Conference Travel Plans
Each conference has its own plans for getting to CHIC. Many churches make arrangements on their own, and some make plans to travel together by plane or bus. Below is a list of plans for each conference which will be updated as we learn more information.
- Canada
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We have a meeting September 15-17 with most of the youth pastors, so we are allotted time to go through the CHIC information and will talk about transportation. I believe the Alberta churches would like to figure out their own transportation, and for the prairie provinces we are looking at bussing.
Shauna Bennett
shauna.bennett@chic2009.org
204-269-3437 - Alaska
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All groups from Alaska will be flying to CHIC 2009 so that we don’t have to drive two weeks to get there and back. Each group is responsible to get themselves to Anchorage on their own and we are negotiating prices for group tickets from Anchorage. We have 38 seats reserved on Northwest that are one-stop tickets straight into Knoxville and we have 80 tickets help on Delta that are into Atlanta, from which we will use the University of Tennessee’s busses to get to Knoxville. All Alaska CHIC tickets range in prices, but we will simply be averaging the total cost for all tickets (including busses) and charging one flat fee per person (price will be announced as soon as we know (A) prices from UT regarding bussing and (B) a realistic estimated number of people attending CHIC from each church attending CHIC. You can expect transportation to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,100.00 round trip from Anchorage (give or take a hundred bucks). In order to make this investment more worthwhile, we are in the preliminary stages of creating an additional service experience for students to be able to apply for (at a slightly greater financial cost) which would extend the trip for some and be a follow-up “hands-on” experience to what they had experienced at CHIC 2009. Details to come.
- Phil Cannon
phil.cannon@chic2009.org
907-277-3322 - Central
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Brian Alnes is working to provide bussing for the entire central conference. He has been in contact with and getting quotes from bus companies as he is doing the same for the Northwest conference. He expects to have quotes for us in the next month. We will then send out a general letter to all church letting them know what the transportation options are out there and why it is to their advantage to connect with central conference bussing. Chris Maki from Iron Mountain MI will be the Central Conference CHIC transportation person. He is teaming position with the youth pastor from Norway Covenant Church. Chris and Debbie Griffith are in the process of connecting and putting together a plan to communicate and organize bussing once Brian completes his part of the process. I have some tentative prices on airfare but highly doubt that any of our churches will use that form of transportation. Almost all Central conference churches have been called and most of the churches who were contacted (those that answered the phone or called back) do know about our efforts for coordinated transportation.
Brian Zahasky
brian.zahasky@chic2009.org
847-362-3308 - East Coast
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Traditionally, the local churches in the East Coast Conference have made their own way to CHIC. However in 2006, we organized a conference bus trip and it was great! We’ll be coordinating efforts again for CHIC 2009. Frontline coaches are making connections with the churches in their area to make sure you know about this option.
Why bus with us?
- A money saver in 2006, we expect that the savings will be even more significant in 2009 with rising airfare costs.
- The trip provides time and space to prepare and debrief CHIC with your youth group.
- It’s a great opportunity to be together as a conference! Your youth will be able to make new connections and deepen existing ones with their friends from the ECC before they even get to CHIC. If this is your first time to CHIC, busing might be a great way to get connected.
At the present time, the plan is to take 2 days to drive down to Tennessee leaving on Saturday, July 11, 2009. We’ll have one overnight in a hotel and arrive to CHIC on Sunday the 12th. We are interested in driving straight through on the way home (leaving on the 17th and getting home on the 17th). The final price/person is dependent on the number of people who elect to commit to the bus option. If you are interested, please let me know as soon as you can.
Each church is responsible for it’s own transportation. But, even if you don’t want to bus, we are here to help. Are you having trouble booking flights? Do you need to partner with another church? Let us know how to assist you.
- Christy Bouris
christy.bouris@chic2009.org
781-861-0780 - Great Lakes
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I sent out my first contact with the churches last month and have begun receiving church information back (14 churches (estimated 170 students)). During August & September I am going to be shopping around for bus carriers (I also have a travel agent who I might work with). Depending on numbers from each church we plan on having either 1…have churches go to a central location and/or 2…have buses take a route to pick up kids along the way. I’ve been in contact with Brian Alnes about using buses while we are in Knoxville.
- Steve Raisch
sraisch@thornapple.org
616-957-0580 - Jay Baehr
jay.baehr@chic2009.org - Midsouth
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Bus transportation is being arranged. More details will be coming soon.
- Becky Behling
bbehling@sbcglobal.net
512-913-9913 - Midwest
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Since arranging travel for the entire conference would be way too complicated we are recommending that each group make their own plans for transportation. However we are not going to leave you alone in this. Our Liaison team will be available to help you accomplish this. Whether you need help to partner you with another church or you need to know whom to call to set up a charter or airlines, we can help. For Kansas and Missouri you can contact Kim Thompson at kim@csidecov.org or Jim Eaton at jim@csidecov.org and for Nebraska and Iowa it will be Ron Welton at ron.welton@cox.net. For Colorado, Jeff Berg at jeff.berg@chic2009.org. We have resources to help you to get to CHIC!
Jeff Berg
jeff.berg@chic2009.org
970-667-4730 - Kim Thompson
kim@csidecov.org
620-241-4499 - North Pacific
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Traveling from the Pacific Northwest to Knoxville Tennessee is only practical via air travel. Since arranging air travel for the entire conference would be too complicated and costly we are recommending each group attending chic make their own reservations. However, our Liaison team is available to partner with you to help accomplish this goal, we have some helpful resources available, and some general tips to make the process easier.
