NABJ Conventions Past, Current and Future

Updated 3:32 p.m. July 25th 2011

For the first time in my professional career, which started in 2003, I'm not at the mercy of an airline to attend an NABJ convention. I can drive. I can take a bus. I can take a train. I can't tell you how excited I am about that.

Philadelphia, the home of the 2011 NABJ convention, is only an hour's drive from me and I'm already planning to spend an entire week in Philadelphia. I hope others are considering that too.

Then the next year, the 2012 UNITY convention will be in Las Vegas, which I'm always excited about going to Las Vegas, and that will be going on during the 2012 Summer Olympics, which I will also attend. So, the next two summers will be filled with some very memorable events.

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The 2011 NABJ Convention will be in Philadelphia from August 3 to August 7 and the convention hotel will be the
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/phldt-philadelphia-marriott-downtown/

The 2012 UNITY Convention will be in Las Vegas from August 1 to August 4 and the convention hotel will be the http://www.mandalaybay.com/

Get those vacation/time off requests in a.s.a.p.

Here is NABJ convention history past, current and future.

1976 -- Houston
1977 -- Baltimore
1978 -- Chicago
1979 – Washington, D.C.
1980 – Washington, D.C.
1981 -- Louisville
1982 -- Detroit
1983 -- New Orleans
1984 -- Atlanta
1985 -- Baltimore
1986 -- Dallas
1987 -- Miami
1988 -- St. Louis
1989 -- New York
1990 – Los Angeles
1991 -- Kansas City, Mo.

1992 – Detroit

1993 - Houston

1994 – UNITY in Atlanta

1995 – Philadelphia

1996 – Nashville

1997 – Chicago

1998 – Washington, D.C.

1999 – UNITY in Seattle

2000 – Phoenix

2001 – Orlando

2002 – Milwaukee

2003 – Dallas

2004 – UNITY in Washington, D.C.

2005 – Atlanta

2006 – Indianapolis

2007 – Las Vegas

2008 – UNITY in Chicago (July 23-27)

2009 – Tampa (August 5-9)

2010 – San Diego (July 28 – August 1)

2011 – Philadelphia (August 3-7)
2012 – New Orleans (June 20-24)

2013 - Orlando (July 31-August 4)
2014 - Boston (July 30-August 3)
2015 - Minneapolis (August 5-9)
2016 - Joint Convention w/ NAHJ in Washington, D.C. (August 3-7) 
2017 - New Orleans (August 9-13)
2018 - Detroit (August 1-5)
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UNITY: We're going to Las Vegas

The following is the e-mail UNITY sent out at 6:20 p.m. on September 8 announcing its next convention city.

NABJ had its 2007 convention in Las Vegas and it appears UNITY is loving Las Vegas too.

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UNITY Selects Mandalay Bay in Vegas for 2012 Convention

UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. selected Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas as the host for its 2012 convention. The UNITY convention is scheduled for August 1-4, 2012.

The UNITY board of directors heard presentations from two other cities, Los Angeles and Houston, before selecting Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay property as the host site. Los Angeles was selected as the backup city. "All three venues presented exciting opportunities for UNITY especially during these uncertain times, we greatly appreciate the interest and effort put forth by Los Angeles and Houston," said UNITY President Rafael Olmeda, "we are pleased that MGM Mirage, the parent company of Mandalay Bay, is considered one of the leaders in diversity in a manner that is well aligned with our mission and goals."

"UNITY continues to seek cost-efficient opportunities for the convention while also maximizing participant experiences at all levels" said Onica N. Makwakwa, UNITY Executive Director. "Mandalay Bay offers UNITY the potential to house all attendees under one roof as well as to potentially host all convention events in one location. We anticipate that this will allow members of the alliance partners as well as recruiters and job seekers to maximize networking opportunities."

The most recent UNITY convention was held July 23 - 27, 2008 in Chicago drawing over 7,500 journalists of color and media executives. Other past UNITY conventions have been held in Atlanta in 1994, Seattle in 1999, and Washington, D.C. in 2004.

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The upcoming NABJ/UNITY convention schedule

2010: NABJ in San Diego from July 28-August 1
2011: NABJ in Philadelphia from August 3-August 7
2012: UNITY in Las Vegas from August 1-August 4
2013: NABJ in Orlando (TBA).
2014: NABJ in New Orleans (TBA).
2015: NABJ in Minneapolis (TBA).