Registration closes March 26, 2024 for the 2024 peer convention
To attend this convention you must:
1) fill out the registration form below,
2) pay the nonrefundable registration fee via PayPal or check the same day you fill out the form (required to validate your registration—no on-site registration), and
3) secure your accommodations.
Important details are below.
Registration and fee
The 2024 PSDP peer convention in Rock Hill, South Carolina is April 26th–29th. The $200 registration fee* is nonrefundable and cannot be paid on site. You can save 25% by registering by January 1st, at the $150 rate (also nonrefundable). Registration is limited to 25 people and closes on March 26th.
Pay by PayPal or check. You must submit your payment no later than the day you submit the registration form.
When we receive both your registration form and fee, your registration becomes valid. Non-validated registration form submissions will expire after a reasonably short timeframe.
For PayPal, there is are payment buttons just above the registration form. PayPal accepts credit cards and other forms of payment.
If you’re paying by check, mail the check by the day you register. Make checks payable to “PSDP” at 1651 Sandpiper Drive, Rock Hill, SC 29732 with “Convention” in the memo line. Later registrants should keep in mind that the fee must be received no later than March 26th.
*Since the payment is for a convention registration and you stand to gain something of value in return, convention (and testing) fees are not considered tax-deductible donations. Feel free to donate, too, though!
Hotel reservations and travel
The officially scheduled parts of the peer convention are at or near the Hilton Garden Inn in Rock Hill from the evening of April 26th to the morning of April 29th. There is an optional daytime tourist outing to Discovery Place Science museum during the day on April 29th. We have blocked 10 rooms for the nights of the 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th; these are King/one-bed and Queen/two-bed rooms. To reserve one of our blocked rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn at our discounted rate (until they are all booked, or by March 26th otherwise), you can use the link below.
Discounted Rate: $129/room per night, plus tax and incidentals (click on the date at the top of the page to change the dates of your stay)
(This room rate includes Wi-Fi and breakfast.)
If you need an accessible room, please call the front desk directly at 803-325-2800 and mention the Psychiatric Service Dog Partners’ room block to get the same rate.
Additional nights may be booked at the same rate. Use our contact form to get in touch with us, and we will give you the email address and phone number for the senior sales manager with whom you need to talk. All you have to do is email this person with your confirmation number and let her know you’d like to extend your reservation and to what dates, and she can make that change from the back end.
The Hilton Garden Inn Rock Hill is about a 30-minute drive from Charlotte International Airport (CLT). Most people wish they had more time with fellow convention-goers by the end, so arrange to extend your stay if you can, and spend extra time with friends old and new!
Dog testing (optional)
Participants will have the option of taking PSDP’s SDIT Manners Evaluation and/or PSDP’s Public Access Test (PAT) at our convention.
The Manners Evaluation is useful in marking progress along the SDIT journey. While it is intended for teams with a dog training to be a service dog, even experienced service dogs aren’t robots and can use the Manners Evaluation for a friendly checkup. The PAT is PSDP’s community milestone to help teams figure out when they might consider themselves as “graduates” from SDIT status to being a service dog team.
A maximum of six teams can sign up for each evaluation/test. If you want to guarantee your slot through early signup with registration, pay the low $40 fee (nonrefundable) for the Manners Evaluation, or the $50 fee (nonrefundable) for the PAT. It’s a good idea to bring cash if you might want to sign up at the convention for any remaining slots.
Summary
So to recap, to attend this convention you must:
1) fill out the registration form below,
2) pay the nonrefundable registration fee via PayPal or check the same day you fill out the form (required to validate your registration—no on-site registration), and
3) secure your accommodations.
The registration form and payment process (if PayPal) must each be completed separately for every person in your party.
To keep the peer convention safe, if we do not yet know you we may touch base with you before the convention. We reserve the right to restrict attendance to those for whom we determine the convention would be appropriate. Please provide active contact info through the registration form so we don’t drop your registration if we can’t get in touch with you (it’s happened)!
When you fill out and submit the registration form, it may go blank—please do not resubmit. If you would like to confirm that your registration has gone through, or if you have any other questions about the convention, feel free to contact Veronica Morris through the contact us form.
Click below to pay through PayPal and fill out the registration form on this page below.