Dan Myers
Conference Chairman
On behalf of the IMAGE Society and FlightSafety I welcome you to IMAGE 2008 and St. Louis.
As always this year's conference boasts a full agenda
consisting of a keynote speaker (Dr. Ed Cook, FAA), technical papers,
technical short courses, Host presentations, DOD common database update,
FlightSafety Tour, exhibit hall with buffet luncheon hosted by The IMAGE Society,
and a Conference Closing Mixer hosted by FlightSafety. Bowing to numerous
suggestions from last year's attendees, paper presenters will be given
30 minutes (increased from 20 minutes) each to allow time for a more
relaxed presentation with more time for questions and answers. The majority
of you will enjoy a significant reduction in your travel time from last
year, but you will be even more impressed by the Chase Park Plaza Hotel
with the adjacent Forest Park offering a myriad of activities, recreation, entertainment and restaurants all within walking distance. If you do not wish to rent a car, you can take
advantage of the St. Louis Metrolink providing numerous connections each
day from the Airport to within a few blocks of the hotel. The Metro
will also provide convenient travel to many of St. Louis' leisure and
entertainment areas.
The historic Chase Park Plaza Hotel built in 1922 has been completely
and beautifully renovated at a cost of $100 million. During its early years, it was "The" hotel
in St. Louis showcasing stars such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry
Lewis, and Bob Hope. See photos and read more about the historic Chase Park Plaza.
The Hotel is located on the NE corner of Forest Park,
at the corner of Kingshighway and Lindell Blvd. See the
St. Louis map.
As you can see from the map of Forest Park, Forest Park
offers a wealth of activities including jogging/walking trails, golf, tennis, bicycling,
boating, St. Louis Zoo (free admission), Science Center, Planetarium,
Art Museum, Municipal Theatre, History Museum and World Fair Pavilion.
And, as you can see all of these are within walking distance from the
hotel as are numerous restaurants.
Hot links for more details on each of the activities along with a list
of restaurants may be found at Forest Park Activities.
Typically the weather in St. Louis in June is mild with temperatures
averaging 82 º high to 62 º low, and mostly sunny. A great time
to bring the family, come a few days early - stay a few days after and
make it a mini vacation.
In conclusion, I invite you to tour the FlightSafety facilities (buses
provided) on Thursday afternoon (1:00pm - 5:00 pm) to be followed by
the Conference Closing Mixer hosted by FlightSafety at 6:00 pm in the Zodiac room
in the Chase Park Plaza Hotel. Plenty of Hors Doeuvres and beverages will be served
and a great time by all is sure to be experienced as we wrap up the
conference. Spouses are most welcome! (no children please).
IMAGE 2008 promises to be one of the best ever. We look forward to
seeing you in St. Louis this June!