I am happy to let you know that we have settled on the basic "infrastructure" of the convention.  All of the dads in Omaha and the convention planning committee feel that we've put together the best package of hotel, meeting space, and food/beverage.  The convention is being held this year in Omaha on the weekend of October 10, 2009.

Hotel:  Our main hotel will be the Courtyard by Marriott in Downtown Omaha.  The hotel is within walking distance to our meeting and just a block from the "Old Market" district.  The Old Market features plenty of bars, restaurants, and tourist attractions.  It is only a few minutes from the airport and major interstates.  Our group rate is $109 for a room with two double beds.  This rate includes the following FREE:  On-Site Parking, Airport/Downtown Shuttle, Breakfast for 2 daily, and a hospitality/party room.  In our dealings with the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau www.visitomaha.com, we were told this is the best deal a group has received in a long time. 

Click on the following link to make reservations http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/OMACY?groupCode=AHDAHDB&app=resvlink&fromDate=10/8/09&toDate=10/11/09

You can also call 1-800-204-9388 Group Code AHDAHDB

ONE MAIN NOTE:  This hotel is located right across the street from the Qwest Center Arena, home to many major concerts and sporting events.  I encourage everyone to reserve their room as soon as possible.  If a concert or sporting event is announced for our weekend, this hotel will fill up quickly.  We will have trouble getting extra rooms if this happens.  If we can get as many dads to reserve as early as possible, we can know if we need to increase our room numbers. Other hotels in the downtown area will fill up quickly also, leaving some dads SOL by waiting until the last minute. 

We are also planning on offering a seperate hotel for dads who plan on traveling with their families.  We will update the convention website and I will post an announcement when we have all of the reservation details available.  It is a Holiday Inn with an indoor water park located just North of downtown.

Meeting Space:  The Durham Museum (http://www.durhammuseum.org/) will be our home for our convention program.  I had never been to this place, but I was very impressed when we visited.  It is the old Union Pacific Railroad depot and is really cool.  There is plenty of meeting space with flexible smaller rooms to use for breakouts.  Important:  This contract has been signed and paid for, so this event WILL take place (whether we have 1 dad or 100 dads).

Saturday Night Dinner:  Will be held at the Upstream Brewery (http://www.upstreambrewing.com/Market-PartyRoom.aspx).   Great beer, great food, and a location only a few blocks from the hotel.  Upstream is a favorite site for our local guys for our Dads Night Out. 

Our convention site is up and running at www.athomedadconvention.com and please use this thread if you are looking for another dad to share a room. 

Thanks to all the local Omaha dads who worked very hard putting these things together.  We have a number of guys who are working very hard to make this a successful convention.  We just need you guys to start making plans to come to Omaha and enjoy this event with us.