It's hard to believe but we're about a month away from Jamboree and it's time for an update. Deadline Alert #1: If you haven't made your hotel reservations at the Burbank Marriott, you will want to do that this week. We have blown the lid off our reservation block and so far, the Marriott has consistently accommodated our requests to extend the block. (Our contract was for 350 room nights -- we are already near 500!) But all good things must come to an end and the deadline for booking rooms is Monday, May 26. Make your reservations online or by calling 1-818-843-6000. If you have any problems making your registration before May 26, please drop a note to [email protected] and I'll try to help. Deadline Alert #2: We will take advance registration for Jamboree through June 15. What's the benefit of advance registration? --You don't have to wait in line to have your registration processed at the conference. --You get to wear an official printed name tag. --You can purchase tickets for the many social events. Seats are still available for the Friday night banquet with Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak; Saturday Effective Society Management breakfast and panel discussion; Saturday evening's dinner with Dick Eastman; and the Sunday morning Presidential Genealogies with Chris Child and Gary Boyd Roberts of NEHGS. Reservations for the meals will close on June 15. Don't forget to register for the newly added events: - Hollywood Forever Cemetery, bus transportation and guided tour by the cemetery historian Karie Bible. 8:30am-12noon on Friday, June 27. Cost $30. - FREE Introduction to Genealogy taught by Beverly Truesdale 9:00am-12noon Friday, June 27. - FREE Kids Genealogy Camp taught by Starr Campbell, Hailey J. Campbell and Michael Melendez from 9:00am-12noon Friday, June 27. In addition, we have arranged with Lockett Tours for a "Slice of the City" tourist bus trip on Thursday afternoon, June 26. The tour is $30. Find all the details at http://tinyurl.com/59xjqd. Syllabus: Earlier this week, the syllabus was delivered to our printer, Tom Underhill of Creative Continuum. It's 312 pages filled with a wealth of information and reference material. If you receive the printed syllabus as part of your early-bird registration, you might think about getting a version on CD as well. You'll see the handouts in full color and can click-through the hotlinks to explore the many websites that are featured in the lecture sessions. The CD version will be available at Jamboree for $5. After Jamboree, you'll be able to purchase the syllabus through the shopping cart. Construction at the Marriott: The public areas at the Marriott are still under construction. The lodging rooms are all finished, and the convention center is not affected by the remodeling. However, the hallway between the hotel and the convention center is definitely a construction zone. I hope that most of the work will be done before Jamboree, but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some dust and a bit of inconvenience. I will keep you posted as we draw closer to Jamboree. Save the Dates: Woohoo!! We are thrilled to announce that the Marriott offered a proposal to host Jamboree for the next two years, and the Board voted accepted that proposal. Save the dates now for June 12-14, 2009, and June 11-13, 2010. How's that for planning ahead? See you soon! Paula