Conference Buzz

Good Afternoon! The first day of summer was a few days ago, which is a nice friendly reminder that the Annual Conference is fast approaching! Speaking of summer, I interviewed Mike Nush, Director of Convention Services, and Tony Reese, Lead Operations Manager at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina about their Summer Play! Program. The Sheraton’s Summer Play! Program features free poolside activities for kids and families, daily discounts on boat rentals, charters, and attractions, tennis and yoga classes, and more!

What kinds of Amenities can families expect to find while staying at the Sheraton during the IOCDF Annual Conference?

We have 3 pools at the Sheraton- 2 large pools, and 1 kid’s pool. We also have a spa and fitness center and have a variety of classes, including Cardio Tennis, Surfer’s Flow Yoga, and Stand Up Paddle Board lessons. Every day, we have a numerous other activities and games that all hotel guests can take advantage of during their free time: badminton, bocce, tennis, basketball, croquet, game room and Wii Zone, hammocks, bike rentals, and ping pong.

Guests can also take advantage of 90-minute jet ski rentals from 8:00 am-12:00 pm and discounts on kayak, paddle board, and pedal boat rentals from 2:00 pm-4:00 pm. Discounts on on-site charter services are also available, including the Adventure R.I.B. rides and Pirate Ship Adventures. For more information about charters available at the Sheraton marina, please visit the Concierge desk in the lobby.

What kinds of Kid’s Activities during the Summer Play! Program will be taking place each morning from 11:30 am-12:00 pm and afternoon from 2:00 pm-2:30 pm?

Free games and activities will be available for kids of all ages at the Lagoon Pool during these times- just show up at the Fun Desk and talk with a Fun Agent to find out. Our Fun Agents are interns from nearby colleges and are all committed to providing fun and excitement for all kids and families during their stay at the Sheraton.

Games and activities played depend on the ages of those that want to participate, but here are some activities that we play: Putting Challenge, dive stick pool games, homerun derby, tug o’ war, cannonball contest, hula hoop contest, water balloon tosses, and many more!

Which activity listed on the Summer Play! Calendar is your personal favorite and why?

Our favorite Summer Play! activity is definitely the Dive-In Movie series. Every Friday and Saturday evening at 8:00 during the summer, we show a movie on a projector screen right over the pool. Kids and families can float around on rafts or relax on lounge chairs around the pool while watching a fun family film and enjoying free popcorn. During the Conference weekend, the movie The Incredibles is showing on Friday 7/29 and Cars is showing on Saturday 7/30.

Could you tell us a little more about the family portraits that are available at the Fun Desk at the Lagoon Pool?

Our Fun Agents at the Lagoon Pool capture fun family moments outdoors during the Summer Play! Program. All pictures that are taken, whether candid or portrait, can be emailed to families to enjoy once the Conference is over- and all pictures are free!

What is your favorite restaurant at the Sheraton and why? Which of the restaurants would you say is most kid/family friendly?

Shoreline restaurant, which is open for lunch and dinner, is our favorite and is also very family-friendly. It is outside right on the water and is also next to the pool, so you can actually dine in your bathing suit! Shoreline has about 10-12 entrees and also a variety of sandwiches and appetizers, so it is sure to have a bunch of delicious and healthy options for everyone.

Harborsedge restaurant has a great breakfast buffet (which you can check out before or after the Conference, since breakfast is provided on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), and Starbucks, which is located right off of the hotel lobby, also has a bunch of to-go options for breakfast and lunch.

What are some other fun and inexpensive attractions to check out close to the hotel? Also, what are you favorite beaches to go to- are there any that are within walking distance of the hotel?

Spanish Landing is a park that is less than a mile walk from the hotel. While it doesn’t have a beach, it does have a playground for kids and a beautiful view of San Diego Bay, so this is definitely a nice relaxing spot that Conference attendees can check out during the weekend. For beaches, Coronado Beach (which is south of the hotel) is about 5 miles, or 15-20 minutes, away and is very family-oriented and peaceful. Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach are both north of the hotel, and La Jolla (which is about 20-30 minutes away by car) has beautiful beaches as well.

