Margie,
Good luck - I have made the case both successfully and unsuccessfully -
and the latter is usually because of general budget constraints.  I
think it is worth footing your own bill if you can't get the company to
pay - but here is an excerpt from a justification I have made:

"The ARMA Conference is the only international event directed towards
the practitioners of records and information management. It is also
concurrent with the annual and only meeting of the ICRM. It is where
state of the art issues, best practices and technology tools
specifically related to records management are highlighted, discussed
and showcased and provides the best environment for networking to find
out how other organizations are dealing with similar issues.
 
Records Managers like me are typically solo practitioners with no
organizational peers and this forum provides an important "recharge
zone" where we can reclaim our zest as flag carriers for the discipline
in our organizations.  There is simply no other place where we find
others who are engaged in the same challenges and have faced the same
issues.  This intangible asset provides a deep well from which to draw
the enthusiasm to promote good records management to those with less
interest.
 
my estimated costs for this year:
Registration $xxx
Airfare/ground transport/parking xxx
Lodging for 5 nights xxx
Meals xxx
 
Total: $xxx
This works out to @xxx a day over the course of a year of work weeks"

Mary Hilliard, CRM

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]