SGIA '05 Cancelled

FAIRFAX, Va.—SGIA has cancelled SGIA '05, scheduled for New Orleans September 28-October 1. The decision follows conversations with representatives from New Orleans and Atlanta as well as SGIA '05 exhibitors.

Discussions in the last 24 hours had centered around relocating the convention to the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, said SGIA President/CEO Michael Robertson.

"SGIA '05 in New Orleans was well on its way to being the best SGIA Convention in recent memory. The quality and quantity of exhibitors and attendees was staggering. In moving to Atlanta, as we discussed, we faced the challenge of delivering the same level of value to attendees and exhibitors without the luxury of the time needed to accomplish the goal."

The Association is in the process of contacting all current exhibitors and attendees to offer refunds on any booth or registration fees paid to date. Exhibitors may choose instead to apply their booth fees to SGIA '06, and pre-registered attendees will have the option to donate their paid registration fees to the recovery efforts in New Orleans. In either case, SGIA requests that exhibitors and attendees please allow the organization time to coordinate payments and donations.

"Canceling the show was a difficult decision," Robertson added. "It was a question of producing the level of quality and value our exhibitors and attendees have come to expect. We're looking forward to building on the momentum we had going for SGIA '05 as we plan for SGIA '06."

Booth space for SGIA '06 will go on sale Wednesday, September 7, 2005, as planned.

In addition to focusing its efforts on SGIA '06 (Las Vegas, September 26-29, 2006), the Association will concentrate on the other educational events planned for the coming 12 months. and other educational events, including the SGIA Imaging Symposium - Vancouver (October 26-27) and Advanced Garment Printing: A Roadmap to Success (October 28-29).

"The efforts of our friends in New Orleans and Atlanta have been phenomenal. They have worked very hard on our behalf and we truly appreciate it. However, there's just too much to do in too short a period of time," Robertson said.

Information about SGIA '05, SGIA '06 and other SGIA educational programs is at SGIA.org.