The CFA Summer Convention for 2009 is moving full speed ahead. We haven’t been to the ocean since Myrtle Beach and the venue for 2009, Amelia Island Plantation on the coast between Florida and Georgia, is a fantastic location. Every room has a view of the Atlantic Ocean and the pools and patios of the resort, like the photo below, overlook the readily accessible beach.

Several changes have been made for the convention this year:

• The content of the presentations have been updated to make them more relevant to today’s challenges;
• We have lowered the price of registration;
• And, we have deleted the formal Saturday night event to give you more flexibility and allow you to participate at a lower cost. We will still have a gathering on Saturday night following the education but it will be an informal gathering at one of the bars or restaurants so you can save on meals and drinks.

We have also, however, cut back considerably on our room block since we fell short of meeting our commitment in New Mexico. We reserve locations and set aside rooms up to three years in advance in order to get the best rates on the dates you prefer and, unfortunately, did not foresee the current economic slowdown. If you plan to attend, and we most definitely hope you will, I urge you to make your room reservation as soon as possible. This might allow us to increase the room block if more of you are able to break away. We have 103 rooms on the peak nights compared to as many as 185 rooms on peak nights a few years ago. This issue of Concrete Facts includes registration information and things to do in the area.

2010 AND BEYOND…

The dates and venues for summer meetings for 2010 and beyond have been shaken up from our earlier advertised schedule. First, we will return to the Tamaya Resort in New Mexico in the summer of 2012. We have never returned to a venue, however we have returned to the same area (Breckenridge) more than once. The decision was made somewhat easier because the hotel allowed us to apply over $25,000 of our room attrition charge (for rooms set aside but not used) as a down payment for the event. Nearly all attendees said they loved the Tamaya area and that they would have stayed longer and brought the entire family had they known it was so nice. Lastly, since attendance was about half of what we have had at past summer meetings, that means at least half of you have never been there. Our room block at the event was also scaled back dramatically.

The Grand Traverse Resort in northern Michigan was formerly our choice for 2010. This Midwestern resort, on the banks of Lake Michigan offers much of what our members like. The hotel was unwilling to cut our room block but we were able to delay the event a year. We hope this will give us a greater chance of meeting our agreed to room commitment.

That leaves 2010 open. The meetings committee and board felt that a moderately priced resort, closer to our member base (lower Midwest) would be more likely to attract members. We narrowed the locations to northern Ohio and central Missouri and the latter location won by a narrow margin.

The Chateau on the Lake, a AAA Four-Diamond J.Q. Hammons resort located on Table Rock Lake on the outskirts of Branson, Missouri, is our choice for 2010. The dates will be August 4-7. We negotiated a great room rate in a location within driving distance of many of our members. Branson, Missouri, the entertainment capital of the Midwest, has more than 100 live shows a day with access to water activities, theme parks, golf, and many other activities to keep families busy for days. More information on the 2010 venue will be presented at this summer’s convention.

Ed Sauter, Executive Director, CFA

esauter@cfawalls.org