SPARC

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FAQ

GENERAL:
Q: When and where is SPARC taking place?
Q: What are the hours of the SPARC?
Q: American with Disabilities Act - How can I request assistance?
Q: What are "cookies"?

PROGRAM:
Q: Where can I find an SPARC agenda?
Q: When are the sessions?
Q: Are the Keynotes and Feature Presentations open to anyone?

AWARD WINNERS:
Q: How can I submit my company for consideration?
Q: When will I know if my company has been selected?
Q: What are the requirements for SPARC winners and Silver Circle winners?
Q: Do you have to be present to win?

SPEAKERS:
Q: I would like to speak at an upcoming conference. Can I submit a proposal?
Q: When would I find out if a submitted proposal was accepted?

TRAVEL:
Q: How do I reserve a hotel room for the event?
Q: What is the best way to travel to the hotel?
Q: What is the best airport to fly into for the event?

ACTIVITIES:
Q: How can I get a list of SPARC activities?
Q: Are there activities for my spouse and family?
Q: Can I bring my spouse and/or children to the conference?

GENERAL:
Q: When and where is SPARC taking place?
A: The 2007 SPARC Awards are being held on September 20, 2007 at the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago

Q: What are the hours of the SPARC awards?
A: The networking reception begins at 6 pm and the awards program begins directly following the close of the reception.

Q: American with Disabilities Act - How can I request assistance?
A: If you require special assistance, auxiliary aids, interpreters or other reasonable accommodations while at the conference or exhibit area, please contact Laurie Reese at (212) 756-5195 at least two weeks prior to the event date.

Q: What are "cookies"?
A: A cookie is simply an HTTP header that consists of a text-only string that gets entered into the memory of a browser. This string contains the domain, path, lifetime, and value of a variable that a Web site sets. If the lifetime of this variable is longer than the time the user spends at that site, then this string is saved to file for future reference. There are many reasons a given site would wish to use cookies. These range from the ability to personalize information (like My Yahoo or Excite), or to help with on-line sales/services (like on Amazon Books or Microsoft), or simply for the purposes of tracking popular links or demographics (like DoubleClick). Cookies also provide programmers with a quick and convenient means of keeping site content fresh and relevant to the user's interests. The newest servers use cookies to help with back-end interaction as well, which can improve the utility of a site by being able to securely store any personal data that the user has shared with a site.

PROGRAM:
Q: Where can I find a SPARC agenda?
A: Please click here for information on the educational sessions taking place directly before the SPARC Awards program.

Q: When are the sessions?
A: Please click here for information on the educational sessions times and locations.

Q: Are the Keynotes and Feature Presentations open to anyone?
A: The educational portion is only open to those who register. To register for the educational programs, please click here.

AWARD WINNERS:
Q: How can I submit my company for consideration?
A: Please click here to information about how the SPARC Awards are selected.

Q: When will I know if my company has been selected?
A: A member of the SPARC team will contact your organization directly if you have won a SPARC Award.

Q: What are the requirements for SPARC winners and Silver Circle winners?
A: We require a current corporate logo for placement on the award. We also request that a representative be present at the awards program to accept the award. Photos will be taken of all SPARC award winners and placed in the annual SPARC issue of Retailing Today magazine.

Q: Do you have to be present to win?
A: You do not have to be present to win, but all winners that arrive on-site will be photographed with their award and included in the SPARC Awards Retailing Today issue.

SPEAKERS:
Q: I would like to speak at an upcoming conference. Can I submit a proposal?
A: All speaker proposals can be submitted directly to Tim Craig, Editor-in-Chief. All proposals should be submitted by January 15th of the event year you wish to present.

Q: When would I find out if a submitted proposal was accepted?
A: A member of the SPARC team will contact you if your proposal was accepted. Unfortunately we are only able to contact those proposals that were accepted.

TRAVEL:
Q: How do I reserve a hotel room for the event?
A: Please click here for hotel information and reservations. Please note that it is the responsibility of each attendee to make their hotel reservations.

Q: What is the best way to travel to the hotel?
A: Please click here for information about ground transportation to the hotel.

Q: What is the best airport to fly into for the event?
A: The hotel is 12 miles from Midway Airport and 16 miles from O'Hare International Airport. Please click here for more information.

ACTIVITIES:
Q: How can I get a list of SPARC activities?
A: We are in the process of updating the list of event activities, please check back shortly for a complete listing. If you have any questions you can contact Laurie Reese @ (212) 756-5195

Q: Are there activities for my spouse and family?
A: The SPARC program does not have organized activities planned for your family. If you are interested in activities in the Chicago area, please click here.

Q: Can I bring my spouse and/or children to the conference?
A: Spouses are welcome to attend the SPARC Awards program, please make sure that they register in advance. Children are unable to attend either the conference sessions or the SPARC awards program and reception.

Karen Dodge, Chief Merchandising Officer, Toys“R”Us

Michael Howard, Chief Operating Officer, AAFES

Rich Juliano, Group VP, Center Store Merchandising, Supervalu

Tasso Koken , Sr. Vice President, Merchandising, Best Buy

Todd Marshall , Director, Merchandising Operations, Target

John Scanlon , Sr. Vice President, Merchandising, Family Dollar

Karen Stuckey, Sr. Vice President, GMM, Apparel , Wal-Mart

Doug Wurl, VP, GMM Home Fashions, Sears Holdings Corporation