About
On behalf of District Governor Elect Roger McCabe and the entire 2009 Conference committee, we want to personally invite each one of you along with your spouses, children, and grandchildren to Bryan/College Station next year. Our committee has been working to plan a weekend celebrating Rotary and we want you to join us for the F.U.N.--which stands for Fellowship, Updates, and Notables.
First we want to emphasize FELLOWSHIP. At the District conference you get to meet folks from a broad spectrum of interests, careers, and ages, and you'll have many opportunities to get to know your fellow Rotarians while exploring Bryan/College Station in 2009. We'll host a Howdy Party Friday night at the Texas A&M University Zone Club overlooking Kyle Field. This will be a casual evening with international flavor and an exciting performance by the Aggie Wrangler dance team. Saturday afternoon, following a great lunch with a tremendous speaker, Dr. Mouzon Biggs, you'll get to choose how to spend your afternoon. Hop on a bus to tour a unique Texas Winery, Messina Hof, or, to satisfy you history buffs we'll have a tour to the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Or for those Aggie hopefuls, alumni, and others interested in learning more about our "little" Agricultural & Mechanical College founded in 1876, take the tour of Texas A&M University!
In 2009 we also want to encourage you to bring your families, so we've planned special activities to entertain your spouses, children, and grandchildren. It's my belief that in order to sustain Rotary, we need to include our families, setting a personal example for club, community, vocational, and international involvement by sharing the Rotary experience and promoting the Rotary ideal of Service Above Self.
For your school age kids or grandkids, we've arranged a Kid's Club Friday and Saturday. Transportation, food and activities included! Our District Rotaract students will help chaperone, and you know your kids will think it's cool to hang out with the college kids. We'll take them for blacklight miniature golf and bowling Friday night. And on Saturday they'll get to visit the Children's museum, go ice skating, and enjoy active games at the park. Their evening will be topped off with a family-friendly movie, shown at the Hilton, while the parents enjoy the Governor's Banquet down the hall!
For spouses we have the annual golf tournament Friday, and on Saturday morning we'll offer two options: either, breakfast and antiquing in downtown Bryan, or a floral design class at the Benz school at Texas A&M. Transportation will be provided, but space will be limited so be sure and pre-register this to let us know you're interested!
No Conference would be complete without plenty of UPDATES about what's been going on around the district! With eager anticipation, we'll get to hear the latest from our Youth Exchange participants, Ambassdorial Scholars, and GSE teams as well as get the scoop on the District projects. Something new that I think everyone will enjoy is a Rotary District Yearbook. To make this special, we really need every club to participate. All 42 clubs will get one 8.5 x 11 page (front & back) to spotlight their club achievements, members, and projects. This way we'll get a true picture of the scope of what Rotary is accomplishing, at the club level, district level, and internationally. We'll provide the parameters, you just fill in the details!
But wait...there's more! At the 2009 District Conference we'll get to hear from several NOTABLE people! Saturday you'll have a special treat when the world renowned Texas A&M Singing Cadets perform for us during lunch, followed by a keynote address by the engaging Dr. Mouzon Biggs, pastor of Boston Avenue Methodist Church of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ask your Club President about Mouzon Biggs – for many years he has spoken at PETS, and, in 2009, he will be a featured speaker at the RI convention in Los Angeles! His message will be tailored to the "Make Dreams Real" theme of the RI president, and I'm sure it will touch your heart. Saturday evening we'll have an elegant dinner in the Hilton Ballroom where we will hear from the Rotary International President's Representative and get the chance to honor many in our district with awards.
2009 will be awesome, and you won't want to miss anything so pre-register online at www.5910conference.org. No money is due now, and we'll send you updates and reminders as we finalize the plans. By registering early, you will also get a chance to win a free conference registration!
[Congratulations to Linda Ricketts of Mongomery our first drawing winner!!]
We want 2009 to be a celebration of Rotary, so I hope we've piqued your interest in joining the Aggieland, Bryan, and College Station Clubs as we prepare to Rally in the Valley in 2009!
Best Regards,