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Registration for the 2012 Annual SMA Conference, held in Bloomington, MN
June 21st - June 24th, at the DoubleTree Hotel Bloomington – Minneapolis South, is now available.
2012 Annual SMA Conference June 21st – 24th, 2012
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bloomington, MN – Minneapolis South
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. We are now offering a new head start early registration fee which will be valid through February 1st, 2012, at 11:59pm Central Standard Time, when registration prices will increase.
You must complete your conference registration with Families of SMA prior to reserving your room at the DoubleTree Hotel for the Annual SMA Conference special room rate of $109 per night. This special room rate is available to SMA conference attendees from Sunday June 17th through Wednesday June 27th! 
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MUST COMPLETE REGISTRATION HERE PRIOR TO BOOKING YOUR HOTEL ROOM.
NOTE: There are no smoking rooms available at the hotel (All rooms are non-smoking).
IMPORTANT: When making your hotel room reservation, do not select more than 4 people in a room, even if you plan to have more than 4 people. Due to the DoubleTree’s reservation system, any reservation with over 4 people per room, will show as unavailable. If you select more than 4 people to your reservation, you will receive this message: There are no rooms available for 16 Jun 2012 - 28 Jun 2012 at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bloomington - Minneapolis South.
Click Here to View the Brief Conference Agenda
The DoubleTree by Hilton is just ten minutes from Minneapolis / St. Paul International Airport. There is so much to do and enjoy while in the Minneapolis area. Shop, eat and be entertained at the massive Mall of America; root for the Twins at Target field; or catch Broadway musicals at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. We are offering registered attendees free accessible shuttles to and from the Mall of America, as well as free parking at the DoubleTree Hotel. We will be offering all conference attendees free accessible shuttles to and from the nearby Mall of America. Since its opening in 1992, Mall of America has become a world-renowned leader in retail, entertainment and attractions. Receiving over 40 million visitors annually, Mall of America is home to over 520 retail stores and department stores, an amazing Nickelodeon Universe Amusement Park, an American Girl Store and movie theatres. From Mall of America to Target Field, the things to see and experience nearby are endlessly diverse.
To visit the Explore Minnesota website, click here.
Click here for more information on the Mall of America.
Click here to view more of the DoubleTree Hotel. 
Families of SMA has been hosting this conference for 23 years. The weekend will be filled with networking opportunities with other families, workshops, a memorable kids program, a family fun fest and carnival, and opportunities to interact with families and get first hand updates from the researchers. We are looking forward to reuniting as a community at this conference and showing our support for others. As always, the Family and the Research conferences will be running alongside each other. This is the largest conference in the world for those affected by SMA, and also for those involved in providing support and care for SMA patients. There is no other program like it for those affected by SMA. The interactions between the researchers and families at one conference is extremely special. The annual conference also provides our children an opportunity to make new friends and have a great time. We are expecting another great attendance of over 900 attendees. 
Families of SMA will again be offering an amazing support program for all newly diagnosed SMA families to attend the annual conference.
Through generous donations and sponsorships, Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy will waiver registration fees for any families newly diagnosed since the previous conference in 2011. Note: this includes up to 4 immediate family members. Our goal is to encourage as many newly diagnosed SMA families to attend and experience the benefits of this amazing conference.
The meeting gives families:
• The opportunity to gather critical care and daily living information early after diagnosis.
• To learn directly from experienced SMA physicians.
• To network with other families. Newly Diagnosed families should plan to arrive before noon on Thursday, June 21st, as we will start a special general workshop program for newly diagnosed families on Thursday afternoon. These scholarships are all made possible because of the funding and support from the Erin Trainor Memorial Fund, which was specifically created to help more families attend this amazing conference. The Erin Trainor Memorial Fund exists to provide scholarships for newly diagnosed SMA families to attend The Annual SMA Conference. Families of SMA has been coordinating this Conference since 1990 and in this time, has become the SMA conference to attend on an annual basis for families, clinicians and researchers alike. Not only will ETMF allow families the opportunity to participate in this three-day event but it will also provide each with the opportunity to gather critical care and daily living information from experienced health care professionals as well as other families living with a similar diagnosis.
Click here to make a donation to the Erin Trainor Memorial Conference Scholarship Fund.
Families of SMA is also honored to receive funding from the Jacob Isaac Rappoport Foundation, in memory of Jacob Rappoport, to support this important program. We are thrilled that they have again supported this program to allow more newly diagnosed families to attend the 2012 Annual SMA Conference and experience the benefits of this amazing conference. To learn more about the Jacob Isaac Rappoport Foundation, please click here. Information on registering through the Newly Diagnosed Program will be available soon.
More details on the 2012 Annual SMA Conference will be available soon on the Families of SMA website at www.CureSMA.org. 
Interested in becoming a vendor for the 2012 Annual SMA Conference? Please click here for more information on how to support this event.
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