OVERVIEW

Columbus welcomed nearly 7,000 high-school and independent counselors, college-admissions professionals, and representatives from community-based organizations for the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC) annual networking and education event.

CHALLENGES

Renovations at the Greater Columbus Convention Center were an ongoing challenge for NACAC’s planning team in the months leading up to the meeting, which is why the venue took extraordinary measures to spruce up. (Read our Pre Con profile at convn.org/pre-con-nacac.) “The convention center offered to cover the cost of the additional signage to make the center really look its best,” said Shannon Burke, CMP, NACAC’s director of conference and meetings. “So we focused on fence banners along the front of the building directing people to the entrances. In addition, we used 20-foot-by-10-foot welcome and directional banners on the construction walls throughout the center. While it wasn’t perfect, it distracted from the semi-permanent walls and really added to the overall impact of the conference graphics.”

INITIATIVES

NACAC held a bring-your-own-tech workshop for the first time. “The Tech Lab was a resounding success, with many standing-room-only sessions,” Burke said. “We’ll bring it back in 2017, and are doubling it in size.”