General Information

Location of Main Events: AHA and affiliated societies sessions will be held in the Washington State Convention Center, the Sheraton Seattle, and the Westin Seattle. The AHA headquarters office will be in the center's Room 202 and the Local Arrangements Committee/Press office will be in the center's Room 201. Both offices are on the second floor.

Registration: Meeting registration desks will be located in the Sheraton's Grand Ballroom A and B on the hotel's second floor and will be open Thursday, January 6, 12:00–7:00 p.m.; Friday, January 7, 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; and Saturday, January 8, 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Registration will be $90 for members, $110 for nonmembers, $50 for student members and unemployed, $60 for student nonmembers, and $25 for precollegiate teachers. The registration area will have several workstations divided alphabetically. Individ-uals who have preregistered should go to preregistration booths in the ballroom to collect badges and other meeting material. Exhibitors should go to desks marked "Exhibitors" to collect badges. Meeting participants can also pay AHA membership dues and purchase AHA publications at the "Membership" and "Publications" desks. Publications can be examined at the Association's booth (#100), located in the center's Ballroom 6A-C.
Refund Policy: Advance registrants who are unable to attend the convention may request a refund of their registration fee. A written request should be accompanied by a copy of the e-mailed confirmation sent by Robert Yates & Associates, the AHA's processing service. All refunds are subject to a $10 processing fee. No refunds will be issued for requests postmarked after December 17, 2004.

Exhibit Hall: The exhibits will be located in the Convention Center's Ballroom 6A-C on the sixth floor and will be open Thursday, January 6, 3:00–7:00 p.m.; Friday, January 7, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; Saturday, January 8, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; and Sunday, January 9, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Job Register: The Job Register, located in the Convention Center's Room 618 and Ballroom 6E on the sixth floor, will be open Thursday, January 6, from 12:30–6:00 p.m.; Friday, January 7, from 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; Saturday, January 8, from 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; and Sunday, January 9, from 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Admission to AHA sessions, exhibits, and the Job Register requires an AHA badge. Convention Center staff will require a registration badge for admission to the sixth floor of the center, where the Job Register, Exhibit Hall, and some sessions will be located.

Messaging System and Internet Access

The AHA will employ an electronic two-way messaging system to allow everyone registered for the annual meeting to communicate electronically with each other. The system will utilize easy-to-use terminals located in the Sheraton's Grand Ballroom A and B. The system replaces the traditional locator file and the various inconspicuous hard-to-use message boards. The system will be the designated form of communication for those using the Job Register. Interviewers and interviewees can schedule and confirm interviews. AHA staff answering the phones at the meeting will be able to take messages for attendees and post them directly into the system.

The system will use large monitors to display the names of persons with messages waiting for them. Persons with messages waiting will be able to use any available terminal to log in using a password that will be printed on their badges. Each terminal will have all the simple instructions necessary to receive or send messages to other registered conference attendees. Staff will be available to assist with any problems.

There will also be a few Internet terminals available for checking regular e-mail accounts. Persons who use the "Telnet" protocol to reach their university's servers are advised that some universities employ firewalls that prevent access from outside the university system. If you wish to be able to check your e-mail and avoid this problem, you may consider having your e-mail forwarded to one of the commonly available free e-mail services (such as Yahoo or Excite) that are accessible via a web browser.

Meal Ticket Cashier

Tickets for meal events—except those sponsored by organizations that sell their own tickets—will be available from the meal ticket cashiers at the "Meal Ticket Cashier" desk in the Sheraton's Grand Ballroom A and B. All payments must be made in U.S. currency, by cash or traveler's check. Meal ticket cashiers will have a list of all luncheons and the CWH breakfast, and whether the sponsoring organizations will have tickets available for sale at the annual meeting.

A limited number of tickets for the annual breakfast meeting of the AHA Committee on Women Historians will be available through the cashiers on a first come, first served basis. These tickets will be $27. Breakfast tickets prepaid through the meeting preregistration form should also be picked up at the meal ticket cashier's window prior to the event Saturday morning.

Eight luncheons will be held during the annual meeting, three on Friday, January 7, and five on Saturday, January 8.

Schedule of Luncheon Meetings

Friday, January 7

• Conference on Asian History
• Conference on Latin American History
• Organization of History Teachers

Saturday, January 8

• Advanced Placement History
• American Catholic Historical Association
• AHA Modern European History Section
• Coordinating Council for Women in History
• Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations

Affiliated Society Display

An area on the Convention Center's West Lobby has been reserved from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, January 7, for affiliated societies to display materials and to meet with members of the profession.

Sharon K. Tune is the AHA's convention director.