2018 LERN ANNUAL CONFERENCE

All day intensive advanced seminars with the best experts on Tuesday Nov. 6.  FREE if you are staying in the LERN room block for 3 or more days; $195 each if you are staying elsewhere.
Last year over 300 people attended the seminars! So this year we have 3 new topics, plus 3 of our most popular seminars. Seminars start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. Lunch not included. Advance Registration required so you have a seat reserved for you.

New! Advanced Digital Marketing

With so many different channels, discover how to get your audience to tune in to your message and crank up the volume on success. Come learn how to integrate comprehensive strategies, implement best practice tactics and increase ROI on your digital marketing investment.
We start with firming up your foundational knowledge, then move to advanced insights and tools for more experienced digital marketers.  We’ll drill down into SEO, Analytics, Content Marketing and Results Reporting, plus touch on the major digital platforms you should be using today for better results tomorrow.
Take away the latest most advanced digital marketing strategies from one of North America’s foremost digital marketing experts in the field of lifelong learning.
Susan Hurrell is an expert digital marketer with the nationally known firm Neovation of Winnipeg. She also presents LERN’s Digital Marketing Institute.

Always popular!  Youth Programs/Summer Camps

Get the latest information on improving your summer camp, kids’ college, child and youth programming.
Summer camps are one of the most profitable activities in community programming today, generating over $3 million a summer for the most successful programs.
Find out the current and most advanced strategies from some of the top practitioners in lifelong learning programming.  Learn when to mail your brochure, payment plans, topics trends, and more.
Take home tips from other successful practitioners on marketing, programming and running profitable youth programs.
Relevant for programmers in any institutional setting.
Laura Wetherald, Howard County Parks and Recreation Department, Columbia, Maryland, runs the largest Summer Camp program in North America, generating $3 million a summer just from summer camps.

The Classic!  Designing Brochures for Results

For most programs, your print brochure or catalog generates 70% of your registrations and income, even with online registration.  And it represents your image to the vast majority of your audience.
Get specific, no cost ideas to improve your brochure with our most popular seminar led by a  print marketing authority.
Discover what you are doing right. Then find out areas to enhance your brochure’s effectiveness.
Find out about: Front and back covers, page design, copy, prime space, boosting registrations, and more.
You’ll come away from this seminar with tips and techniques to increase income, save on costs and increase enrollments.  Just one of our tips has increased past participants’ registrations by 5 percent.
Brendan Marsello of LERN critiques hundreds of lifelong learning program brochures every year.

Developing Your One-Year Market Plan

More critical now than ever for your program is to develop or improve a one-year marketing plan. It is guide all of your staff follow.
The plan must be specific and measurable. It serves as a road map for your organization and boosting your success.
Learn formulas and reports to use, benchmarks on what’s possible, the 3 things missing from most plans, measuring your plan’s success, and more….
Afterwards, you will be able to take immediate actions toward creating or improving your one-year marketing plan. You’ll have the tools to compete, and win, in this tough competitive environment.
Greg Marsello, LERN’s top consultant, has visited programs all over Canada and the U.S. every week, consulting and training staff.

New!  Winning Customer Service Techniques

Happy Customers equals more income. The easiest way to grow programs is for your current customers return more often. The key is high quality customer service. Explore the simple techniques that will elevate your customer service to extraordinary. You will learn innovative ways to strengthen your customers’ relationships. Understanding the customer’s journey will tell you what you are missing. You will walk away from this session with new ideas that will increase your bottom line and increase registrations.
Fred Bayley is a customer service expert who teaches an extraordinary customer service class online for programs all over Canada and the U.S.

New!  From Instructors to Facilitators​

Today’s instructor is no longer the sage on the stage delivering information. Instead, today’s teachers must involve learners in every class meeting and in every way. That includes creating content, leading discussions, student presentations, even in peer group assessment.
With new eTools and strategies for helping today’s learner, your instructors also need to engage  their learners in teacher-led delivery of information, gaining feedback and involvement.
Learn how to move from teacher-led information to learner-centered engaged learning. Discover how to facilitate curiosity and motivation in your classes. Take away new tools and simple techniques to apply immediately.
Kassia Dellabough is one of the foremost pioneers in the area of engaged learning. She teaches in-person, teaches online, and has presented all over the country on teaching and presentation techniques.

