On March 14, 2008, downtown Atlanta was hit by a storm that included a tornado that caused serious damage to buildings, including the Georgia World Congress Center.  That caused people at the center to cancel the events scheduled for the weekend.  They quickly worked to get the center assessed and repaired, and by March 19, they reported they would be back in the game.  Events planned for this week began moving in on Monday after they had closed the campus for a full week.

In a release sent out Monday, the people at GWCCA had nothing but praise for those that helped them get back on their feet:

“We are extremely pleased that the campus is open and ready for business,” said GWCCA Executive Director Dan Graveline. “This is a great illustration of the strong partnership between the GWCCA, the Atlanta hospitality community, the city and the state.”

“Hundreds – really thousands – of people have worked to get the convention center and the city back to business. It’s a perfect example of teamwork and we want to thank our customers and the community for their support,” said Mark Zimmerman, general manager of the convention center.

This week’s scheduled events are the International Window Coverings Expo, and the National Propane Gas Association’s expo.  According to the National Propane Gas Association’s web site, some of the problems they are having is related to damage to their hotel accommodations at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center, a building that also suffered some damage.

One event, The Clinical Laboratory Management Association’s Think Lab ‘08 Conference and Exposition that was scheduled for March 29 – April 1 was canceled. 

It does appear that repairs are forthcoming:

A team of architects, engineers and contractors are working with GWCCA officials to develop a timeline to repairs to the convention center. While definitive dates have not been determined, officials are confident that upcoming shows, including the Atlanta Journal Constitution Auto Show (April 19-April 27), FIRST Robotics (April 16-April 19) and DECA International Career Development Conference (April 26-April 29) will open their doors as scheduled.

Good luck to everyone at GWCCA on weathering the storm.  We also want to wish luck to those event planners and conventions and meeting planners that are also having to deal with the trouble caused by the storm and tornado in Atlanta.