To:  	   Region 3 Excom
Date:     March 20, 2002
Subject:  SoutheastCon 2003
From:     Halden A. Morris
          General Chair, SoutheastCon 2003

Meetings: Since January, the committee meets on a bi-weekly basis.
The most recent meeting was held on March 19, 2002.

Theme: The committee accepted the theme: "IEEE - Bridging the Digital
Divide" for this conference.

Venue: The conference will be held at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande
Resort.  Hotel has presented a contract to the committee which we are
expected to sign by May 2002.  The rates offered are quite attractive.
Hotels in vicinity of the Jamaica Grande were contacted.  These hotels
are offering very attractive rates for conference attendees.

Sponsorships: Twenty five (25) companies were contacted and letters
sent to request sponsorship.  All those contacted were quite receptive
and promised to assist where possible. To date the committee has
received cash sponsorship from one company and promise from several
others to assist with the conference.  Some companies from which we
have received or expect sponsorship are: National Commercial Bank,
Royal Bank of Trinidad & Tobago, DigiCel, Centennial, IBM, Illuminat,
Cable & Wireless, JPS, Jamaica Private Power Co., Square D. Powerware,
Microsoft, KSA Engineering, Comtech, Caribbean Cement Company,
Wyndalco (formerly Alcan).  The Sponsorship target for the committee
is $45,000.00

Alliances: The Jamaica Section has met with the Jamaica Tourist Board
and the management of Air Jamaica with the view of forming alliances
with these institutions.  Air Jamaica will be the designated
conference carrier, whereas, the Jamaica Tourist board will assist
with promotions and travel arrangements. The ministry of Industry,
Commerce and Technology will also play a role in implementing the
conference.  Our academic alliances are the University of Technology –
Jamaica, and the University of the West Indies.  Persons from the
Northern Caribbean University have also shown keen interest in the
conference. Linkages will be established to the websites of all these
institutions.

Travel Arrangements: The Local Airline Air Jamaica is interested in
becoming the conference carrier.  We are currently in negotiation with
the airline to provide the best possible conference rates.  We are
asking the airline to provide transportation at minimum cost for
students and the region 3 executive.  The possibility of chartering an
aircraft for return travel to say Atlanta was investigated, however,
the committee thought that chartering would be too cumbersome for the
committee to pursue.  Ground transportation from airport to hotel is
not yet finalized, however, this will be arranged through the
participating hotels. The normal charge for this service is U$30.00
return.  Sponsorship is being sought for this part of travel for
students.

Call for Papers: The call for papers is ready and will be distributed
at SoutheastCon 2002.  This document can also be retrieved from IEEE
Jamaica website as of April 8, 2002. (https://www.ewh.ieee.org/r3/jamaica).

Student Competitions: All competitions have been planned by IEEE
Jamaica student chapter and were submitted to the region committee for
their comments.  The rules for these competitions will be presented at
SoutheastCon 2002.  Both lecturers and students at the University of
Technology are dynamic and are making every effort to ensure that the
competitions are well planned.  The University has renewed its
commitment to the conference and is making their own plans to
facilitate the student competitions. Information on the student
competitions will be available at https://www.ewh.ieee.org/r3/jamaica.

Web Site: The Jamaica Section webmaster Milverton remains committed to
the task and is awaiting instructions to upload pages to the IEEE
conferences web site.


Sub Committee                           Local Members
Finance, Sponsorship & Registration:    Halden Morris, Jonah Chisholm,
                                        Stephen Legister, Owen Clashing

Promotions & PR:                        Wilfred Roberts, Milverton Moore,
                                        Winston Browning

Technical Programmes & CD Production:   Mervyn Crtis, Michael Craven,
                                        Stephen Legister

Student Rrogramme & Competitions:       Richard Gordon, Leotis Buchanan,
                                        Shirnette Gordon, Michael Craven

Job Fair & Exhibition:                  Winston Smith, Halden Morris

Logistics, Travel & Accommodation,
Social Programmes:                      Devon Gayle, Amlin Forrest,
                                        Carolyn Ferguson