Definitely make sure to take advantage of these great activities and events during your stay at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina. The Summer Play! Program calendar will be available to pick up during the Conference, and a copy will also be placed in all hotel rooms for you to peruse- also feel free to consult the Concierge desk in the lobby as they would be more than happy to answer any of your questions about hotel programs!

TGIF! This week flew by- it is getting a bit busy here at the IOCDF office as we are getting closer and closer to the Annual Conference. This edition of the Conference Buzz blog is an exciting one because I will be telling you all about inexpensive ways to have fun in San Diego! Whether you have been to San Diego many times before, or this is your first time visiting, we have partnered with numerous attractions in the area to provide you with some exciting things to do with your free time during the Conference weekend. Because San Diego is such a beautiful and interesting city, and there are so many opportunities to see and do so much while you are there, it really makes it easy to make the Conference a vacation in itself.

San Diego Padres Tickets

Get your tickets fast! We've partnered with Major League Baseball and the San Diego Padres to offer deeply discounted tickets for games the afternoons before and after our Annual Conference. Tickets to the Thursday, July 28 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Sunday, July 31 game against the Colorado Rockies are available to our conference attendees at up to 40% off of face value. A portion of the ticket sales will also be donated to the IOCDF! Visit www.padres.com/IOCDF for more info or to order your tickets.

Belmont Park- San Diego's Amusement Park

Located on the surf and sand in Mission Beach, Belmont Park is San Diego’s beachfront amusement park and entertainment center. Visitors can enjoy traditional and contemporary amusement park rides, ride the waves at Wave House, play mini golf, arcade and midway style games, shop and enjoy a wide array of cuisine throughout the Park which includes beachfront restaurants as well as food court style dining. Free parking is also available.

We have negotiated with Belmont Park to provide tickets at a deeply discounted rate for children and adults. To find out more information about discounted tickets to Belmont Park and to purchase tickets, please go to https://tickets.belmontpark.com and use the promo code OCDF700.

Old Town Trolley Tours and Other Hotel Discounts

If you are planning to come to San Diego early to sight-see and enjoy the city before the Conference begins, we have an exciting opportunity for you. We have negotiated with Expedia and the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina to provide IOCDF Conference attendees arriving to the San Diego early with discounted tickets for the Old Town Trolley on Thursday, July 28^th. Enjoy a two-hour, fully narrated, ride on a trolley throughout the city! Hop-on and off as much as you want among eight stops. To find out more information about the Old Town Trolley tours, times of the tours, and ticket prices for IOCDF Conference attendees, call the Concierge desk at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina at (619) 692-2216 and mention that you are a part of the International OCD Foundation Conference in July.

There are many more attractions throughout the San Diego area that Sheraton guests can receive discounted tickets for. To find out more about discounted attraction tickets for hotel guests, click here. For a list of other area attractions and local activities recommended by the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina, click here. To order a free tourist guide from the San Diego Tourism Board, click here.

Please feel free to call us here at the IOCDF office if you have any other questions about the Conference, the hotel, and about the San Diego area. Have a great weekend everyone!

Hi again everyone! I hope you all had a nice week and are gearing up for a fun and relaxing weekend. For this blog entry, I interviewed Ashley Trueman, Account Executive at the San Diego Padres. Over the past few months, Ashley has helped the IOCDF set up a fundraising program that offers deeply discounted tickets to conference attendees to 2 Padre's baseball games during the weekend of the Conference with a portion of the sales being donated back to the IOCDF- very cool, right? Ashley, a San Diego native, gives us some tips and tricks for new comers to the San Diego area, including fun places to visit and great places to eat while enjoying some down-time before, during, or after the Conference.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became involved in the Padres

I’m a San Diego native and have worked in sports either interning, volunteering, or full-time since I was 14 years old. After working in the athletic department at Arizona State University for 4 years, I took a seasonal sports sales position with the LA Tennis Open at UCLA. I never thought I wanted to do sales, but knew it was the best path into a professional sports organization. When I was presented with the chance to go back to San Diego and work for the Padres, my home town team, it was an easy decision to make. I’ve been with the Padres since October 2009 and I’m still selling and loving it!

