Braceland Registration

WHAT IS REGISTRATION?

Registration is your promise to me that you plan to attend the Braceland Seminar and pay me the conference fee. The cost of the conference is based on an exact head count, and I pay the cost of the conference in advance. When I signed the contract yesterday, I paid $1800, with the remainder due two weeks before the conference. If I tell the hotel that 36 people will be there, then I am charged for 36 people. If two people no show without even giving me the courtesy of a phone call, then I have to pay for them. Every year one or two people no show without notifying me (although they notify their friends), and every year I lose several hundred dollars. So just as a store has to build the cost of shoplifting into its prices, I have had to build the cost of one or two deadbeats into the cost of the conference. But whereas I have shouldered this loss silently in past years, this year I plan to name the deadbeats in the conference recap I send out after the Braceland. So beware, if you promise to pay, and then no show without calling me, everyone will know. (Sorry, but I had to get that off my chest.)

WHAT DOES IT COST?

The Braceland Seminar costs $155 if you pay in advance. Advance payment is accepted up until one week before the seminar. If you plan to pay at the conference, the cost is $190.

HOW DO I REGISTER?

Registration for the Braceland Seminar is simple. All you have to do is send me an email to say you plan to attend and I will reserve a place for you. In your email tell me whether you would like to pay in advance or at the door. If you would like to pay in advance, I will give you my address and you can send a check. Or you could use your bank's bill pay option and avoid the cost of a stamp.

CAN I PAY WITH A CREDIT CARD?

Yes. New for this year, I am taking credit card payments through PayPal. The cost to pay by credit card is 159.94. The additional $4.94 is the PayPal fee. If you would like to pay by credit card, just ask for my PayPal address when you register. I will send you a receipt for the full amount you send by PayPal.

WILL I GET CME CREDITS?

Yes, tentatively. CAPT Manos is working this issue, and she is optimistic that the Braceland Seminar will be able to offer CME credits this year.

WHO CAN ATTEND THE BRACELAND SEMINAR?

Anyone who remits the conference fee can attend the Braceland Seminar. The Braceland Seminar is not a closed conference for active duty Navy psychiatrists. I encourage departments with civilian psychiatrists to pass this information along to them. If you are funding a civilian hire to attend the APA, please inform them of the Braceland. We need our civilian counterparts to join us at the Braceland and gain the knowledge we receive. Other federal mental health practitioners, other military service psychiatrists and psychologists, retired psychiatrists, spouses, significant others - all are welcome.

WHY DOES IT COST SO MUCH?

It is true that this year's conference fee is higher than last year's fee. But last year was an aberration because we got a great deal at a private club. Last year if we had held our conference at a major hotel in downtown San Francisco, the cost would have been about $140 per person. The cost this year is simply what is costs in New Orleans. I was very diligent in soliciting bids, diligent to the point of absolute frustration at several points. No hotel was willing to negotiate. All the bids were about the same, and the hotel I settled on delivered value along with price. In other words, we would have paid the same somewhere else, but here we are getting more for our money. Last year at the end of the seminar I asked attendees if what they had was what they wanted next year. The answer was a resounding yes. This year's conference is very close to what we had last year, but at New Orleans prices.

WHY SHOULD I ATTEND?

Because it's the Braceland, silly. It's the Navy Psychiatry Community's great tradition. It's fun. It's New Orleans. It only happens once a year. You'll see your friends and meet new people. It's a chance to network. It's great food. I've been doing this for several years, and if you haven't been to one of my Braceland Seminars, ask around. I put on a great conference. Don't balk at the cost of the conference. You'll be on funded orders. You can't get a day-long medical conference for $155 anywhere else. Check out the APA; you will pay a lot more for a day of CME credits and you won't get the hospitality the Braceland offers.

IS THE CONFERENCE FEE REIMBURSABLE IF I AM ON FUNDED ORDERS?

Yes, the conference fee, minus the cost of meals, is reimbursable if you are on funded orders. Joint Travel Regulations say that because you are receiving money for meals while on funded orders, you cannot be reimbursed for the cost of meals served in conjunction with a meeting when the cost of the meeting includes meals. The cost of meals for the Braceland Seminar is determined to be $20. This means that all but $20 is reimbursable to you while on funded orders. And for $20 I am going to feed you all day long. We are going to eat our way through the conference. You should be stuffed when you leave the conference at 1600. But if you are still hungry, you will have $51 left over for dinner, because the daily food per diem in New Orleans is $71. So come to the Braceland, eat all day, skip dinner and put $51 in your pocket.