With the LERN conference being held at the Savannah Trade Center, you have 8 great hotels from which to choose, with conference rates of just $129 – $195.

Make Your Hotel Reservation Here. To get your LERN room rate, registration discount and FREE seminar, use the Savannah Convention Bureau’s Housing Department’s Passkey system. Click the Reserve a Hotel button below.
To make a reservation by phone, you may call 912-644-6465, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

Hyatt Regency, 2 West Bay Street, $195 a night single/double.
LERN has designated the Hyatt as the headquarter hotel, and site of the Lumens/Augusoft User Summit.  The hotel straddles two of the most popular streets for dining and bar hopping, Bay and River Streets.  It is also the hotel closest to the water taxi stop that goes directly to the Trade Center.
More Info
125 rooms at LERN rate; Rate before and after conference dates is $195; complimentary wifi in guest room; Triple $220; Quad $245; parking $31/day; Brand: Hyatt Regency.

Hotel Indigo, 201 West Bay Street, $189 single/double Nov 3-8
Indigo’s location is ideal for shopping, dining, and night life since it is the hotel closest to Market Square with restaurants and bars and to the more well-known retailers located on Broughton Street.
More Info
100 rooms at LERN rate; Rate for Nov 3 also $189, rate for nights of Nov 9-10, $209; Triple and Quad rates also $189 Nov 3-8; Complimentary wifi in guest rooms; parking $30/day; Pets $75/pet; Brand: IHG.

The Kimpton Brice, 601 East Bay Street, $189 single/double Nov. 4-8
The lobby feels like an inviting living room where everyone meets at 5 p.m. daily for a complimentary glass of wine and each morning for a cup of complimentary coffee or tea.  Enjoy the use of a complimentary bicycle or bring your pet at no extra cost.
More Info
80 rooms at LERN rate; Rate for Nov 3 $319, rate for nights of Nov 9-10 $189 for first ten rooms, then $319; Triple and Quad rates also $189 Nov 4-8; Rewards members get complimentary wifi in guest room; parking $29/day; Complimentary evening reception; complimentary coffee and tea in lobby in morning;(already stated above) very pet friendly; complimentary bicycle use; Brand: IHG.

Courtyard by Marriott Savannah Downtown, 415 West Liberty Street, $129
A great place to stay while saving money.  It’s also the closest hotel to the Crystal Beer Parlor, The Public Kitchen and Bar, J. Christopher’s, and Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, all of which serve up great food and are adored by the local populace!
More Info
35 rooms at LERN rate; Rate for Nov 3 and nights of Nov 9-10 also just $129; Triple and Quad also just $129; Complimentary wifi in guest rooms; parking $20/day; breakfast buffet discounted to $6.95 per person; Brand: Marriott.

Homewood Suites by Hilton Savannah Historic District, 611 East River Street, $169 Nov 4-8
An all-suite experience, roof top bars with entertainment, and great views of the river.  Each suite has one bed, one sofa bed, and a complete kitchen.  It is just a short walk to the water taxi and the first stop after the taxi leaves the Trade Center.
More Info
30 rooms at LERN rate; room rate $219 for Nov 3 and nights of Nov 9-10; Triple and Quad rate also $169 for Nov 4-8; complimentary wifi in guest rooms; complimentary breakfast; complimentary evening reception Mon-Thurs; all suite hotel with kitchens, one bed and one sofa bed; roof top bar with fire pit and music; laundry facility; parking $26/day;  Brand: Hilton.

Hampton Inn Savannah Historic District, 201 East Bay Street, $175 single/double Nov 4-8.
This hotel and its sister property across the street sold out first for our last convention here. You’ll get an upgraded experience compared to the same hotel outside Savannah along with a great rate and excellent location.
More Info
30 rooms at LERN rate; room rate $309 for Nov 3 and $229 for nights of Nov 9-10; Triple and Quad also $175 for Nov 4-8; complimentary wifi in guest rooms; complimentary breakfast; complimentary coffee and tea in lobby in morning; parking $22/day; Brand: Hilton.

Holiday Inn Express Savannah-Historic District, 199 East Bay Street, $170 Nov 4-8.
This hotel and its sister property across the street sold out first for our last convention here. You’ll get an upgraded experience compared to the same hotel outside Savannah along with a great rate and excellent location.
More Info
20 rooms at LERN rate; room rate $309 for Nov 3 and $229 for nights of Nov 9-10; Triple and Quad also $170 for Nov 4-8; complimentary wifi in guest rooms; complimentary breakfast; complimentary coffee and tea in lobby in morning; parking $22/day; Brand: IHG.

