This report on foxnews.com does not reflect well on the Transportation Security Administration.

The government agency in charge of airport security spent nearly a half-million dollars on an awards ceremony at a lavish hotel, including $81,000 for plaques and $500 for cheese displays, according to an internal report obtained by The Associated Press.

Awards were presented to 543 Transportation Security Administration employees and 30 organizations, including a “lifetime achievement award” for one worker with the 2-year-old agency. Almost $200,000 was spent on travel and lodging for attendees.

Wonder who was the planner on that one? Though $500 for cheese doesn’t sound too bad to me–what’s that, less than a buck a head? I’d be curious to hear more of the story behind this story.

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According to this article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, all the city’s hard work to clean up and get safer isn’t resonating with meeting planners:

The 1,244 meeting planners surveyed by Boston Consulting gave Atlanta low marks on destination appeal, increasingly an important factor in booking decisions, the study found. When judged as a desirable leisure and vacation destination against 40 U.S. and Canadian cities, Atlanta ranked 33rd.

But the news wasn’t all bad. Planners did say that Atlanta was cost-effective to get to, and they liked the city’s hotels, shopping, and restaurants. As a large trade show/convention destination, they also gave the city high marks: 4th out of the 40 it was compared to in the study.

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First it was the famous Westin Heavenly Bed, then Sheraton’s Sweet Sleeper Bed, and now Starwood wants its more cost-conscious guests to also have a sweet night’s sleep. It just introduced a new Four Comfort Bed for its Four Points by Sheraton, Starwood’s moderately priced brand. According to the press release, the company “is investing $13 million to roll out its new Four Comfort Bed to all of its 100-plus properties in North America by July, 2005.”

I love this bit: “Though the hospitality industry is in the business of selling sleep, hotels were notorious for cutting corners on beds, committing a multitude of bedding sins from foam mattresses to cheap pillows to polyester bedspreads in shades of eggplant.” Finally, at least some hotels are getting it, and we’re all sleeping better for it.

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I don’t know what on earth you could use it for in your work, but I found this site that shows the current wait times for various U.S. border crossing sites fascinating for some reason. I mean, someone tracks this regularly. How cool is that?

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From a press release:

The Convention Industry Council’s recent decision to restructure its governance was approved on September 30, 2004.

Previously, CIC’s governing body was comprised of a council in which each member organization was represented by one delegate. Additionally, a smaller group of 11 individuals made up a board of directors which held its own slate of officers.

The new structure allows for a more streamline governance in which each member organization will be represented by one delegate and one alternate. In an effort to allow for greater participation, CIC is urging member organizations to appoint an individual in a volunteer leadership position to act as the organization’s alternate. In the event that the main delegate is not available to vote on an issue, the alternate will stand in. Although each organization only receives one vote, both representatives will be involved in meetings and programs. The new structure will provide a better forum for interaction and cooperation among the many sectors of the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry represented by CIC members.

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I just finished listening to a teleconference put on by Philippa Gamse, a Web expert and fantastic speaker on all things techie. Anyway, this one was directed toward making a Web site more emotionally connected to its users. Whether it’s a corporate meeting site or an association’s home page, I think these tips will help improve all of our Web-related relationships–and all that follows from them. I know I’ll be using this info next time we redesign our Web site.

She said there are five “emotional points” your Web site should hit in order to make a connection with the user.