NATIONAL VACATION MATTERS SUMMIT

LAST CALL TO REGISTER FOR THE NATIONAL VACATION MATTERS SUMMIT!
August 10-12 at Seattle University

Fair skies, moderate temperatures, snow-capped mountains, ocean beaches, bright blue lakes and fresh salmon—that’s Seattle in August!

It’s not too late to register for the historic first-ever NATIONAL VACATION MATTERS SUMMIT and the registration fee has gone down! (If you’ve already registered you’ll be reimbursed for the difference). The cost is now $50 for the full conference, and $25 for students. We think we’ve got a terrific program to offer for that! Please register NOW! You can register at:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/62819

Our full conference schedule is pasted at the end of this email. As you’ll see, all of the presentations are on Tuesday, August 11th, so if you can only make one day of the conference, that’s the day to come. Our welcoming social is on Monday evening.

Wednesday morning is for everyone who wants to be part of the movement for more vacation time and help strategize such things as national policies, like the Paid Vacation Act of 2009, and other ways to increase health-friendly, heart-friendly, productivity-friendly vacation time in the United States and Canada. Join us for that discussion!

Come and hear more than 50 experts from the health profession, the travel industry, organized labor, academia, small business and environmental organizations—including former National Park Service Director Fran Mainella—as they make clear just how important vacations are for all of us.

Inexpensive accommodations and meals are available at Seattle University but you must reserve your accommodations by July 20 to guarantee a room. Register for your accommodations and meals at:

www.regonline.com/SU_VacationMatters09

Do consider a vacation in the beautiful Pacific Northwest—we’re not kidding; August is the very best time of year to be here!

PLEASE send this to anyone else you know and all of your email lists! We don’t have the money to advertise this summit, so we’re depending on you! Come and meet like-minded people and make some wonderful new friends!

For more information, please email John de Graaf at:

jodg@comcast.net

or call me at 206 443-6747. Conference schedule is right below…

FULL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE (TENTATIVE)
THE NATIONAL VACATION MATTERS SUMMIT
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY, AUGUST 10-12, 2009

MONDAY, AUGUST 10

6:00 PM—REGISTRATION AND RECEPTION
7:00 PM—WELCOME—Cecile Andrews

TUESDAY, AUGUST 11

8:00 REGISTRATION
8:45 WELCOME
9:00 FIRST PLENARY
Why Vacations are Good for Business—Joe Robinson, author, WORK TO LIVE, Santa Monica, CA
Heart Break: The Impact of Vacation Time on Coronary Health and Workplace
Stress—Sarah Speck, MD, Director of the Center for Cardio-Vascular Wellness,
Swedish Hospital, Seattle, WA

10:00 BREAK
10:15 PANELS

1. HEALTH
Why I Support Paid Vacations as a Physician and a Small Business owner—Arnold Pallay, MD, past president, New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians/ Morris County Medical Society, Montville, NJ
Reducing Stress and Depression with Vacation Time—Peter Fraenkel, therapist, New York, NY
Taking Time Off: The Benefits of Outdoor Recreation and Leisure—Linda Kruger, U.S. Forest Service, Juneau, AK

2. CULTURE AND RECREATION
Adventure Travel Saves the World: Why vacation time is critical for the health of the planet—Shannon Stowell, Executive Director, Adventure Travel Trade Association, Seattle, WA
Volunteer Vacations—Bonnie Michaels, work-life balance consultant, President, Managing Work and Family, Inc., Naples, FL
Vacation Travel and Life Transforming Experiences—Suzy Ross, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

3. FAMILIES
Vacations and Family Memories—Brian Hill, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
The Family Vacation: A Necessity, not a Luxury--Sue Shaw, University of Waterloo, Ontario
Family Vacations: History, Trends, and Current Research—Sarah Taylor Agate and Joel R. Agate, Clemson University, Clemson, SC

4. POLICY
Vacations: A Matter of Social Justice—Maureen Wilt, Central Missouri University, Kansas City, MO
Choosing Time Off: The Experience of the Netherlands—Anmarie Widener, Health and Social Policy Analyst, LMI, Inc., McLean, VA

11:45 LUNCH BREAK
1:30 SECOND PLENARY
Vacations and the Constituency for Parks and Recreation—Fran Mainella, former director of the National Park Service (2001-2006) and visiting scholar at Clemson University, Clemson, SC
Film and Library Resources About American Vacations—Hannah Palin, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, WA