We are also recommending all groups attending CHIC from the North Pacific Conference consider arriving a day early on July 11th and rafting together on the first day of CHIC, July 12th. Traveling early will make booking flights easier, allow your group to be more rested the first day since they won’t have to be at the airport at 4:00am, and will give us the opportunity to be together as a conference.
Helpful Resources:
• Lakeville Travel: This is the travel agency the Covenant office uses for all its travel. They will be looking at getting group rates and discounts for anyone who is interested. They can be contacted at 800 848 8151.
• Kayak.com: If you want to avoid a travel agent and find your own tickets, Kayak.com is a great place to start. After you input your travel dates it will search all the discount ticket sites and show you the best deals.
• Keith Hamilton: Keith works for Alaska Christian College. He has earned a reputation for getting into the Knoxville Airport. Contact him at 907-394-1988 or kjhamilton@aol.com.General Tips:
• Block out seats early. Up to eleven months before travel you can “block out” seats with an airline without giving names or a deposit. Generally this will give you the best price as well as allow you to fly in and out of the Knoxville airport which is very small. If you can avoid flying into Nashville and taking a bus do so.
• Many have had success soliciting donation of air miles from their congregation. This could be a great way to save money. Be aware, though, that you may have to send small groups on several different airlines which can get complicated.
• If you are going to CHIC for the first time consider partnering with someone who has been before. Our CHIC Liaison team would be glad to help you out in any way.Erik Cave
erik.cave@chic2009.org
503-238-5950 - Reid Olson
reid.olson@chic2009.org
425-392-8636 - Northwest
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We have contracted with Heartland Tours, which is the company that we have used for the past Chic buses, and the central conf is using as well(we believe). They will be utilizing other local companies as needed for far out state pick ups as to not have dead miles. There will be around 10 pickup spots, we will try to use the same main spot but some may be determined by group size in those location. The main contact for this program is of course Brian Alnes, and he will be utilizing these buses for the excursion transportation as well. The direct contact at heartland is Stan Holter.
Our cost for the trip is $190 and we will be using the same deadline dates at CHIC registration. There will not be a early bird price or late charge but the dates for deposit will be Jan 31 and final payment due by May 8th. We hope this will alleviate any confusion and only mean we need to make sure people are aware of the two dates and not more.
We are planning for about 1000 or more riders from the Conf. We will depart on July 11th and return on July 18th.
Our Conf office will also have transportation Scholarships available for those in need. They will need to contact the conference directly and talk to Jon Kramka.
We have already sent out an email to all our churches with the price and dates of the bus, which was greatly appreciated and meet with joy to see the price so low.
Kyle Gunderson
kyle.gunderson@chic2009.org - Chuck Knutson
chuck.knutson@chic2009.org - Pacific Southwest
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Download the Pacific South West Info Sheet (7.3 MB)
One of the things that sets CHIC apart from many other events is the travel experience. Being on the road together can be a great bonding time, so we are encouraging your church to get a jump on the travel details so that you can then concentrate on the relationships. Churches will be responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from CHIC. That being said, we want to remind you that your PSWC CHIC liaisons, Erin, Jed, and Scott, are available and eager to help you with your travel game plan as well as answer questions you may have. You are not on your own, so please let us assist you. The three closest airports that we would recommend flying into are: Knoxville, TN, Nashville, TN and Atlanta, GA. Because of the three-hour time change and length of flights, we suggest flying to Tennessee the day prior to CHIC so that you are rested and ready to go when things kick off. There is nothing like investing hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on an event only to begin the experience simply exhausted. There are several excursions that will be available the morning of July 12th for your group to participate in.
Here are a few travel options to consider:
Lakeville Travel: This is the travel agency the Covenant office uses for all its travel. They will be looking at getting group rates and discounts for anyone who is interested. They can be contacted at 800 848 8151.
Kayak.com: If you want to avoid a travel agent and find your own tickets, Kayak.com is a great place to start. After you input your travel dates it will search all the discount ticket sites and show you the
best deals.
Group Airfare: Once you get an idea of what airlines are charging you can contact the individual airline’s Group Sales department. Airlines usually offer a discount to groups of 10 or more people and offer some flexibility on payments and passenger names. Typically after reserving a set number of seats you have 30 days to submit a $40-$50 deposit for each seat reserved. Full refunds are offered up to 60 days prior to departure for 80% or your original number of seats reserved. If you fall below 10 passengers then additional fees will be incurred. Thirty days prior to departure the balance and list of passengers is required. Make sure you check with each airline as to their specific process. If you are a smaller group, your CHIC liaisons might be able to help you find a group in your area to connect with on this.
Keith Hamilton: Keith works for Alaska Christian College. He has earned a reputation for getting into the Knoxville Airport. Contact him at 907-394-1988 or kjhamilton@aol.com.The University of Tennessee will be offering a free shuttle service to/from the Knoxville Airport. UT will coordinate shuttle services to/from Nashville and Atlanta airports for a fee of $69 and $90 round trip.
- Scott Nelson
scott.nelson@chic2009.org
209-527-4110 - Erin Dougherty
erin.dougherty@chic2009.org
858-279-6130 - Jed Hollenbach
jed.hollenbach@chic2009.org
520-575-1444 - Southeast
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North Carolina and Georgia churches will be renting or driving their own vehicles, but are encouraged to work together. Information on Florida churches will be coming soon.
- Anita Carey
ceecareyy@aol.com - Cathy Neal
ccneal11356@earthlink.net
336-548-6420
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