The 9th Annual Professional Workshop of the Users and Screeners Association, Federal Excess Personal Property, Inc. will be held at the Radisson Plaza Hotel - Lexington, Kentucky, August 9 through 12.   The College of Agriculture at the University of Kentucky is working to co-host the meeting with the Executive Committee as well as General Services Administration, Region 4 – Atlanta.  A dynamic agenda is being planned revolving around federal excess personal property in use by the College of Agriculture in conjunction with the US Department of Agriculture and the UK Center for Robotics and Manufacturing (CRMS) in conjunction with the National Science Foundation.  The workshop is open to present association members as well as any first-time attendees who manage, screen, use, generate, or dispose of Federal Excess Personal Property.

Registration for the meeting is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday, August 9 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel at the top of the escalators.  For those arriving Sunday, rooms will be available at the regular meeting rate as well as the hospitality room open.  For those arriving Monday morning before the meeting, luggage storage is available if rooms are not yet available.  The Radisson Plaza Hotel provides transportation from the airport to the hotel via call-up upon arrival or reserved in advance. Attendees should dress casually for all Monday activities.

On Monday afternoon, the meeting will be “jump-started” by a three hour bus tour of the Agricultural Experiment Station operated by the UK College of Agriculture in conjunction with the US Department of Agriculture. The bus tour will cover approximately 4500 acres of research stations in and around Lexington.  Attendees will view federal excess property items in use at the station during the tour as well as covering information on the college agricultural research and extension programs taking place.  The tour is designed for workshop registrants only.  Monday evening, a “mini-workshop” will be presented for those attending for the first time or any parties new to federal excess personal property in general.  The session will be designed to orient newcomers to the property program as well as the Users and Screeners Association in general.

Tuesday morning, the official meeting work sessions will begin at the Radisson Plaza Hotel – 2nd floor.  The meeting will begin with welcome and opening remarks by President Don Wilkins, meeting staff, and Region 4 General Services Administration.   Presentations and information from the General Services Administration, Central Operations will be presented for most of the remaining morning sessions.  This will include information on changing GSA policies, electronic screening, the FEDS computer program, and other issues of importance to the membership.  A combination group luncheon and business meeting is planned for approximately 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

On Tuesday afternoon, an array of tours are planned for the membership. Workshop registrants can sign up for one of two tour packages. The first package will consists of a visit to local horse farms and thoroughbred training facility.  Attendees choosing this package will gain first-hand knowledge of the horse industry and enjoy the luxurious landscape of the horse capital of the world.  Also, a visit to the Labrot and Graham bourbon distillery is planned in conjunction with the horse farm tours.   Tour package two will consists of a tour of the University of Kentucky Center for Robotics and Manufacturing Center (CRMS) on main campus. CRMS receives both federal funding and federal excess property through the National Science Foundation.  Attendees choosing package two will also tour the Toyota Motor Manufacturing facility in nearby Georgetown, Kentucky.  The facility produces in excess of 400,000 automobiles yearly and is the largest Toyota plant in North America.  Robotic and manufacturing systems utilized at the Toyota facility were developed in conjunction with the UK Center for Robotics and Manufacturing System.

Guests and/or spouses are welcome on the Tuesday afternoon tours. Those who would like to bring additional parties should note this on the Tour Registration Form when completing. There will be additional minimum charges for guests on the tours. There are no children under 11 permitted on the horse farm/distillery tours; for the Robotics/Toyota tour, no children under 8 are permitted. Also, at Toyota, there are no shorts or cameras permitted inside the facility.

Wednesday morning will continue with the meeting work sessions and will focus on property available from the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) operated under Defense Logistics Agency (DLA).  Officials from DLA/DRMS will be on hand to offer the latest information concerning property available from defense operations along with upcoming policy changes.   Information and review regarding the Recycling Control Point (RCP) program will be presented along with time for questions and answers.  There will be other presentations from federal agencies/entities concerning federal excess personal property during Wednesday midday and afternoon. Mid- to late Wednesday afternoon, smaller breakout sessions will be conducted with each agency allotted time to review material and issues specific to their individual programs.

The USA Awards Dinner Banquet will be held Wednesday evening, August 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the Spindletop Hall, Spindletop Farm. Transportation will be provided leaving the Radisson Plaza Hotel approximately 6:15 p.m.  The mansion was built in the 1920's for $1 million. It contains over 45000 square feet of floorspace, 11 fireplaces, 14 bathrooms, 133 interior and exterior doors, and 102 windows. At its time of construction, its 30 x 60 foot living room and circular staircase were the largest in Kentucky. In addition to the dinner, individuals within the association will be recognized for their contributions over the past year.  The banquet should complete approximately 8:30 to 8:45 with buses returning to the Radisson approximately 9:00 p.m.

The final sessions of the meeting will be held Thursday morning with the official end of the workshop taking place approximately 11:30 to noon.  Presentations from a “Users Panel” are planned for the morning showing how items received from the program have made a direct contribution to individual programs.   Also, information on the National Property Management Association, audit consideration for federal excess property issues, and other issues relevant to federal excess personal property will be presented.

Please take time to register for the meeting along with reserving hotel rooms as early as possible. The cutoff date for all reserved rooms and meeting registration is July 9. Just as important is the registration form for the tours. Since there is significant planning necessary for the tour packages, its important the planning committee know as early as possible the number of attendees signing up for each tour.  Please note tours may not be available for late registrants.  Please take time to submit the necessary registration/reservation materials for the meeting by July 9, 1999 to ensure you have the most rewarding, productive, and enjoyable workshop possible.

Questions or comments concerning the above article can be directed to the author at:  clocke@ca.uky.edu