The room rate for conference attendees is $89 plus taxes for a double room. The deadline for IHA to fill our block of rooms is June 17. Please call the Hilton Garden Inn at 256-430-1778 to make your reservations. Be sure to let them know that you are with the International Herb Association to get the group rate.

Come early and stay late; details for our field trips on Friday, July 17 and Monday, July 20 are described below. Saturday, July 18, begins the conference with our Herb Education Day at the Huntsville Botanical Garden with doors open to the public. Sunday, July 19 the IHA Annual Business Meeting will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn along with a day of herbal programs.

Registration

The $175.00 early-bird conference registration fee for members includes both days of the conference, lunch both days, Informal Herbal Buffet Dinner with Awards Presentation at Murray Hall on Saturday, July 18, and the Evening Banquet and Foundation Auction on Sunday, July 19 at the Hilton; the fee is $200 after June 15th. Send in your $50.00 deposit to qualify yourself/your associates for the early-bird special. The fee for non-members is $200.00 for those registering before June 1st and $225.00 for those signing up after that day. Fees for the public for a single day are $75.00 per day; $85.00 after June 15th, with lunch included. Fees for attending half day (3 morning or 3 afternoon programs) are $45 and lunch is on your own (Huntsville Botanical Garden members receive a $10 registration discount).

For those driving to the meeting, the Hilton Garden Inn is located at 4801 Governors House Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805. Directions at: Hilton Garden Inn.

A limited number of tables for vendors are available for the herbal marketplace. The table rental fee is $75.00 for the two days of the meeting; the fee for tables for one day is $40.00. To reserve your spot contact Tina Marie Wilcox.

Conference Schedule

Friday July 17: Pre-Conference Tour
On Friday, the tour will begin with the Burritt on the Mountain; the park interprets the history of the people and environment of the Southern Cumberland region of Alabama and Tennessee. The historic 167-acre site offers something for everyone:

• Reconstructed farm structures with demonstrations
• Nature trails going past historic coal mines and quarries
• Herb garden
• Museum

The afternoon will be spent at the Huntsville Botanical Garden, a beautiful 110-acre site with stunning floral collections and inviting woodland paths. The 5-acre Central Corridor Garden, features aquatic, perennial and annual displays ablaze with color from spring through fall. There is a 2-acre children's garden and the nation's largest seasonal butterfly house. Lunch is on your own at Clementine's at the Garden. Vendors will be able to set up at the botanical gardens following the tour.
Total tour cost will be only $35 for both days; or $20 per day separately.

Saturday July 18: Public and Member Education Day
Time	Scheduled Speaker/Topic
9:00 AM	Welcome/Opening--Tina Marie Wilcox, IHA President
9:15 to 10:15 AM	Marge Powell--A Shortcut to Herbal Distillates
10:30 to 11:15 AM	Charles Voigt-Making the Cut: Trials, Selections, and Awards
11:30 to 12:30 PM	Steven Lee--Herbes de Provence: A Historically Delicious Blend
12:30 to 1:30 PM	Lunch--Pick up box lunches & beverage in Murray Hall; vendor shopping
1:30 to 2:30 PM	Tina Wilcox--How to Raise a Kitchen Garden from Scratch
2:45 to 3:45 PM	Susan Belsinger and Art Tucker--A Dilly of an Umbel
4:00 to 5:00 PM	Susan Belsinger & Donna Frawley--Cooking With Dillicious Anethum graveolens
6:00 to 6:45 PM	Social Hour--Hilton Hotel Bar
7:00 PM	Evening Banquet--Informal Herbal Buffet with 2009 Awards, Murray Hall

Sunday July 19: Professional Tracts and Annual Meeting
Time	Scheduled Speaker/Topic
9:00 to 10:00 AM	Marge Powell and Kay Whitlock--Surviving or Not Surviving Tough Economic Times
10:15 to 11:15 AM	Dr. Srnivasa Rao Mentreddy--Basil: The Miracle Herb
11:30 to 12:30 PM	Mimi Hernandez--World Roots
12:30 to 1:30 PM	Lunch--South of the Border Buffet Lunch in Hilton; vendor shopping
1:30 to 2:30 PM	Phyllis D. Light--Appalachian Folk Medicine
2:45 to 3:45 PM	Terry Hollembaek--Natural Farming: Where it came from and where it is going
4:00 to 5:00 PM	Annual IHA Meeting of Members
6:00 to 7:00 PM	Social Hour--Hilton Hotel Bar
7:00 to 10:00 PM	Evening Banquet and IHA Foundation Auction at the Hilton

Monday July 20 Post-Conference Tour
Monday will begin with a guided tour of Dr. Mentreddy's Basil Studies at the University of Alabama A&M Experiment Research Station in Hazelgreen, AL. Lunch will be on your own in downtown Huntsville. The next stop will be at Bennett's Nursery, a destination offering complimentary refreshments for IHA guests; an electric LGB train circles the landscape around the trees and greenery. The grounds are in a park-like setting; there are over 500 varieties of perennials and annuals there. Our last stop will be nearby at Across the Pond Nursery. They feature unique water garden and nature supplies and they also have a design center. It is one of the largest, diverse nature centers in the Southern U.S.
The tour will end mid-afternoon, allowing time for independent adventures to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Harrison Brothers Hardware Store Museum, or other area attractions
Total tour cost will be only $35 for both days; or $20 per day separately.