What Not to Wear

Appropriate attire for AAPC conferences and networking events is business casual. Jeans are discouraged. But because we don’t ever want to be accused of being ‘kill-joys’, Tuesday is ‘Local Chapter Pride’ day – so show your chapter spirit by wearing your local chapter region color. On Wednesday, the last day of the conference, you can switch over to more casual attire and wear your conference T-shirt to reflect your AAPC spirit.  Who says we don’t know how to have fun??

Region 1 (Northeast) Red

Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York

Region 2 (Atlantic) Turquoise

New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC

Region 3 (Mid Atlantic) Yellow

Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina

Region 4 (Southeast) Green
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, Bahamas
Region 5 (Southwest) Orange
Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi
Region 6 (Great Lakes) Purple
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio
Region 7 (Mountain/Plains) Blue
Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa
Region 8 (West) Pink
California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Hawaii, Alaska

You may purchase regional t-shirts from Redstone Design Company and their website is www.redstonedesign.com/aapc.

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Conference Team Timely Tip

Conference Tip:  Did you know that the surest way to avoid long lines and conference headaches is to make sure you’ve pre-selected your sessions prior to arriving at conference? Simply follow the directions sent to you in your confirmation email. If you’ve done your part, we’ll have a printed schedule for you in your packet when you check-in, eliminating the need for you to stand in yet another line….totally worth it….so take a minute and make sure you’ve selected your sessions!

Click here to select your sessions!

....file this under WHO KNEW?

The Port of Long Beach was founded on June 24, 1911, a wild dream scratched out of 800 acres of mudflats at the mouth of the Los Angeles River. In the nine decades since then, those grand ambitions have been realized as the port expanded to include more than 7,600 acres of wharves, state-of-the-art cargo terminals, roadways, rail yards and shipping channels. Today, the Port of Long Beach is one of the world’s busiest seaports. Wow!!

24 Miles across the Sea

“24 miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is a-waitin’ for me, Santa Catalina is the island of romance, romance, romance, romance”!!

On a clear day, you can view this historical gem right from the city of Long Beach. More than 500 movies have been filmed here! You might consider adding this to your conference plans. A scooter can be rented to take you around the island, or you can just explore it on foot. Either way, it’s a bit of an ‘island getaway’ that you won’t soon forget. Our own president, Deb Grider, and past NAB president, Georgette Gustin, recently visited there on a Long Beach inspection tour – here’s their view from the boat.

You can check out other fun facts and trivia about Catalina by clicking this link: http://www.catalinachamber.com/catalina/history

Also see other fun local attractions by clicking on the following link:
http://www.aapc.com/medical-coding-education/conferences/national/longbeach/attractions.aspx

First things first.....FOOD!

George’s Greek Café – 2nd Street – “a little piece of Greece in Long Beach”
George and Demetric Loizides take no shortcuts and use the greatest care in preparing fresh, delicious, tender, and healthy food for your enjoyment. All dishes are prepared daily from scratch. We sampled the chicken, lamb chops, spanakopita (flaming cheese) and falafel! Reasonably priced and friendly- two thumbs up all around – mmmmmmmm!

See the Stars

We’ve set up an exciting tour for the attendees this year. We hope that this will give some of you an opportunity to see a bit of the Hollywood magic while in California, so…fasten your seat belt for the Lights, Camera, Hollywood Tour.

Take a stroll down the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame – you will get to see the stars, literally lining the street. Have a chance to step into the shoes of famous people like, Shirley Temple, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, John Wayne,  the cast of Harry Potter, and many others. There are nearly 200 hand and foot prints with autographs to see while you are visiting Grauman’s Chinese Theatre – which opened May 18, 1927. From there it is off to the Academy Awards – or at least their home - the Kodak Theatre. The tour also stops by the Griffith Observatory where you can see sweeping views of L.A. from above and snap a photo of the Hollywood sign. This quick trip through the capital city of movies should not be missed!

The four hour tour begins on Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 8 am.  The tour costs $50 per person, and you may register for this at www.aapc.com – conference registration page.

Mr. Pew's Favorites

I vacation in Southern California each year. Every year we make it a point to go to Long Beach because it has so much to do! Last year, we went on a whale sightseeing tour (pictured). The year before that we went to the Aquarium, which is world class. We have eaten at perhaps 7 or 8 different restaurants near the convention center and all have been terrific. My wife and daughters love to go to Belmont Shores http://www.belmontshore.org, a hip little shopping/restaurant district not far from the convention center where we tasted Pink Berry for the first time about 5 years ago. The beauty of Long Beach is that everything except Belmont Shores is within a walk.

-Reed Pew, AAPC

Reed’s Restaurant Picks
King’s Fish House http://www.kingsfishhouse.com/
Parkers’ Lighthouse http://www.parkerslighthouse.com/
Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery http://www.rockbottom.com/
Tequila Jacks http://www.tequilajacks.com/

A GREAT BIG LONG BEACH LOCAL CHAPTER THANK YOU!!!

The locals are gearing up for our arrival…one of the perks of conference planning is getting to know the area local chapters, and they are always such a great support! They organize their members to come over prior to the start of conference and do everything from stuffing bags and organizing registration packets to folding the conference t-shirts, and anything else in between. So when you check in and pick up your conference bag, all stuffed and ready to go…thank the local chapter! It would take an army to do all they do for us at conference. At their most recent local chapter meeting, they were promoting the conference and giving out Long Beach door prizes. You can follow the Long Beach local chapter on Facebook so you’ll recognize them at conference.

Here is the Long Beach Chapter's Facebook account:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=144648565576594&set=a.144648562243261.18444.144648442243273#!/pages/AAPC-Long-Beach-Chapter/144648442243273