From the President-Elect
Geoff Koby
president-elect@atanet.org
Over 1,300 ATA members can’t be wrong—Miami was a great location for ATA64. Returning to the same hotel and conference center as eight years ago in 2015 was like coming home again!
On-site conference attendance has grown steadily since the hybrid ATA62 conference in Minneapolis and the first post-pandemic all-in-person conference last year in Los Angeles. But the better-than-expected attendance in Miami gave our conference the traditional buzz and vibe of old friends getting back together and new members and conference attendees sharing their excitement at being together with like-minded professionals in a learning and sharing setting. Be sure to take a look at the ATA64 recap video and conference photo gallery to remember the excitement or see what an ATA Annual Conference is like!
Thank you to everyone who made the trip down to warm and beautiful South Florida, and special thanks to you if this was your first ATA conference. This year, the Buddies Welcome Newbies event celebrated its tenth anniversary of connecting conference veterans with first-time attendees with its usual enthusiasm. Thank you also to our co-hosting organization, the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Florida, for faithfully staffing a table and providing information about the Miami area, and to our Gold Sponsor Wordfast and Silver Sponsor Trados, as well as our other sponsors. I also want to thank all the chapter and division officers, committee chairs, and those members who volunteered in various ways (e.g., organizing the Awards Ceremony, counting ballots, scheduling off-site division events, etc.). Finally, a big thanks to the ATA Headquarters staff, and especially Director of Professional Development and Events Adrian Aleckna, for ensuring ATA64 was seamless.
Because of my new role, I’ve stepped down as president of the American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation (AFTI), ATA’s nonprofit foundation, but before I go, I’d like to thank everyone who has donated to AFTI over the years. AFTI has been able to fund several scholarships for students attending the conference for the first time and has started a new tradition—Game Night—at the conference. Miami’s Game Night attendees enjoyed Jeopardy and various board and card games for a good cause!
There are always little things that don’t work as well as planned in a conference this large, so I welcome your feedback at president-elect@atanet.org. We’ll definitely take another look at name badges as well as the conference app, with the goal of making things work smoothly while keeping costs under control.
Looking Ahead to ATA65
As the newly elected president-elect, I’m happily starting my work as the conference organizer for ATA’s 65th Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon, October 30-November 2, 2024. Portland’s conference will have a new twist, with the conference sessions being held in the convention center across the street from the conference hotel. There is a light rail stop at the hotel, so it will be easy for attendees to reach downtown Portland for division dinners and nightlife!
Portland is a great place to visit—just take a look at the ATA65 preview video! I’ll be working with the ATA Headquarters team to make sure our Annual Conference is financially sustainable while providing a great experience for all attendees. We’ll be visiting the conference hotel soon and I’ll be sharing updates about what to expect at ATA65 in my future columns. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, please consider submitting a proposal early next year for a presentation at the conference. ATA depends on you to share your professional expertise with your colleagues to make the profession better for all of us! The call for session proposals for ATA’s 65th Annual Conference will be out in January, so it’s time to start planning yours! If you’ve never written a proposal to present at an ATA Annual Conference, make sure to watch our free webinar “How to Submit a Successful ATA Annual Conference Proposal” to learn more about developing and submitting a proposal for this event.
Please feel free to email me at president-elect@atanet.org with your suggestions for ATA65 and let me know if you’d like to help with any of the planning, organization, or events.