BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Construction Writers
Association will celebrate its 50th anniversary during its Annual Meeting,
April 30-May 2, 2008, in Alexandria, VA. Scheduled events include a
welcoming reception, education session on crisis communications,
construction tour, awards dinner, and annual meeting featuring
construction-related topics.

    Attendees will focus on crisis communications during an education
session on Thursday morning, May 1. The session will include presentations
from a variety of viewpoints -- media, contractors, people affected by a
past crisis, planners, and so forth.

    The construction tour will be to the new Gaylord Resort and Convention
Center at the National Harbor on the Maryland side of the Potomac. The tour
will take place on Thursday afternoon.

    CWA Journalism and Photography Awards will be presented Thursday
evening. In addition, it is expected that CWA's highest honor, the Silver
Hard Hat, will be awarded. In honor of the association's 50th anniversary,
members of the new CWA Hall of Fame will be announced.

    Construction-related topics -- green building, a forecast for the
construction economy, and discussion of the potential impact of the
election on the construction industry -- will be featured at CWA's annual
meeting on Friday morning. 2008-9 officers and directors will be elected at
brief business meeting, and long-time members will be asked to reminisce
about the association's history.

    The Society for Marketing Professional Services, located within walking
distance of CWA's hotel, will host the opening reception on Wednesday
evening. The reception will follow the CWA Board of Directors meeting, at
which observers are welcome.

    The meeting will be at the Hotel Monaco, 480 King Street, Alexandria,
VA. CWA's room rate is $199 for rooms within the block that are booked by
the hotel's cutoff date, Monday, April 7. Rooms may be reserved by calling
703-842-2770 or Kimpton's central reservations number, 800-368-5047.

    Registration fee for the Thursday morning education session, proceeds
going to the CWA scholarship fund, are $125 for members and $150 for
nonmembers. The annual meeting registration fee, which includes the awards
dinner and the Friday morning session, are $125 for members and $150 for
nonmembers. To attend both events, members pay $240 and nonmembers pay
$290. Nonmembers are encouraged to join CWA and attend at member rates. All
are encouraged to register by April 16 to avoid the late fee.

    The Construction Writers Association is a non-profit, non-partisan
international organization for journalists, public relations and marketing
communications professionals, and photographers. The organization
celebrates its 50th anniversary during 2008. CWA provides opportunities for
networking, education, recognition, and fellowship, and strives to
continually raise the level of construction writing.

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