11/13/03 - 500 Delegates Attend Prevention Sympos
News Release
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - Nov. 13, 2003
500 DELEGATES ATTEND PREVENTION SYMPOSIUM IN ANCHORAGE, NOVEMBER 17-19
More than 500 substance abuse prevention providers will meet in Anchorage next week for Akeela Inc.'s 23rd Annual Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Symposium "From Science to Practice." The statewide meeting, held at the Hilton Anchorage Monday, Nov. 17, 2003, through Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2003, will bring an estimated economic impact of $285,175 to the city of Anchorage.
"This convention will fill more than 100 hotel rooms, and includes a 22-booth exhibit hall, and is yet another example of the importance of local and statewide meetings to the Anchorage economy," said Bruce Bustamante, president and CEO of Anchorage & Convention Visitors Bureau (ACVB).
Prevention Symposium 2003 features several important national and Alaska speakers including Beverly Watts Davis, the newly appointed Director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention; Bob Denniston, deputy director for Partnerships, National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign; and Aaron White, Ph.D., an assistant research professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center.
Alaskan speakers will include Jeff Jessee, executive director of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and Paul Sherry, CEO of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Workshop sessions will be held throughout the conference and an awards luncheon recognizing an outstanding worker, volunteer, youth and a school or community group in the field of substance abuse prevention will be announced.
Prevention Symposium 2003 is one of 13 conventions and three trade shows held in Anchorage during November, bringing more than 40,000 delegates and an estimated combined economic impact of nearly $7.2 million to Anchorage.
The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau's mission is to attract and serve visitors to the Municipality of Anchorage. ACVB's marketing functions are funded by half of the bed tax collected by hotels. The other half goes the Municipality's general fund. ACVB receives no state or federal funds. For more information, explore www.anchorage.net.
Contacts:
Erika Biringer, Public Relations Manager
(907) 257-2331
ebiringer@anchorage.net
Explore www.anchorage.net
Nance Larsen, Director of Communications
(907) 257-2310
nlarsen@anchorage.net
Explore www.anchorage.net
