The Washington State Dental Association (WSDA) is a 501 c(6) trade Association with approximately 4,400 members. Approximately 70% of licensed dentists in Washington are members of WSDA. As a member benefit, the Association provides continuing education opportunities to the dental profession along with additional advocacy and governance events for its members. The Association is seeking an event management partner to administer its annual continuing education conference and several other events held annually.
Put on by the WSDA, the Pacific Northwest Dental Conference (PNDC) is Washington’s largest dental conference, attracting over 5,000 attendees annually from the Pacific Northwest and across the country. PNDC offers dentists, dental staff, dental students and other attendees three days of both lecture and workshop based continuing dental education, a two-day Exhibit Hall, and various receptions and special events. PNDC 2021 will be held June 24-26, 2021 in Seattle at the Washington State Convention Center and Sheraton Grand Seattle. Not including speaker fees and marketing costs, the expenses for the PNDC range from $500,000 to $570,000.
In addition to PNDC, the WSDA holds two additional events annually. The House of Delegates, the Association’s governance event, is a two-day event with approximately 100 attendees that alternates locations between Spokane and Seattle. Dental Action Day is a single-day advocacy event with approximately 125 attendees held in Olympia.
The intent of this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) is to obtain a well-qualified partner with experience managing large continuing education conferences and smaller events. The WSDA’s Committee on Continuing Education will maintain responsibility for speaker procurement and content development, and WSDA staff will continue to manage all marketing and communication support for all events.
Respondents may choose to provide an RFP for the PNDC exclusively or may choose to submit an RFP that is inclusive of all WSDA’s events.
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