FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2003
Dean Evans & Associates Conducts Second Annual EMS Users' Conference
"Adventures in Scheduling" 3-Day Gathering Includes Time for Training,
Networking, Entertainment and Black Bear Sightings
DENVER -- Dean Evans & Associates (www.dea.com)
has concluded its second annual EMS Users’ Conference. The three-day event, titled
“Adventures in Scheduling,” drew customers from around the U.S. and abroad. More
than 150 people traveled to the foot of the Rocky Mountains to attend training sessions
and product demonstrations, and to spend one-on-one time with representatives from
the company’s Technical Support department. They also had the opportunity to participate
in product development focus groups and roundtable discussions.
When they weren’t in Conference sessions, attendees had a number of entertainment
options including a pre-Conference cocktail reception, a hosted trip to experience
the nightlife in Denver’s “LoDo” (Lower Downtown), and dinner at The Wildlife Experience,
a conservation complex that showcases wildlife art and exhibits.
According to Kevin Raasch, senior vice president of Dean Evans & Associates,
the company was able to gather a wealth of useful information from the Users’ Conference
focus groups and roundtables. “Ever since the company was founded in the mid-1980s,
customer feedback and suggestions have fueled our product development efforts,”
says Raasch. “The Users’ Conference has been hugely successful as a forum for the
continuing exchange of ideas on how our products should be modified and enhanced.”
Heather Turk, scheduling coordinator at the University of Nevada, Reno agreed, saying,
“The 2003 conference was an excellent opportunity to refresh EMS training, gather
best practices and network with colleagues, and a chance to give valuable input
into the development of the product we depend on.”
The event is also a fun way for DEA employees to get to know the EMS users that
they deal with every day but rarely see in person. “Our customers are truly just
a great bunch of folks to be around,” says founder and CEO Dean Evans. “The bear
was a little stand-offish,” he adds with a smirk, “but I suppose you might expect
that from an animal that hibernates half the year.” In keeping with the “Adventures
in Scheduling” theme, attendees were treated to random, wordless visits from a roaming
black bear whose height and build was similar to that of a DEA employee who was
absent from the room at the time.
The blend of structured session time and plenty of opportunities for casual conversation
seemed to give attendees just what they were looking for. Says Heather Smith, manager
of hospitality service at Toronto’s Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP, “The Users’
Conference was an excellent learning and networking opportunity for users of all
levels of understanding. A great chance to rub elbows with other EMS Users and the
Dean Evans team.”
About Dean Evans & Associates
Founded in 1986 and based in Denver, Colo., Dean Evans & Associates develops,
markets and supports a line of sophisticated software products for facility scheduling,
event management and office hoteling. Their Event Management Systems (EMS) family
of software products is ideal for scheduling and managing events, rooms, services
and resources for a wide variety of educational institutions, associations, organizations
and corporations. Thousands of organizations and companies, including four of the
six largest U.S. banks and more than a dozen Fortune 100 companies, rely on EMS
software. Other users include conference and convention centers, cultural venues,
sports facilities, schools and universities, and churches. Online demonstrations,
screen shots and sample reports are available at www.dea.com,
or call 1-800-440-3994 and ask to speak with Tom Schek.