River Street Inn, 124 East Bay Street, $159 single/double Nov 4-8
A great location and a historic hotel. It’s located in what was a 200 year old cotton warehouse and is listed with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  It is also a very short walk to the water taxi stop that goes directly to the Trade Center.
More Info
20 rooms at LERN rate; Triple $174, Quad $189 for Nov 4-8; Rooms not available for Nov 3, rate is $219 for nights of Nov 9-10; hotel is recognized as a historic hotel; complimentary evening reception with full bar and snacks; complimentary coffee and tea in lobby in morning; parking $22/day.

The DeSoto Savannah by Sotherly, 15 East Liberty Street, $148 single/double Nov 4-10
This elegant hotel is LERN’s most often used hotel for meetings in Savannah and is located a short walking distance to The Public Kitchen and Bar, J. Christopher’s, and Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, all of which serve up great food and are adored by the local populace!  Just across the street is an excellent wine bar, In Vino Veritas with daily specials.
More Info
Rates for November 4th through and including November 10th are: $148 for single or double occupancy, $158 for Triple, $168 for Quad. Rates for November 3rd only are: $239 Single or Double occupancy, $249 for Triple, $259 for Quad.

Exhibitors add to your conference experience with a variety of products and services geared just for lifelong learning programs.
There is no additional charge to the exhibit area for conference attendees. Last year, more than 20 exhibitors were at the LERN Annual Conference.

Platinum Level

Augusoft, Inc. – Minneapolis, MN

“Augusoft^®, Inc., develops and maintains Lumens^®– the first SaaS cloud based enrollment management system. Complementing traditional academic systems, Lumens is designed for continuing, community, corporate education and workforce development programs in the US and Canada. Visit www.augusoft.net
to see Lumens in action.”

Gold Level

University of South Dakota Master’s Degree Program – Vermillion, SD

Explore the online convenience, affordable tuition and accredited academics from the University of South Dakota. First opening in the 1870s, USD is a public, four-year institution with nationally recognized and ranked programs. With over 40 online program options, there is a program for you. Visit www.usd.edu/onlineor call 800-233-7937.

Entrinsik – Raleigh, NC

Enrole’s software as a service, cloud platform, for registration, course management, e-commerce and robust reporting, automates daily functions enabling your team to focus on workload, not processes. Entrinsik leverages over 30 years of experience emphasizing flexibility, scalability, reliability, and utilizes best-practices learned from non-credit continuing, professional and workforce education. www.entrinsik.com/enrole

Eleyo – St. Paul Park, MN

Eleyo makes running enrichment and community education programs easier through an all-in-one solution that handles program registration, invoicing, attendance tracking, and reporting. Our on
line portal makes it easy for the community to register and make payments for the programs they participate in, allowing administrators to spend more time improving programs. www.eleyo.com

Black Rocket – Freehold, NJ

Black Rocket has been providing cutting edge technology classes to youth program providers for over 15 years. We offer over 20 STEAM-based courses that are powered by a child’s innate imagination and designed to bring their ideas to life. www.blackrocket.com

Silver Level

UGotClass by LERN – River Falls, WI
Xenegrade Corporation – St. Petersburg, FL
CampDoc.com – Ann Arbor, MI
Data To Design – Bellows Falls, VT
Development Dimensions International, Inc – Bridgeville, PA
ASAP – Bloomington, MN
ACEware Systems, Inc. – Manhattan, KS
Human Resource Certification Preparation – Provo, UT
MyEducator -Orem, UT
The Center for Legal Studies – Evergreen, CO
Darwill – Hillside, IL
Labyrinth Learning – Excelsior, MN
Career Step – Lehi, UT
Condensed Curriculum International Inc. – Fairfield, NJ
Fullstack Education – New York, NY
Exhibit Schedule
Tuesday, Nov 6  Exhibits open
Tuesday, Nov 6, 3:00 – 3:30  All-Conference Reception in the Exhibit Area
Wednesday, Nov 7,  Exhibits Open  7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Thursday, Nov 8,  Exhibits Open  7:30 a.m. – Noon
Want to exhibit?  Click here for Exhibitor information and application.