitman, GANA director of marketing and communications. “Updates to the app are already being submitted to offer more videos and information, speaker bios, features on our sponsors, trade show information and more. After the conference, we will include video highlights of the presentations and information on next year’s BEC Conference.” Pitman adds, “We are currently working on our GANA iPhone app, which will offer immediate access to several GANA technical resources, including glass informational bulletins, videos, company profiles and more.”

USG
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