The AWS is committed to making the 54th Annual Conference a safe and healthy event for our attendees, industry partners, exhibitors, volunteers and team members. As the conference draws nearer, we have been working closely with our partners at Harrah’s discuss guidance and recommendations of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health authorities.
It is important to note that Large, in-person meetings are happening throughout the country and they are happening safely. As you know, all conference attendees agreed to Duty of Self Monitor and Covid Attestation upon registration. Now we would like to share information about the venue and our steps to address concerns.
• Green Building. Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center, a spacious, modern building certified by the US Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The convention center meets or exceeds LEED's high standards for indoor air quality and ventilation.
• Exclusive Use of Space: For the duration of the conference our group will have exclusive use of the center's second floor, reducing or eliminating non-AWS traffic or passers-by. Harrah's will have hand sanitizer available throughout the facility and outside of session rooms. Guest room towers DO NOT require crossing the gaming floor. Elevators are a short walk from the center entrance.
• Vaccination Rates: New Jersey has one of the highest vaccination rates in the nation. Harrah’s requires any unvaccinated employee to wear a mask when on duty..
• Harrah's Commitment. Harrah’s continues to host large events. Harrah's operator, Caesar's Entertainment, reviews and updates its Covid mitigation and hygiene protocol regularly. You may review it here.
• Session Spacing. Harrah's is a large facility and session rooms are larger than we would typically need. We will use that space to set up session room to spread out tables and individual settings. You'll probably find conventional spacing in the front a session room, and expanded spacing in the back half of a room and choose a place of your preference.
• Walk Around Tastings. We’ll be using prefunction areas with expanded seating options for attendees while maximizing space around our industry partners pouring at the New Jersey Welcome Reception and the Showcase Tasting.
• Masking. Following the recommendations of health officials, we’ll recommend that attendees mask up in common areas when not in meals or sessions. We’ll have masks available at the registration desk. Staff and key volunteers will observe this rule. Masks and disposable gloves will be available for room volunteers.
• Deep Sanitation. Harrah’s will sanitize all conference spaces overnight before use and the evenings of the conference to ensure we start each day with clean, hygienic spaces.
• Personal Comfort Levels. We recognize that our attendees will have a range of comfort levels. We encourage you to attend the conference and engage with other members as you feel is appropriate under the circumstances. Just as we suggested to local chapters, we encourage you to congregate with people you know, holding the hugs, maybe not share that glass of wine. The most important thing is that we respect each other's feelings and approach to this issue while we enjoy being together and learning more about wine.
We continue to monitor the situation with our partners at Harrah’s and we are confident that these adaptations allow us to have a safe, fun, edifying conference in the Garden State.
