ESRI Regional User Group to Explore Designing Future

The Plenary Session will take place in the conference center's amphitheater. ESRI president Jack Dangermond will speak to the group about how planners, engineers, scientists, and other professionals can incorporate GIS into planning processes and scientific studies to design a better future for the world. Clint Brown, ESRI's director of product engineering, will give the Keynote Address. After the plenary, attendees will take part in sessions and activities geared toward helping them launch and maintain successful GIS projects that produce measurable results and can benefit our communities.

Technical sessions will provide attendees with a sneak peek at the ArcGIS 10 beta version, and the ArcGIS Desktop Tips and Tricks workshop, a popular session in past years, will be offered again. New to this year's conference will be the Hands-on Learning Lab where users can try out what they learned in the technical sessions. Participants can follow tutorials or be self-directed. And Technical Support will give users one-on-one time with ESRI support staff.

Users will also get to share success stories throughout the conference by presenting papers on how they are using GIS. Topics will include infrastructure, development and planning, public safety, and land administration.

"It was useful to have user presentations that focused on work similar to my own," said Emilio J. Solano, chief cadastral engineer of mapping and GIS services for the Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor, regarding last year's regional conference. "The quality of the technical workshops was similar to that at the ESRI International User Conference, without the big crowds."