BITS > JUNE 2006

CompuFest 2006 Preview

Investment Education at It's Very Best

CompuFest is just around the corner and there's still time to register. CompuFest 2006 starts on Friday, June 23 and continues through Sunday afternoon, June 25 in Reno, Nevada. Attendees consistently rank CompuFest as one of the best-run and highest-quality investment education events they've ever attended.

CompuFest 2006 Preview

CompuFest is just around the corner! If you have not already made plans to attend, there is still time. CompuFest 2006 starts on Friday, June 23 and continues through Sunday afternoon, June 25 at the Reno Hilton Hotel located in the glorious Sierra Nevada Mountains near Lake Tahoe. You will find complete details about CompuFest at www.compufest2006.com.

The Reno Hilton

Here is a summary of the CompuFest happenings.

Wireless Internet and Food

Let's deal with the important things first!

Be sure to bring your WiFi equipped computer. The entire CompuFest area includes a wireless network (802.11g) that is free to CompuFest attendees. Information for connecting to the CompuFest wireless network will be available at the CompuFest registration desk.

As for food, all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch are part of the CompuFest package. You will not have to worry about eating! A cash bar precedes the Friday and Saturday night dinners. You can have a drink with new and old friends, or chat with class instructors, BetterInvesting Trustees, members of the BetterInvesting staff, chapter directors, and members of the Computer Group Advisory Board. If you like, you can just relax after the day's activities.

Note that all of the meals at CompuFest have corporate sponsors. Besides helping to keep the cost of CompuFest at a reasonable level, you'll have the opportunity to hear presentations from the corporate representatives. After the meals, you can meet with the corporate presenters and ask them your detailed questions about their company.

Thursday Evening

Many BetterInvesting Chapter Directors arrive for a training session all day on Thursday and on Friday morning. Dinner is up to you. After dinner, there is an informal "Meet and Greet" gathering with a cash bar. Here you can meet up with old friends, chat with chapter directors, BetterInvesting Trustees, and members of the Computer Group Advisory Board. Watch out, too, for some surprises and some fun and games. Feel free to stay late and get to know your fellow CompuFest attendees.

Friday Morning

CompuFest begins on Friday morning with a series of concurrent presentations by some great corporate sponsors. You will have your choice of hearing from CVS Corporation, Aflac Incorporated, Edison International, and Taiwan Greater China Fund.

Friday Afternoon

The main CompuFest program begins at 1:00 PM with opening statements. At 1:30 PM, classes begin and the Computer Lab opens.

There are three class sessions on Friday, and you can choose among six classes at two of the sessions and seven classes during the third session. Volunteers and BetterInvesting software developers staff the computer lab. You can check out software, get personal help, or get together with other attendees to do stock studies or discuss investing. You're welcome to bring your computer and get help with your computer problems.

The CompuFest Computer Lab

Friday Evening

Friday evening begins with a cash bar and dinner. After dinner, the Kenfield-Burris Online Service award will be presented, and Swift Energy Company and Yum! Brands, Inc. will make presentations.

The CompuFest Cyber Cafe and the Computer Lab open after the dinner and the company presentations. If you do not get a chance to visit the Computer Lab while classes are in session, this is an extra chance. The Cyber Cafe is an open area (with an open cash bar) where you can meet informally to socialize, study stocks, and participate or listen to impromptu discussions.

Saturday Morning

Saturday's breakfast includes presentations by General Electric and Pan Pacific Retail. There are two sessions of classes and a choice of seven classes during each session. There is also one session of corporate presentations.

Saturday Afternoon

Lunch includes presentations by Emerson and BP. The afternoon education session has three sessions. You can choose from six classes in the first two sessions, and from seven classes in the last session. The CompuFest Computer Lab is also open on Saturday afternoon.

Phil Keating Leads a Discussion in the Cyber Cafe

Classes

Saturday Evening

Saturday evening begins with dinner preceded by a cash bar. This is a nice time to relax, visit with old friends, chat with instructors, or just wind down from the day's activities.

Dinner includes presentation of the Dick Dwyer Service Award and corporate presentations by sanofi-aventis and SAP AG. There will be an opportunity to chat with the corporate representatives after dinner. The Cyber Cafe is open after dinner.

The Cyber Cafe

Sunday Morning

Sunday morning's breakfast is sponsored by Deutshe Telekom. There are two class sessions with seven classes per session. Some classes are repeats. The Computer Lab is open.

Sunday Afternoon

Be sure to come to lunch on Sunday. Moog, Inc. and Rinker Group Limited sponsor the lunch. The big after-lunch event is the drawing for the grand prize: a brand new Dell notebook computer. You must be present to win, so try to make your travel plans so that you can stay for lunch and the drawing!

The Grand Prize!

The Computer Lab will be open for an hour after lunch. This is your last chance to check out software, ask questions, or get help.

While most of us are enjoying the CompuFest weekend, two special groups are also hard at work.

Newbies

The Newbie program is a special CompuFest offering designed for those who are new to investing the BetterInvesting way. The Newbies program requires a special registration in addition to CompuFest registration and has a limited enrollment.

Family Youth Program

The Family Youth Program gives teens, working with adults, an introduction to investing the BetterInvesting way. Teens register with a parent, grandparent, or adult mentor and work together during the weekend. This program also requires a special registration, and details are available at the CompuFest website.

The Family Youth Program

Plan Your CompuFest Weekend

If you are going to CompuFest, start planning your weekend now. Visit www.compufest2006.com and download the complete schedule. You can print it out, get out your highlighter, and get to work. You can also join the free CompuFest email discussion list and ask questions about the event of other attendees and the organizers. Look for the subscription form on the bottom of the page.

In any event, I know that you will leave Reno armed with knowledge and information that will help you be a "Better" Investor. See you there!

Joe Craig created the original NAIC website with Douglas Gerlach and Herb Barnett in 1995 and served as its webmaster for 6 years. He also served as a leader of the BetterInvesting Community on CompuServe. He is a frequent teacher at BetterInvesting events such as CompuFest and Chapter Investors Fairs.

Joe's pioneering efforts to use the online medium to bring the BetterInvesting message to investors were recognized by the Distinguished Service Award from the BetterInvesting Investment Education Institute, awarded at the Annual Congress in September 1996.

Joe is a founding member of the Pioneer Online Investment Club (POLIC), believed to be the first completely online investment club. Professionally, Joe is a physicist. He lives in Ellicott City, Maryland.