Tell us a little bit more about this program with MLB to give back to non-profits via ticket sales.

The online fundraising program via a promo code the IOCDF is using is a way the Padres can help programs who are spread out all over the country earn funds in conjunction with a trip they have planned to San Diego. While online fundraising is something many MLB teams have, the Padres go a step above. When I started with the Padres I noticed in the group ticket discount format there was an opportunity for fundraising, but it wasn’t presented as an official program. Last season, I used my own high school as a guinea pig and their music department earned over $2,700.00, which was their largest fundraiser of the year. Since then, the program has expanded to dozens of high school music and athletic programs, animal rescues, churches and other non-profits. Fundraising with the Padres has become my labor of love. I am who I am today because of my involvement in high school music and sports teams. I get to cry a lot of happy tears at my job helping causes that are important to me and the residents of San Diego.

What makes a visit to Petco Park a memorable experience while visiting San Diego?

I know I’m partial as a San Diego native and Padres employee, but PETCO Park is the most beautiful ballpark there is! I’ve even had Boston Red Sox fans compliment the ballpark. Baseball is a very family-friendly sport and I believe PETCO Park is the most family friendly ballpark in the country. We have a tee-ball field, sand box and playground in the "Park at the Park", Breakfast at the Park in the outfield every Sunday morning, and Sunday Signings every week as well. I’ve worked for several sports teams and can honestly say there is no other team or ballpark that can come close to being as welcoming as we are.

Do you have any recommendations for food near or in the stadium?

Yes! One of the perks of working in the front office is we get to taste test the food our catering partner offers. As an employee of a baseball team who doesn’t like hot dogs or beer, I’m pleased to report there are tons of options at the ballpark and in the Gaslamp District around the ballpark.

My favorites inside the ballpark:

• Filippi’s Pizza
• Westwinds Sushi- sit down and can watch the game from restaurant
• Club 19- sit down restaurant with full bar, cannot see the game
• Randy Jones BBQ
• PCL Club- sit down restaurant with full bar, cannot see the game

My Gaslamp District Favorites (AKA, Padres Employees Lunch Break Favorites):

• Tin Fish- double salmon taco platter, extra seasoning on the fries (right across from the convention center, next to the OMNI)
• Kabob Shop- fast food or sit down, very fresh (lamb doner kabob= yummy!)
• Lolita’s- traditional San Diego Mexican fast food, Can’t leave SD without having a carne asada burrito

If you were a tourist visiting the San Diego area, what else would you do while in town?

• The beach is free, so you definitely have to check that out
• Tour the USS Midway museum
• The Hornblower harbor cruises are a great and you can see sea lions, seals, and sometimes whales!
• Go to the San Diego ZOO, or better yet if you have access to a car, drive the 30ish miles north and go to the Wild Animal Park (now called the San Diego Zoo Safari Park). It’s bigger than the Zoo and the animals are in much more natural settings. The monorail ride is a must.
• Seaworld- you must see the Pets Rule show- all the animals are rescues! The Sea Lion show is also a favorite (Clyde and Seamore are hilarious!)
• Seaport Village is great little shopping area

Thank you Ashley for all of these great ideas! Tickets to the Thursday, July 28th Padres game against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Sunday, July 31 game against the Colorado Rockies are available to our conference attendees at up to 40% off of face value. Visit www.padres.com/IOCDF for more information or to order your tickets! I know I definitely want to check out Breakfast in the Park during the Sunday, July 31 game- what are all of you looking forward to seeing most during your stay in San Diego?