General Information

Meetings will be held at the:

Norfolk Marriott Waterside
235 East Main Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-627-4200

Sleeping rooms will be available at:

Norfolk Marriott Waterside
235 East Main Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-627-4200
Click HERE for Hotel Reservation Information.

and

Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel
777 Waterside Drive
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-622-6664
Click HERE for Hotel Reservation Information.

This is the ONLY way to book a room at the hotel at the JMIH rate!!!

Beware of Unauthorized Hotel Service Providers
It has come to our attention that several exhibitors, attendees, and members have been contacted by housing vendors who are offering to provide room rates and hotel services for JMIH. These companies are NOT affiliated with JMIH!

Attendees and exhibitors should be cautious of companies that:
• Call you directly and claim they are official housing partners and have the best rates for Norfolk. JMIH will never call you directly to solicit hotel reservations.
• Claim to be affiliated with JMIH by offering discounted hotel rates, which often can be too good to be true.
• Ask you to provide your contact information and credit card details and require full prepayment in advance.
• Claim to have availability at their advertised hotels, but may take the money for the rooms, then later cancel without refunding to you.

At the 1997 meetings in Seattle, it was decided that the Environmental Quality Committee (now the Conservation Committee) would develop recommendations to minimize the environmental impact of the Society’s activities. The committee has developed a list of possible actions relating to the annual meeting that can be implemented with minimal inconvenience to the organizing committee and to the membership at large. Many of these suggested actions are dependent on a decision by the Society as to whether and how much members are willing to trade off convenience for cost in the process of reducing environmental impacts (fortunately, many proposed actions are actually money-savers). Our objective in these “greening” efforts is to fulfill the general mission of the annual meeting in the most efficient, environmentally sound, and economic manner possible. For additional information about the ASIH Conservation Committee, contact Frank McCormick.

This year’s efforts in greening the meeting will include:

• Eliminate disposable plastic products to every extent possible.
• Use clip-on name tags that can be recycled. The name tag will be clipped to a recycled lanyard.
• Eliminate the meeting bag.
• Use only organic shirts for meeting T-shirts.
• Create a voluntary carbon-offset option as a check-off on the registration form. Individuals can contribute $10, or $20 to a local conservation organization to be selected by the local committee.

Casual dress is appropriate throughout the meeting. For comfort in the air-conditioned meeting rooms, a light jacket or sweater is suggested.

The JMIH Registration Desk is staffed to check in attendees and exhibitors and answer any questions you have regarding the meeting.

Internet access will be provided to all JMIH attendees in the meeting rooms at the Marriott and in sleeping rooms at the Marriott and Sheraton. For complimentary internet in your guest room, join Bonvoy HERE.

Click HERE for a look at many of the activities you can explore while visiting Norfolk. From weekend ideas, to museums, to nightlife and things to do on the water, you will find lots of fun things to make your trip memorable.

Morning and afternoon breaks will be provided Wednesday through Sunday, located in the exhibit area of the Marriott. A cash bar will be available during the poster sessions. Lunch and dinner are on your own each day.

Click HERE for information on the food choices the Marriott has to offer and restaurants nearby. Check out additional restaurants at the Waterside District which is .1 mile away.

ASIH GRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL AWARD BOOK RAFFLE

A book raffle will be conducted to raise funds for graduate student travel awards. Tickets may be purchased during the Joint Meeting, with the funds going directly toward student travel awards for 2020. The books are donated by publishers, booksellers, society members, etc.

ASIH thanks meeting attendees who participate in the student-run book raffle, which directly supports student travel to the JMIH. In recognition that today’s student members are the future of ASIH and that attendance at the JMIH encourages society involvement, ASIH matches dollar for dollar funds raised at the raffle. Please help ASIH promote our students, be generous, and make this year’s raffle a great success.

For all donations please mark the outside of all packages “Book Raffle” and ship to:

Eric Hilton
Department of Fisheries Science
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
PO Box 1346
1375 Greate Road
Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062

**Be aware that it needs to be made apparent that the shipments are for the ASIH Book Raffle when you ship them.

SSAR/HL SILENT AND LIVE AUCTION DONATIONS

The SSAR announces the Twenty-third Annual Silent Auction to be held at the 2020 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (JMIH) in Norfolk, VA, 24-28 July 2020. We are glad to accept any herp-related donations, including but not limited to, frameable art (photographs, paintings, and line illustrations), books, music, glassware, jewelry, clothing and gift certificates for Norfolk area services/events during the meeting week (no live or dead animal products). The SSAR Auction Committee organizes the Annual Silent Auction to raise money to fund the SSAR Student Travel Awards to the JMIH. Your donations help provide opportunities for students to attend and present their research. If you have any questions or are interested in donating an item or two please contact Samantha Kahl for more information.

For all donations please mark the outside of all packages “SSAR/HL Silent Auction” or “SSAR/HL Live Auction” and ship to:

Eric Hilton
Department of Fisheries Science
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
PO Box 1346
1375 Greate Road
Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062

**Be aware that it needs to be made apparent that the shipments are for the SSAR/HL Auctions, and specify which auction is intended (live or silent) when you ship them.

Message boards are located in registration area of Marriott. Participants may post messages for friends and colleagues. The registration staff will also post telephone and other messages on these boards. Job announcements or information about employment opportunities may be posted on the message boards as well.

All of the JMIH societies participating in the meeting this summer at the Marriott agree that child care is an important issue and they have stepped up to make it possible for parents to participate in the meeting at the very low cost of $5 per hour. Sitting will be arranged on site by Preferred Sitters, a national company that has been handling this for JMIH for the past few years. They will come to the meeting venue and set up a ‘camp’ with toys, games, and reading materials appropriate to the ages they are watching. CAMP JMIH will be available from 7:30am to 9:30pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Parents will need to get in touch with Brittany Ashley (preferredsitter@gmail.com) about their childcare needs prior to your arrival. This is key for planning purposes. Though drop in child care may be available it is not guaranteed. Get in touch early and work out the details of your particular child care situation.

Review information about presentation awards, travel awards and student fundraisers.

Review information about dates and locations for future meetings.

21-24 July 2021
Phoenix Convention Center
Headquarter Hotel:
Phoenix Renaissance
Phoenix, AZ

26-31 July 2022
Spokane Convention Center
Headquarter Hotel:
Davenport Grand
Spokane, WA

Review information from past meetings including abstracts, schedules and photos HERE