Officials see rise in attendance at annual enlisted conference

By Sgt. 1st Class Roy Henry
124th MPAD

SAVANNAH – With the opening of the 2008 Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States conference in mid-August in this historic city’s trade and convention center, officials are touting this as the largest conference the association has ever hosted.

The conference, which runs for four days, officially began Monday, Aug. 18, with a ribbon cutting ceremony outside the convention center’s main exhibit hall. It ended Aug. 21, with a banquet recognizing the attending states and territories, and the District of Columbia, and an awards program in the center’s Chatham Ballroom.

“This is without a doubt the largest conference we’ve ever hosted,” said Ron Hagan, EANGUS vice president. “It’s quite an amazing thing.”

Command Sgt. Maj. James Dennis, co-chair of the Georgia committee and the senior enlisted Soldier for the National Guard Training Center at Fort Stewart near Hinesville, said he and the committee hope they had a hand in the success the conference has had so far.

“You can be sure the city and its gracious people, the convention center and staffed played a very important part in making this conference a success,” Dennis added. “Most certainly the support of the 100-plus Georgia Army and Air Guardsmen and Georgia State Defense Force personnel has played a huge role in that.”

Dennis said he’s quite proud of that support and the professionalism the Georgia Guard and State Defense Force continue to show.

The association had expected around 1,700 people to register for this year’s conference, said Hagan, a retired Montana Air National Guard chief master sergeant. By Saturday, Aug. 16, that many had already registered online, and they continued to come in. As of noon today, registrations had exceeded the 2,000 mark and were rising.

An exact count won’t be known until after the conference ends.

Hotels along the Savannah River and on the convention center site across from historic Bay Street and the Riverwalk show that, with so many folks attending the conference, more than 5,400 room nights have been booked for the week, Hagan said.

“It came to the point that the three hotels we’re using were so full that we had to pick up seven more to handle the overflow…that’s certainly a good thing, a great thing to have happen, not just for us, but for Savannah,” he added.

The number of exhibitors, who attended and put everything from education and training opportunities to the newest tactical gear and logistical equipment on display, has also increased. During the 2007 conference in Oklahoma City, there were 124 vendors with booths at that city’s convention center, Hagan said. This year the exhibitors number about 140.

“That’s a 25 percent increase over the previous year, Hagan said. “The national committee is quite surprised, and pleased, that so many vendors chose to be with us this year.”

Other elements contributing to this year’s growth include:

·     Nearly 400 junior noncommissioned officers participating in EANGUS professional development programs. Only 225 attended the program in Oklahoma.

·         Growth in EANGUS membership, which – at 90,000 – has doubled. Membership at one time was around 40,000. Hagan attributed the increase to the Global War on Terrorism and the larger role the Guard and Reserve play in fighting the war.

·         The attraction of more than 275 command sergeants major and state adjutants general who’ve come to see whether their Soldier and NCO will be chosen Soldier and NCO of the Year and named as the conference’s Best Warrior.

Hagan said the national committee hopes the growth that’s taken place continues, and rolls over into next year’s conference in Rochester, Minn.

“What all this tells us is that more folks within the National Guard and Washington are that much more aware of the needs of our Soldiers and Airmen, their families and our Guard veteran,” she added. “it’s through such growth and participation that our organization can better work for keeping the benefits Guardsmen now have, and moving forward toward obtaining new and better benefits for everyone.”