Child Nutrition Industry Conference
Where Partners Create Possibilities
San Antonio, TX | January 13-15, 2013
Photo: San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau
SNA’s 2013 Child Nutrition Industry Conference (CNIC) brings you the most current concepts and best-practice solutions to help you achieve school nutrition excellence. Join your colleagues in vibrant San Antonio, Texas, for an unparalleled professional learning experience with takeaways you can immediately apply to your operation or business.
- Be inspired by attending a wide-variety of education and general sessions on the key issues facing the profession, including: new meal patterns, dietary guidelines, financial management and staff training.
- Connect directly with industry representatives at Innovation Station sessions to discover the most current products and services on the market.
- Gain the latest foodservice and nutrition information and trends from leading experts.
- Enjoy rewarding one-on-one time with your peers at numerous networking opportunities throughout the conference.
CNIC will leave you feeling renewed, energized and well prepared to meet the challenges ahead.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
Grand Hyatt San Antonio
600 E. Market Street
San Antonio, TX 78205
Phone: (210) 224-1234
Fax: (210) 271-8019
www.grandsanantonio.hyatt.com
Check-in: 3:00 pm; Check-out: 12:00 pm
Discover a San Antonio luxury hotel offering an exciting blend of modernism and Latin culture. With a dramatic design that exemplifies this unique city, Grand Hyatt San Antonio offers warm hospitality, bold colors and exceptional touches creating a luxury San Antonio River Walk hotel that is perfect for every guest.
San Antonio's old world Spanish flair and blend of cultures make it one of America's most picturesque cities. Settled in 1731 by sixteen Spanish families from the Canary Islands, San Antonio’s rich history surfaces in its architecture, neighborhoods, food, culture and traditions. The King William neighborhood is one of the oldest historical districts in Texas. Hundreds of hotels, restaurants, night spots and shops line San Antonio’s urban core including the magical River Walk below street level, and is known as one of America’s safest and best “walking” cities. San Antonio’s El Mercado shopping district is the largest Mexican market outside Mexico, and the nearby San Marcos Outlet Mall was ranked 3rd best shopping mall in the world by ABC’s "The View."
RESERVATIONS
SNA Discounted Room Rates:
$180* per night, Single/Double/Triple/Quad plus applicable taxes
To take advantage of the special SNA conference rate, you may make your reservation online, or by calling (888) 421-1442. When making your reservations by phone, be sure to mention SNA/CNIC.
Rooms are issued on a first come, first served basis until December 22, 2012. Please note, the SNA discounted rate will not be available after the cut-off date of December 22 or prior to that date if the room block is full. Please make your reservations early to take advantage of the discounted rate. All rates are subject to all applicable taxes and assessments.
Cancellation policy: Reservation must be cancelled three working days prior to arrival date and a cancellation number must be obtained to avoid penalty of one night’s room and tax charge.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Air Transportation
The San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is located in Northern San Antonio, Texas, approximately eight miles from downtown. The airport is a two-terminal facility serviced by 16 domestic and international airline carriers providing nonstop service to 32 destinations and provides service to nearly 10 million passengers a year. When making your online airline reservations, you may use MacNair Travel Agency at (800) 833-4382 and macnairtravel.com, or other Internet travel services, such as Orbitz, Expedia or Travelocity.
Ground Transportation
Shuttle transportation to and from San Antonio International Airport and downtown (8 miles) is provided for a fee by SATRANS, the city's official airport shuttle, between 7:00 am and 1:00 am daily. For more information, call (210) 281-9900, or visit www.saairportshuttle.com. Taxis and other transportation services are also readily available from the airport.
CITY INFORMATION
With 300 days of sunshine a year, San Antonio is an ideal destination year round. Warm summers and mild winters are complemented by a very pleasant spring and fall. On average, July is the warmest month, and January is the coolest. The average annual precipitation for San Antonio is just 29.05 inches. Continuous weather broadcasts can be heard over NOAA Weather Radio, "The Voice of the National Weather Service" and "The Radio for all Seasons," at 162.550 MHz.
The best way to prepare for visiting San Antonio, and for potentially chilly hotel meeting rooms, is to dress in layers. Current weather information, as well as details about things to do, can be found at www.visitsanantonio.com.
INNOVATION STATIONS
Applications for Innovation Stations will begin being accepted on September 5, 2012
Back by popular demand, SNA is proud to once again offer Innovation Stations at CNIC 2013. These unique mini-sessions introduce school nutrition operators in attendance to the latest products and services on the market today, while giving industry representatives interested in reaching key decision-makers the opportunity to provide face-to-face, hands-on demonstrations.
Are you an industry representative looking to showcase a product or service either in development or recently introduced to the school market? If so, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to connect with key decision-makers and generate quality sales leads! Participating companies will be able to make their presentation three times (20-minutes each) to individual groups of 20-25 directors—with the potential to reach as many as 75 directors! This “speed dating”-type approach will allow you to meet with more directors, obtain more feedback and generate more quality leads!
By participating in the Innovation Station sessions your organization will also have the opportunity to be a part of the MyPlate Mixer. This fun networking activity is based on the USDA’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. MyPlate.gov is designed to remind attendees to eat healthfully and guide them to resources and tools to put the Dietary Guidelines into action. Each company will be assigned a table where they can display literature relating to their new product or service; however, no food is allowed to be showcased during this time period. This great event will allow you to reach those directors that didn’t have a chance to attend your Innovation Station session (SNA will provide the food and beverages for the MyPlate Mixer.)
Innovation Stations will be sold on a first come, first served basis. So act fast, only 30 companies will have the opportunity to present! Applications will begin being accepted on Wednesday, September 5, 2012. The cost to participate in an Innovation Station is $3,600. For more information, please contact SNA’s Exhibits Sales Manager, Crystal Harper-Pierre at (800) 877-8822, ext. 140, or charper@schoolnutrition.org.
Innovation Station participants must:
- Present a product or service that is either in development or was introduced to school nutrition market within the last year.
- Be a SNA Industry Member
- Ensure a well-prepared presentation designed to obtain feedback from participating attendees.
- Understand that this is not a “sales pitch” from which to take orders.
Innovation Station participants will receive these benefits:
- A private meeting room and dedicated time for your presentation.
- Three, 20-minute sessions of undivided attention with leading school nutrition directors (for a total of 1 hour of presentation time).
- Instant feedback from the nation’s most knowledgeable school nutrition directors.
- Great networking opportunities with customers, including the MyPlate Mixer.
- Your name and product listed in the onsite program and on SNA’s website.
- A list of all school nutrition directors attending this year’s conference.
The following companies presented an Innovation Stations at CNIC 2012:
4U2U Brands, AdvancePierre Foods, Bridgford Foods Corporation, Campbell’s Soup Company/Pepperidge Farm, Chobani Yogurt/Agro-Farm, Cybersoft Technologies, Del Monte Foods, Domino’s Pizza, Duke Manufacturing, General Mills Foodservice, Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers, Harris School Solutions, Heartland School Solutions, Icelandic Seafood, J & J Snack Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, J.M. Smucker Company, J.T.M. Food Group, Land O’Lakes, Learning ZoneXpress, Nardone Brothers Baking Company, NutriSlice, Inc., Pinnacle Foods, Promotion In Motion Company, RATIONAL USA, Schwan’s Food Service, SFSPac Food Service Sanitation & Systems, Super Bakery, Inc., Unified Brands and Veryfine Juice, Inc.