City officials are encouraged to plan ahead for the Annual Convention to make the most of their time at the meeting.

The Exhibit Hall will be open on Saturday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. On Sunday morning, attendees will have the opportunity to attend three 20-minute roundtable discussions on issues important to cities. Discussion tables will be set up in the back of the Exhibit Hall. Attendees can go on-line at www.gmanet.com, however, before arriving in Savannah and visit an interactive layout of the Exhibit Hall to find out more about which vendors will be there, and decide how they want to make the best use of their time in the Exhibit Hall.

Likewise, the schedule for the convention will be on GMA’s website prior to June 26, so city officials can decide which meetings they need to attend.

“With multiple sessions and policy committee meetings happening at the same time, city leaders may want to strategize who goes to which meetings,” said GMA Executive Director Jim Higdon. “Rather than have all your city’s leaders in one session, it may be best to divide up the sessions and policy committee meetings and then share the information with each other.”

Like last year’s convention, handouts and session notes will be available on the GMA website, cutting down on paper waste and allowing city officials to share the information from the sessions.

Policy committee meetings are scheduled to take place on Sunday, while concurrent sessions will be held on Monday, June 28. Last year, GMA shortened the convention to end after the Awards and Installation Breakfast on Tuesday. This year, the installation of officers and presentation of awards will take place at the Business Session on Monday afternoon.

Training opportunities will be provided on Saturday, June 26 and again on Tuesday, June 29.

The Business Meeting is scheduled for Monday afternoon. The 2011 Legislative Policies will be voted on during this meeting and the Board of Directors and district officers for 2010-2011 will be elected. All cities will be asked to select a voting delegate in advance. Credential forms will be mailed in early May.

The conference will be held at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center.

www.gmanet.com