Not everyone likes change, but at CS Week 2008 in San Antonio, the benefits of change and the speed at which changes occurred in the past 12 months were great. We met hundreds of people attending for the first time, many from IOUs, munis and co-ops that had never participated before. We had dozens of new speakers with different experiences, new outlooks and some aggressive, forward-focused goals. It felt like only weeks since we announced our new name, CS Week, and announced our expanded footprint, which includes everything from meter-to-cash.

Positive change produces momentum for further evaluation and development. In CS Week?s case, that means finding the best way to meet the continuing need for educational opportunities other than the annual CS Week.

We proudly announced the first annual CS Week Fall Conference, which will convene Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 at the Hyatt Regency O?Hare in Chicago. The conference will offer one-and-a-half-day college courses with the same high quality presenters as CS Week. Our concept is to schedule the fall conference as an information-packed micro conference in easily accessed major cities so participants can fly in, meet in a hotel near the airport and take everything they learned back to work within 48 hours.

The Fall Conference will feature at least four CS Week College courses, with the same high quality speakers as CS Week, and will be, as always, vendor-neutral. Planned courses include:

• AMI/MDM ? Technology that Can Change Your Future
• Project Management ? Advanced Techniques for a Large IT Project
• Selecting the Right CIS for My Organization
• Energy Efficiency/ Demand Side Management

By maintaining the rigid standards of CS Week College, these courses all qualify for CPE credits.

We have confirmed a 311 Synergy Group at the Fall Conference in Chicago. We are working with several vendors to offer software user synergy groups, and we welcome requests to form other functionality synergy groups such as 311. Watch our website, www.csweek.org/fall, for additional information or contact us with ideas. CS Week Synergy Groups will continue to be complimentary registration.

Although CS Week Fall Conference will be totally instruction-based, without an exhibit floor, it will offer networking opportunities during meals and a series of breaks on both days.

Major considerations in developing the CS Week Fall Conference were accommodating utility professionals from organizations that operate on a non-calendar fiscal year and coinciding better with management approval timing. One conference a year no longer fits the schedule for everyone looking for quality meter-to-cash education.

CS Week will continue to be the premier annual educational conference for professionals in the ?meter-to-cash? realm of electric, gas and water/wastewater IOUs, munis and co-ops. CS Week 2009 at the Gaylord National in Washington, D.C., in May, will still include CS Week Executive Summit, College, Synergy Groups and workshops, plus 160,000 square feet in the Exhibit Hall. Attendees should expect CS Week 2009 to be charged with the energy and dynamism to challenge and thrive on the pace of change.

For more information, please visit www.csweek.org
Jerry Duvall,CEO, CS Week