Boardtracker is awesome! I use it to scout the boards for biz leads. What an idea. You rock XXXManager.
As for a small shirt order, I got some help from Webgurl,
http://www.freshstars.com, on not only shirts, but also some other cute promo items. The min order is 12, so not too bad for a small budget.
I've been checking out anywho.com for locations near the convention site. If you enter the name of the convention site, it will bring up the exact address. You can then choose nearby locations to see where to eat, get rentals, other hotels to book and even how far the airport is from the convention.
I also keep an eye on priceline.com, orbitz.com and travelocity.com. They have great packages that include rentals.
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