10/20/95
By Sam Hendrix, 334/844-3698
AU CONFERENCE HALF-MILLION DOLLAR BOOST FOR AREA ECONOMY
AUBURN -- It's not the Million Man March or the Auburn-Alabama football game, but the 88th annual Veterinary Conference at Auburn University will bring nearly a half-million dollars into the local economy.
More than 1,500 guests -- about two-thirds of them Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine graduates -- will meet at AU Oct. 27-29 for the conference that ranks as the largest of its kind sponsored solely by a veterinary school.
"Our visiting veterinarians and their spouses will take up around 800 of the county's 1,250 hotel and motel rooms for three nights, and they will frequent area restaurants, stores and gas stations while they are here," says Gary Beard, conference coordinator and assistant dean for continuing education at the AU College of Veterinary Medicine.
Maria Traylor, sales and marketing coordinator with the Auburn-Opelika Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the veterinary conference approaches the economic impact of an AU home football game.
"In a way, this conference will have almost the impact of a non-conference football game because so many rooms are taken by out-of town guests," she said. "And we consider that a tourist dollar turns over seven times in the local economy, so this is an important gathering from an economic standpoint."
This year marks the AU Veterinary College's largest annual conference ever, with more than 1,500 guests expected. They will spend more than $170,000 on lodging for the three nights and more than $160,000 for conference registration. Meals not included in the conference will likely generate another $50,000 or so.
"Add snacks and souvenirs and other shopping, and you may well reach a half-million dollars or more spent in Auburn and Opelika," Beard said. "Not bad for a weekend when the football team is out of town."
The conference will offer practitioners three days of continuing education courses on the latest in veterinary medicine as well as class reunions, an awards banquet and a reception honoring recently retired Dean J.T. Vaughan.
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