The Dispute Resolution Center hosted our 14th Annual Conference for Mediators and Arbitrators: Great Expectations on August 25-27, 2005 at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando. Despite Hurricane Katrina’s arrival in southeast Florida on the opening morning of Conference, this was one the DRC’s largest Conference with over 850 dispute resolution practitioners in attendance.

The Opening Plenary began with a welcome from Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince. Louise Phipps-Senft, founder of the Baltimore Mediation Center, the first mediation firm in Maryland, delivered the keynote address. DRC Director Sharon Press led our plenary Friday afternoon, Statutes, Rules, Policies, Procedures and Projects: What’s On the Horizon? Jim Alfini was back in action Saturday morning for a plenary session on conflicts of interests. In total, Conference participants had the opportunity to select from thirty-six workshops and attend three plenary sessions.

The DRC’s Annual Awards of Recognition were presented to Henry “Hank” Latimer, Esq. posthumously, for his long-term dedication to the field of alternative dispute resolution and to Wendell Reed in recognition for a decade of volunteer service as the founding director of the Citrus County Mediation Program.

The Conference was co-sponsored by Flash Resolutions, the Florida Academy of Professional Mediators and the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Collaborating organizations were the Florida Chapter of ACR, Florida Chapter of AFCC, the Florida Conflict Resolution Consortium, FloridaMediators.org, Mediation Training Center, Mediation Training Group, Truce Technologies and USF Conflict Resolution Collaborative. Conference vendors included Complete Equity Markets, Convention Recordings, Mediation Management Services, LLC and Mediation Services, Inc.

Be sure to mark your calendars for next year’s Conference when the DRC will be celebrating our 20th year anniversary. The Conference is scheduled for August 24-26, 2006, at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando.

As a reminder, audiotapes and cd’s of Conference workshops and plenaries are available through Convention Recordings, www.conventionrecordings.com.