The Meetup
Elisa Stritt CMP, CEM Meeting Planner
It is hard to believe we are quickly approaching our 2023 Annual Meeting in Norfolk, Virginia. I can remember in detail the planning process before traveling to Norfolk, Virginia for my site visit. It was my first site visit since the pandemic had begun and it was also the Visit Norfolk CVB team’s first site visit in nearly a year. This is unheard of in the hospitality industry; site visits are typically continuously happening 365 days a year. So, this trip was a big event for all involved. For me, the CVB, for the hoteliers. What a wonderful site visit it was! Norfolk is the home of the beautiful Chesapeake Bay, Naval Station Norfolk, which is the world’s largest naval base, and the North American Headquarters for NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). As a waterfront city, you will find many restaurants featuring freshly- caught seafood direct from Chesapeake Bay including blue crab, oysters, and rockfish. Our hotel is in an excellent location right in the heart of downtown Norfolk with dozens of restau- rants close by. The trendy Waterside District is an easy three-minute walk from the hotel and has a handful of restaurants and bars, some of which offer entertainment in the evenings. I encourage you to take a walk over to the Nauticus, a maritime discovery center located along the waterfront where the Battleship Wisconsin is berthed. The Wisconsin is one of the largest and last battleships ever built by the U.S. Navy and she served in WWII, the Korean War, and the Gulf War. The Battleship closes during our meeting every day at 5 pm, so I strongly sug - gest making this a part of your Saturday plans; their Saturday hours are 10 am – 5 pm. As an early English settlement, Norfolk is filled with historic sites and important monuments, many of which you will find by simply taking a stroll through downtown. The Chrysler Mu - seum of Art is a fifteen-minute walk from the hotel, MacArthur Memorial a short two-min walk, and Town Point Park, a two-minute walk, has a great outdoor trail to get a little fresh air. The Norfolk Waterside Marriot will be the host to our 108th Annual Meeting taking place July 30 – August 3, 2023. I hope you will reserve your room now rather than waiting and risk hav - ing our block sold out or simply forgetting before the deadline (if you think this is directed to you, you are probably right!). Our Early Bird cut-off for both hotel guest rooms and meeting registration is Friday, July 7, 2023. It’ll be here before we know it so take the time now to Re - serve your Room and Register for the Meeting. I look forward to seeing you all in Norfolk!
10 NCWM-News
2023 Issue 1
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