Destinations

The Tri-State Seminar Returns to South Point Hotel & Casino

The premier event for water professionals in California, Arizona, and Nevada will be held at South Point Hotel & Casino for the sixth year in a row.

South Point Hotel & Casino

In September 1985, 120 rural water-pollution-control professionals met at the Bullhead City Chamber of Commerce Building in Bullhead City, Arizona. It was the very first Tri-State Seminar, an entirely volunteer-led program that includes education sessions, workshops, and an exhibit hall for water professionals from Arizona, California, and Nevada. More than three decades later, the seminar has expanded to 3,000-plus delegates. Later this year, the event will be hosted at the South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the sixth year in a row.

 “Attendees are offered a variety of learning opportunities,” Pat Davis, one of the event’s committee chairs, told Convene, “from classroom training and field trips to exhibitors with the newest technology, showing operators how their devices can improve today’s water-utility systems.”

Federal Financial GS Ballroom

In 2013, organizers of the Tri-State Seminar realized that they needed more room to accommodate their growing audience. “South Point provides the necessary and cost-effective facility for education and housing of our 3,300 attendees,” Davis says. The property, which offers more than 150,000 square feet of meeting space, not only allowed for the growth in attendance, but also for 100-plus sessions, more workshop opportunities, and more than 325 display spaces — all in one exhibit hall.

This year’s seminar, held Sept. 25-28, will welcome more than 300 exhibitors, and feature more than 200 classes with leading experts in the industry, as well as offering specialized tours and add-on workshops to attendees. The Hawaiian-themed marketing — “Surf the Seminar 2018,” read the invitation to register — has an educational premise, according to Davis. “Learning is like a luau,” she said. “You never get enough of it!” Delegates will also have the opportunity to earn up to 21 contact hours for credit at the seminar.

Don Vitos at South Point Hotel

Attendees can also take advantage of South Point’s many on-site entertainment options, including a 64-lane bowling alley, a 600-seat bingo room, and a 16-theater movie complex. For a little rest and relaxation, guests can check out the Costa Del Sur Spa & Salon. The South Point Hotel also offers 11 restaurants with a wide variety of cuisines for every price range, appetite, and dining experience — from elegant to casual.

The group is excited to return to the venue. “South Point staff, from management to the floor workers, are friendly and professional,” Davis said. “They have gone above and beyond their duties to provide us with last-minute items for the past six years. And the resort-like feel of the complex meets attendees’ needs and their family entertainment for the entire seminar.”

Sarah Beauchamp