Message from President Will Haines for PEC 2015

Aloha Conference Participants,


The Pacific Entomology Conference is right around the corner! Here's a summary of important information about the conference. 


Venue: The conference will be held on the third floor of the Hilton Waikiki Beach, located at 2500 Kuhio Ave. (https://goo.gl/maps/AZ8dA).


Parking: Valet parking is free for conference attendees, with validation (make sure to get your tickets validated at the conference registration desk). Free parking is limited to one entry per day (i.e. if you leave and come back, you will have to pay for your second visit). 


Public transportation: Several bus routes stop at the corner of Kuhio Ave. and Liliuokalani Ave., which is right next to the hotel. From the University of Hawaii campus, the #13 bus is the most direct route. Bus fare is $2.50 each way. http://www.thebus.org/


Symposia and submitted papers will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, 9 am to 5 pm, with two concurrent sessions each day. Symposium organizers and session moderators will be responsible for uploading presentations, so if you are presenting, please coordinate with your moderator.


Friday will be a half day, with sessions only in the morning. The Biosecurity Forum is by invitation only (contact Darcy Oishi). There are also a couple of last-minute sessions on Friday morning that are open to all registrants (one on biocontrol and one on citizen science in entomology). Details will be provided in the online program.


Posters will be on display all day Wednesday and Thursday. Please plan on setting up your poster Wednesday morning, and taking it down Thursday evening. Although there is no formal poster session, poster presenters will stand by their posters during the morning breaks on Wednesday and Thursday. There will also be tables and chairs available in the poster room for small meetings. 


Lunches will be provided on Wednesday and Thursday, in the Ballroom. The HES awards will be presented on Wednesday during lunch. On Friday, the conference will adjourn at noon, without a lunch.


There will be an evening reception on Thursday evening at the hotel, from 5:30-7:30 in the Gazebo Garden near the main hotel lobby. Pupus and some drinks (alcoholic and otherwise) will be provided, so please plan on joining us for this!


For those interested in collecting and surveying, there will be a field trip to Kulana'ahane Valley on the Saturday following the conference. If interested, please RSVP here: http://goo.gl/forms/ApOaNRjTeh


It's going to be a great conference, thanks to the efforts of the conference committee, especially Darcy Oishi and Helen Spafford. We look forward to seeing you next week! 


Aloha,

Will Haines


--

William P. Haines
President and Conference Chair, Hawaiian Entomological Society