We hope everyone is doing well.  

The 2014 PAG meeting is approaching!!   The COTTON GENOME INITIATIVE workshop will be Sunday, January 12, 2014, 4:00-6:10pm in Pacific Salon 2.  

This email is primarily about Workshop Speakers, but before discussing that, please note these abstract deadlines:

At this time, we solicit volunteers and nominations for "Cotton Genome Initiative" Workshop Speakers -- --  Please, follow the different instructions below for volunteering yourself or nominating a possible speaker. 

----------------------------------------------------

Instructions for submitting your volunteered topic and draft abstract:  

By the end of October 15, send an email with the following  SUBJECT LINE:   

to these two email addresses:

In your email, please include the following components:

1. Presenter (Your name):  Family_name, First_name 

Institutional affiliation:   ______

2. Email address(es), separated by a comma.  

3. List of co-authors (draft)

If you do not get a response acknowledging reception of the submission, please inquire!  Note that the Subject Line is important -- we will use it to identify submissions, so we recommend you use COPY/PASTE to fill in the Subject Line of your email.

----------------------------------------------------

Instructions for nominating a prospective speaker:  

By the end of October 10, 

[1] confer with the person you think would be an appropriate speaker about availability, their desire to speak (~20 minutes) at the Workshop (be sure to mention Sunday Jan. 12 4-6pm, so that they arrive in time), prospective topic title, and willingness if selected (~ Oct. 22) to provide an abstract to PAG before the deadline (Nov. 8).  It would be important to inform that individual that PAG provides no support for travel or any other expenses for Workshop speakers, except as mentioned below. 

[2] if the person confirms their interest, send an email containing with the following  SUBJECT LINE:   

to these two email addresses:

In your email, please explain why this person and topic might be a superb speaker in the Cotton Genome workshop.   

If you do not get a response acknowledging reception of the submission, please inquire!  Note that the Subject Line is important -- we will use it to identify submissions, so we recommend you use COPY/PASTE to fill in the Subject Line of your email.

--------------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM PAG TO PROSPECTIVE WORKSHOP SPEAKERS:

Once speakers are added to a workshop, each speaker will be sent an automated email with instructions how to login and post their individual workshop abstract. This form will include an option and instructions for submitting a poster abstract as well. All speakers must register for the conference. Prior to the November 1 deadline, the rates for workshop speakers are the same as attendees. The rates have been reduced by $50 for full conference attendees and $25 for students and weekend only attendees versus 2013. After the November 1 deadline, the rates will increase but workshop speakers are protected from paying the increase however, they will need to use one of the discount codes below to get the lower rate.

After collecting input from everyone, we'll share the data and consult with workgroup leaders (chair and co-chairs) as best we can to help guide us identifying an attractive set of topics for the 2014 PAG Cotton Genome Initiative Workshop.  Again, we will attempt to arrive at decisions by the end of Oct. 22, so that everyone has plenty of time to perfect and submit their abstracts, and if not chose, to submit a poster instead.  (Please note however, that space for posters is limited, so it might be wise to submit poster abstracts well before Oct. 23.)

Thanks,

Workshop Organizers:   

David Stelly and Tianzhen Zhang

ICGI Co-Chair and Chair