I am one of the early members of NATJA during several different ownerships. Helen Hernandez & Ben Root has made the organization an A Plus travel writers’ group. Because of my university teaching schedule (FDU Teaneck- wine program), I am often not finished with teaching when the annual conference is taking place. I do remember Stowe Vermont, Anaheim & Palm Springs, California under previous owners. Puerto Vallarta & Oxnard took place under present management. This year I had just finished teaching when the Syracuse NY conference began. https://www.natja.org/
In 1980 the Carrier Dome (over 49,000 capacity) opened for the use of the football & basketball teams. The opening opponent was my Alma Mater, Columbia College, and that was the last time I had been to Syracuse. Another first was my taking Megabus from NYC to Syracuse. I had often seen folks lined up across the street from the Jacob Javits Convention Center on West 34th Street & 11th Avenue for buses to Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC, Baltimore, and Toronto, etc. The timing and price were perfect. 9:30 AM with a 3 PM arrival in Syracuse. $17 one-way was a bargain & included a reserved seat. It started out a bit late and stopped for 20 minutes for a luncheon break and still made it before 3 PM. https://us.megabus.com/
The Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel sent a van to pick me up for the 20-minute ride from the bus/train terminal. I was able to check in, visit the NATJA desk, use the fitness center and indoor pool, walk around the university (a few blocks away) as well as have dinner at the local sports bar. Graduation had just taken place so the university area was quite empty. https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/syrsi-sheraton-syracuse-university-hotel-and-conference-center/
The upper lobby (2nd floor) was the site for the seminars as well as the meet & greets opening event & photo shoot of the 90 attending members. The welcome luncheon featured Sean Kirst, the Metropolitan Columnist for the Buffalo News. He was referred to as a storyteller (I like to think I am one as well) and his talk was one of the most riveting and entertaining that I have ever heard. I wanted it to last forever.
The first seminar was an Editors Panel that included National Geographic Traveler, Toronto Star, Air Canada Magazine, AAA Magazine Northeast & Ensemble Vacations. The second was entitled- Crisis Communications: How to Recover Good Publicity When Disaster Strikes. The moderator was from the world-famous Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Panelists represented Branson Missouri, The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel & Discover Puerto Rico (I was particularly interested in her presentation since part of my family lives in Puerto Rico). The second professional development talk was Using 360 Video in Your Stories. The speaker was also from the Newhouse School. I found his talk over my head and not as useful as I would have liked.
We were bused to downtown Syracuse for the Chefs Challenge- Culinary Experience. Local chefs came together to serve a farm-to-table experience based on what crops and products were ready to harvest in the region at that time. The six-course meal was fabulous and matched the local wines served.
A hearty breakfast buffet was served while the Executive Director of the Onondaga Historical Association passionately shared the rich history of Central New York. https://www.cnyhistory.org/
I chose How to Shoot a Successful One-Minute Video as my next professional development seminar. This was easier for me to understand and I have already used a few of his principles. The last professional development seminar was titled- So, What’s The Big Idea and featured the Director of Public Relations for Development Counselors International that handles PR for many national travel firms. https://aboutdci.com/
We picked up a boxed lunch and a drink and headed out for the afternoon tours. I selected Wine + Wellness. We spent the time in the quaint village of Skaneateles that is one of the 11 Finger Lakes. We started off at Sky Yoga for light yoga and meditation class followed by a sightseeing tour with Mid-Lakes Navigation on Skaneateles Lake viewing the beautiful vacation homes along the lake. We had a wine tasting at White Birch Vineyards tasting room paired with cheese. Part of the group went to another vineyard. A few of us chose to stroll along the boutique-lined village streets. https://www.skaneateles.com/
After a short clean up at the hotel, we were driven to a cocktail reception at The Fitz that was set up as a modern-day speakeasy with a 1920s flair. Cocktails and hors d’ oeuvres followed by a cooking demo by a local chef. https://www.visitsyracuse.com/listing/the-fitz/1418/. It was dine-around time. 15 of us walked to Citronelle where the owner and chef spoke to us. http://www.citronellecny.com
After a breakfast buffet, the 3-hour marketplace was open. The one-on-one meetings worked out for me as about 2/3 of the exhibitors were places I was interested in visiting and writing about. It was boxed lunchtime again. This time I chose Agritourism. See how the farm meets table with a visit to Beak and Skiff where an orchard was turned into a tourist destination. We tasted hard cider and cider donuts as well as shopped the country store. beakandskiff.com/
Our closing reception and dinner were at the original Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. I have eaten many times at their location near Columbia University. Music, drinks and great food and the announcement that the next conference will be next May in Puerto Rico. dinosaurbarbque.com