The Program for the January 5–8, 2006 Annual Meeting was mailed to members in October. It is also online at the AHA's annual meeting web page. The meeting preregistration form was included in the Program mailing and is in this issue. Members can also preregister online via a link from the AHA's web site. Preregistration must be submitted no later than Wednesday, January 4, 2006 . After this date, individuals will need to register at the meeting.

Accommodations

Requests for reservations will be accepted by ITS via the Internet (through a special link on the AHA annual meeting web page), the call center, fax, or mail (only if accompanied by a check deposit) through 5:00 p.m. CST, December 14, 2005. ITS's call center (toll-free, 800-650-6835) will accept reservations from the United States and Canada during the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, Monday through Friday. International callers may call 847-282-2515 to make reservations during normal business hours. Individuals from the U.S. and Canada may fax a completed housing form to 800-521-6017 24 hours a day, seven days a week. International attendees may fax to 847-940-2386. Reservation requests can be sent by mail only if payments are made by check, and should be sent to AHA Housing Bureau, 108 Wilmot Road, 4th Floor, P.O. Box 825, Deerfield, IL 60015-0825. The checks should be made payable to AHA Housing Bureau, in U.S. funds, drawn on a U.S. bank.

Reservations for suites can be made by through the call center, Internet, or the housing form. A deposit is required for all reservations. For standard room reservations, the deposit is $125 per room. The deposit is $250 for a one-bedroom suite and $375 for a two-bedroom suite. Deposits can be paid by credit card or by check payment. If payment is to be by check, a check made payable to AHA Housing Bureau, in U.S. dollars and drawn on a U.S. bank, must accompany the housing request form. If payment is to be by credit card, the card will be billed immediately. ITS accepts American Express, MasterCard, Visa, Diner's Club, and Discover cards. The bureau does not accept money orders, wire transfers, or invoices for room deposits. Please note that reservations will not be processed without a deposit.

A confirmation message will be sent by the housing bureau for all new reservations, modifications, and cancellations. The bureau will send out confirmations by mail, fax, or e-mail no later than 72 hours of processing reservations. Room reservations made by phone are confirmed immediately with a confirmation number. Please note that the individual hotels will not send out a separate confirmation. Meeting attendees can continue to make and modify (depending on availability) or cancel reservations from September 6 through December 14, 2005, 5:00 p.m. CST through ITS by telephone, fax, in writing, or through e-mail. Attendees will not be penalized for any cancellation made on or before December 14. Cancellations processed prior to the cutoff date will be refunded the same method of payment by which the attendee originally paid the deposit. Beginning December 19, attendees who wish to cancel must contact the hotel directly. Reservations canceled after December 14 but prior to 72 hours of arrival will be subject to an $18 processing fee. Reservations canceled within 72 hours of arrival date are subject to forfeiture of the entire amount of the deposit.

The cutoff date for the AHA's official block is 5:00 p.m. CST, December 14, 2005. After this date, remaining inventory in the block will be released and rooms will be available on a space-available basis. All hotels have agreed to honor the AHA's convention rates based upon space availability. If all hotels sell out, the AHA will work with the bureau to secure additional hotel rooms.

Travel Arrangements

Association Travel Concepts (ATC) is the official travel agency for the annual meeting. As such, ATC has negotiated discounts with United Airlines, US Airways, American Airlines, Amtrak, Avis Rent A Car, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car to bring attendees special air, rail, and car rental rates that are lower than those available to the public. These cost saving options may be booked online at the AHA Travel Center web site—just follow the member travel links from http://www.atcmeetings.com/aha. Individuals can also fax 858-362-3153 or e-mail reservations@atcmeetings.com. ATC staff are available for reservations from 9:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.

Attendees will secure discounts of 10 to 15 percent off the lowest available fare for United (ID number 510CK) and 10 to 15 percent off applicable classes of service for US Airways (ID number GF65653502), and American (ID number A6416AH) on tickets purchased more than 30 days prior to the meeting. For tickets purchased less than 30 days prior, the discounts will be 5 to 10 percent. Some restrictions may apply and service fees will vary. Discounts apply for travel Monday, January 2 through Wednesday, January 11, 2006. ATC will also search for the lowest available fare on any airline serving the Philadelphia International Airport. ATC provides personalized service, advance seat assignments, special meal requests, frequent flier program updates, electronic ticketing, e-mail access for convenient booking of your tickets, and more.

Amtrak offers a 10 percent discount off the lowest available fare to/from Philadelphia. Discount fares available December 30, 2005 through January 14, 2006. To book space, call your travel agent or Amtrak at 800-872-1477 and refer to fare order number X92H-947 when making the booking. Fares cannot be booked via the Internet. Special high-speed Metroliner Service is available every hour along the Northeast corridor. Fare is valid on Metroliner and Acela service for all departures seven days a week, except for holiday blackouts (for a list, see http://www.Amtrak.com). The offer is also valid with sleepers, business class, or first class seats with payment of the full applicable accommodation charges. The offer is not valid on Auto Train.

Attendees can also arrange to rent a car through Avis (ID number J952801; 800-331-1600) or Enterprise (ID number 32H7476; 800-593-0505), with discounted rates effective January 2 through January 11, 2006.