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Incredible Attendance at Spring World 2008 By Jon Seals More than 1,300 attendees joined expert speakers and exhibitors for a total of 1,800 people at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla., for the Disaster Recovery Journal Spring World 2008 March 30-April 2. “We are pleased to have another incredible attendance for our Spring 08 show,” said Bob Arnold, vice president of Disaster Recovery Journal. “With ever-increasing tight budgets, it is certainly great to have literally no drop off in attendance, booths or sponsors. I believe it is due to the growing importance of business continuity in an quickly evolving business environment. Many companies are faced with regulations and are forced to prove their readiness in any sort of interruption. It is much more than just a simple check mark on an executive’s to-do list, it is a becoming fully integrated into the culture of many organizations.” Conference sessions featured a wide variety of topics, coinciding with industry trends and the latest disastrous events. “We would like to thank all of our incredible speakers, exhibitors, and sponsors for making this show another huge success, especially Forsythe the sponsor of Mojito Monday,” said Arnold. “Thank you as well to all of the many attendees that had to fight for budgets to attendee during this economic crunch. We continue to strive to offer the most comprehensive BC event in an organized and fun environment.” Forsythe was the gold sponsor of Spring World 2008, sponsoring the Monday Night Hospitality. Forsythe’s “Monday Mojitos,” featured a live band, food, drinks, and good times for all. Hewlett-Packard, IBM, SunGard Varolii, and WebEx were the silver sponsors of Spring World 2008. Bronze sponsors included eBRP, ESi, MessageOne, and Strohl Systems. Co-sponsors included: Booz-Allen-Hamilton, COOP Systems, Fusion Risk Management, itrezzo, and Xiotech. The Walt Disney Company sponsored the mock disaster while SunGard sponsored the Cyber City. FedEx Custom Critical is the official transportation sponsor of DRJ conferences. DRI International and PPBI are non-profit sponsors of the conference. The exhibit hall at Coronado Springs Resort featured more than 100 exhibitors manning 130 booths. Hector Fulgencio and Carlos Roberto Coelho each won a Disney gift basket, apair of Disney park-hopper tickets, and $250 cash in the exhibit hall prize drawing. Brian Primeau won the $500 grand attendance prize before the final general session while Paul Eyre and Karen Peterson each won $250. All three Wednesday winners also received a free conference attendance to a future show. “We also have pictures of Spring World 2008 on our Web site,” said Arnold. “Check out all the great fun had by all who attended! While on the site, you can also find details on our next conference, Fall World 2008. We are already working on a great line-up of sessions, topics and speakers. The fall show has sold-out for the past three years. Sign up early to ensure your spot in the world’s largest business continuity conference.” DRJ will hold its 39th conference Sept. 14-17, 2008, in San Diego. For more information on Fall World 2008, see pages 81-87. “We’re always looking for lessons learned from paractitioners,” said Arnold. “If you have a topic you think our attendees might be interested in, get in touch with us.” To view the photo gallery of DRJ's Spring World 2008 Click HERE>> About the Author  |