Local Arrangements
Hello! Allow me introduce myself. I’m Tom Costas, and I am the Local Arrangements Chair for the 2009 International Microwave Symposium (IMS) here in Boston. I’ll begin by welcoming you to the IMS here in Boston again, this time to be held in a brand new convention center.
I am very excited at the opportunity to again be working with the Steering Committee in bringing you to Boston and hosting this symposium. I am delighted to be contributing to this, the third IMS I have served on, second as Local Arrangements Chair. Like so much of the Steering Committee whose membership brings together experiences and lessons learned from numerous previous symposiums, I am looking forward to making this IMS the best one you have experienced.
June 2009 will find the IMS in a new setting. The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) is located along the waterfront in Boston Harbor. As many of you may know, for years the Haynes Auditorium in Back Bay was our home. But back in 2000, the symposium outgrew the exhibition and meeting space.
Today, the BCEC is the world's most spectacular convention facility. The BCEC is the largest convention facility in the Northeast. It is located in South Boston which is less than a ten-minute drive from Logan Airport by car or by water taxi. For the IMS, the BCEC provides us with 516,000 square feet of exhibit space, 84 meeting rooms, a 40,020 square foot ballroom overlooking the city skyline and Boston Harbor. Even the architectural design of the BCEC reflects a unique, innovative approach that will add to the IMS. I am confident that you’ll enjoy the symposium in our new venue.
By having the symposium at the BCEC, it is within minutes of Boston's hotels located conveniently to historic locations such as the Seaport District, downtown, the financial district, Back Bay, Cambridge, and the airport. Our symposium will be headquartered in both the Weston Waterfront Hotel, adjacent to the BCEC, and at the Sheraton Boston located in the Back Bay. The hotels for the symposium will span the waterfront and Back Bay.
Some history may be appropriate at this point. Boston, first incorporated as a town in 1630, and as a city in 1822, is one of America's oldest cities, with a rich economic and social history. What began as a homesteading community eventually evolved into a center for social and political change. Boston has since become the economic and cultural hub of New England.
Boston is home to nearly 590,000 residents, many institutions of higher education, some of the world's finest inpatient hospitals, and numerous cultural and professional sports organizations. Millions of people visit Boston to take in its historic neighborhoods, attend cultural or sporting events, and conduct business.
As you may know, Boston enjoys a huge number of things to see and do than any other city in North America, in my opinion. From America's history found along the Freedom Trail to world-famous museums, musical institutions, local and international cuisine, an academic community second to none, and spectator sports like the Red Sox, this is a city unlike any other. This includes easy access to whale-watching tours, the beaches of the North Shore and Cape Cod, the coast of Maine and much more. Boston really does have it all!
One of my favorite things in planning this symposium is that it lets me talk about dining in Boston. It is highlighted by an astonishing diversity, ethnic variety, and proximity to the IMS and hotels. The Waterfront District, home of the BCEC, has famous waterfront seafood restaurants serving fresh lobster, chowder and other New England favorites. Back Bay, the North End, and Charlestown offers hundreds of restaurants to choose from. They include steakhouses to sidewalk bistros, all within easy walking distance. While attending the IMS, you will have hundreds of restaurants throughout the city within easy walking distance or a quick ride on the “T”, with cuisine categories and prices to suit all tastes and budgets.
Did you know that Boston is home to two of the world's most famous musical institutions, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, as well as great museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Harvard and MIT Museums in Cambridge, and many more. And the city's neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, Back Bay, the Fenway and more, offer a world of cultural discoveries and treasures.
In upcoming articles I’ll talk more about the hotels we have reserved for the IMS, dining in and around Boston, getting around, places to see and things to do. Let me say that I am looking forward to having you here in Boston again for the 2009 IMS, sharing a city that I truly enjoy and take every opportunity to spend time in. I hope you’ll take time to discover and enjoy Boston as I do.