2:30 BREAK
2:45 PANELS #2

1. CULTURE
The Holiday Problem: a Short History of Free Time Advocacy in America—Karl Johnson, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
The Impact of Taiwan’s Travel Card on Vacation Behavior Among Government Staff—Hsueh-wen Chow and Tsin-chan Tsai, Taipei, Taiwan
More Bang for the Buck: the Value of Vacation Time in Enhancing Life Satisfaction—Leaf Van Boven, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

2. LABOR AND BUSINESS
Organized Labor’s Stake in More Vacation Time—Jessica Bonebright, SPEEA, Steve Williamson, UFCW, Seattle
Making Paid Vacations Work in a Small Business—Michelle Rupp, owner, NRG Insurance Company, Seattle, WA

3. FAMILIES
Creating “Legacy Vacations” for Families—Isabelle Gingras, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
Family Summer Vacation Trips and Academic Achievement among First Graders: Results from A National Study—by Jessica Parker and Francis McGuire, presented by William C. Norman, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
Visiting Friends and Family: Picturing the good life by persons with intellectual disability—Jennifer B. Mactavish and Kelly MacKay, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg
Old Vacation Policies and New Employment Realities for Canadian Parents--Margo Hilbrecht, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Now that We are Here: From Vacationer to Resident in Two South Carolina Counties—by Kyle M. Woosnam, Texas A & M University, USA and Jason Draper, Clemson University, presented by William C. Norman, Clemson University, Clemson, SC

4. ENVIRONMENT AND NATURE
Vacation Time as an Environmental Issue—David Batker, Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA
Confronting the Trinity of Despair—Michael Maniates, Allegheny College, Meadville, PA
Beyond Greenwashing: Business and Environmentally-Friendly Vacations—Gregg Burke, Go South Adventures, Seattle, WA

5. POLICY
A Political Strategy for Paid Vacation Time—Brian Derdowski, former County Council member, King County, Washington, Issaquah, WA
What the Polling Tells Us—Bill Monto, True Blue Innovations, Seattle, WA
Using Ballot Initiatives and Referenda to Win Paid Vacation Time—Ted Blaszak, Democracy Resources, Portland, Oregon

4:15 BREAK
4:30 PANELS #3

1. CULTURE
The Economic Crisis as an Opportunity to Re-think What Matters—Cathy O’Keefe, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
The Spiritual Value of Vacations—Rebecca Gould, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
Vacations and Vocations—Amara Berthelson and Chris Johnson, Gustavus Adolphus College, St Peter, MN

2. POLICY
Why The Time is Right for Longer Vacations and Weekends—Phil Hyde, Webmaster, www.timesizing.org, Ottawa, Canada
Reducing the Cost of Living so People Can Afford Vacations—Dan Aronson, Economist, Raritan Valley Community College, NJ
Vacations as Part of a Shorter Work-Time Strategy—Greg Wright, Americans for Democratic Action of Southern California Board member, Los Angeles, CA

3. TECHNOLOGY
Vacations and the Slow Life—Cecile Andrews, author, SLOW IS BEAUTIFUL, Seattle, WA
Distraction-Free Vacations—Mara Adelman, Seattle University, Seattle, WA
Tourists’ Perspectives on Information Technology (IT) and their Vacation Experiences—Kelly J. MacKay--University of Manitoba, Canada and Christine A. Vogt, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI
The Benefits and Challenges of Staycations—James Lewis and David Lemberg, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI

4. PERSUASION
Reaching the Media with the Vacation Case—Danna Quinn, Sales Executive, Marriott Vacation Club, Myrtle Beach, SC
Using Art to Promote Vacations (and vice versa)—Gaylene Carpenter and Lori Hager, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Reaching Younger People Through Social Networking—Caroline Li, Take Back Your Time, Seattle, WA

6:00 DINNER
8:00 POSSIBLE RECEPTION

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12

9:00 PLENARY
The Paid Vacation Act of 2009—Congressman Alan Grayson, Orlando, FL (by video)
Culture Shift: From Material Affluence to Time Affluence—John de Graaf, Take
Back Your Time, Seattle, WA

10:00 BREAK
10:15 BREAKOUT SESSIONS—BRAINSTORMING THE QUESTION, “WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?”
11:30 FINAL PLENARY—REPORTS FROM BREAKOUT SESSIONS
12:30 CONFERENCE ENDS

Location