Ruidoso Convention Center swings into season with closing of EMS Conference

To be held at the Ruidoso Convention Center with alternate space taken at Ruidoso High School, the business and educational conference will allow attendees an opportunity to develop and adopt policy for the coming year, work on legislative issues for the upcoming session, and to undergo educational programs. Most hotels in Ruidoso are sold out for the occasion, Deanna Cheney, sales manager with The Lodge at Ruidoso, said, while local dining and entertainment venues also are likely to feel the impact of conventioneers "moving in, albeit briefly."

Lynn Holty, sales manager for the Ruidoso Convention Center, is calling on all people in the private and commercial sectors to do their part to help make conventioneers feel welcome while in Lincoln County.
"This conference represents one of the more sizeable events Ruidoso will hold this year," she said. "The economic impact, the prestige, and the exposure it will give our community as a destination for meetings and travel cannot be underestimated."

While here to meet on important issues, state and county executives will enjoy a night out at the Hubbard Museum of the American West and at the Flying J. Early registrants may also sign up for a golf tournament planned at The Links at Sierra Blanca.

Attendees began arriving Tuesday while the opening session begins today at 1 p.m. The closing session of the conference is scheduled for 10 a.m., Friday, June 8. Educational topics to be covered during the event include: Media Relations, Harassment in the Workplace; Diversity, and Leadership. Meanwhile, legislative issues to be discussed are: Defining and funding state prisoners; strengthening the fund for local DWI programs; mid-term salary inequity of county elected officials; distribution and --- of the fire fund, and; the creation and funding of state GIS coordinator. County managers also will discuss adding local government representatives to the State Information Technology Commission.

County governments began meeting annually in 1936 to address concerns and to collaborate on initiatives. It wasn’t until 1968, however, that the New Mexico Association of Counties was officially incorporated.

d the direct economic impact of the conference was $400,000, including expenses for lodging, dining, meeting room rental and transportation, while the cumulative impact is estimated to be around $2.4 million.

"The dollar turns over six times in Ruidoso," Pappas said this week. He described the Region III EMS Conference as an example of the type of meetings the Ruidoso Convention Center wants to attract in the future.

"Groups such as these present multiple night bookings that benefit the entire community. It stands to reason we will want to be more aggressive in our sales approach in the future," he added.

Jan Elliott, a member of Region III EMS, based in Clovis, and coordinator of the conference, said her group looks forward each year to their stay in Ruidoso. She commended convention center staff and local hotel operators for helping to ensure that the 2007 conference was "The best year ever."

The Ruidoso Convention Center was opened in Ruidoso in 1992 and in 2001 entered into a management contract with Leisure Hotels, owners of The Lodge at Sierra Blanca, to provide convention sales and marketing services, as well as primary concessions for the center. Of the 550 rooms booked in the village by EMS attendees, 120 of these were at The Lodge, which is located adjacent to the Ruidoso Convention Center on Sierra Blanca Drive.

Traditionally, convention sales peak at the Ruidoso Convention Center April – October with the EMS conference representing the start of convention season.

Large convention groups scheduled at the Ruidoso Convention Center this week and through June include: The New Mexico Emergency Service Council, May 4-6; the New Mexico Fire Chief’s Association, May 8-11; New Mexico Rural Electric, May 29-June 1; New Mexico Association of Counties June 5-8; Dairy Producer’s of New Mexico, June 14-15, and the Universal Cheerleaders Association, June 25-28.

Events open to the public at the convention center in May and June are: Eastern New Mexico University-Ruidoso Graduation 2007, May 12; Aspen Cash Rally, May 14-20; Noon Day Lions Gun show, May 25-27.

For more information about the Ruidoso Convention Center, including rental fees and services, contact Lynn Holty or Deanna Cheney at 258-5445.