All
family members and guests are encouraged to register for the 204th
Meeting as a “Nontechnical Registrant.” The modest registration fee of $65
includes admission to all social events and an exclusive continental breakfast
Monday through Thursday, on the Outback Veranda Room, in the Outback Restaurant
on the Lobby Level of the Wyndham Palace Resort and Spa in the Walt Disney
Resort. Complimentary
lectures include a “Welcome to Orlando”
by a representative
of Premier Convention Services
the designated tour company for the meeting; and an informal discussion and
review by the group of the novel,
“Native Tongue”
by Carl Hiaasen. We
hope that you will make plans to be with old and new acquaintances and enjoy one
or more of the many exclusive sightseeing tours available through the Premier
Convention Services. You can register for the meeting using our Online
Meeting Registration, or by downloading a hard copy of the Orlando Meeting
Registration Form on page 12 of the Orlando
Meeting Registration Brochure, and faxing it to us along with your credit
card payment to 609-737-2743.
Tour
Registration
The
best way to tour the area is through one of the exclusive tours specially
designed for the participants and of the 204th Meeting.
It is recommended that you register for tours in advance using the form
on page 11 of the Orlando
Meeting Registration Brochure
as tours are subject to cancellation pending enough registrants.
Should
you choose to register for a tour onsite, tour prices will be an additional $5.
Confirmation of tour registration will be sent in the mail or via e-mail from
the tour company. If you prefer to receive an e-mail confirmation be sure to
provide an e-mail address to Premier
Convention Services on the registration form.
Tour tickets purchased in advance can be picked up at the tour desk, which will
be located near meeting registration in the Hampton Court Area on the Ground
Level. A representative from Premier Convention Services will be available on
Sunday, October 13 from 2:00-5:00 PM, and Monday through Tuesday from 8:00-10:00
AM. For more information on the available tours, please contact the
Premier Conventions Services Event Manager, Tom McCombs at Tel: 407.841.8080,
Fax: 407.841.3090, E-mail: tomM@premier-dmc.com,
www. http://www.premier-tix.com/ecs03/.
Monday, October
13, 2003
Lecture #1
8:30-9:00
AM – Welcome to Orlando
Our Orlando experts will host this orientation in the Outback Veranda Room of the Outback Restaurant located on the Lobby Level of the hotel. The Orlando area attractions, insider tips, park times, “how to get around” Orlando nightlife, tours and safety tips are a few of the many topics to be discussed. This presentation will include brochures of area attractions, and maps.
10:00
AM - 3:00 PM - "Harry P. Leu Botanical Gardens" Tour
Tuesday,
October 14, 2003
Tour
#2
Enjoy a day in
quaint and beautiful Winter Park, spread out along the shores of interconnecting
lakes. Winter Park is a college
town, artists’ haven, vacation retreat and distinctive address for year-round
residents. Winter Park has many
attractive qualities, perhaps the most apparent being its lush foliage and
natural beauty. Visitors will find
winding brick streets lined with vine-draped oaks, colorful bougainvilleas,
azaleas and aromatic jasmine vines.
The
first stop on the tour is the Scenic Boat Tour along the Winter Park Chain of
Lakes. This 12-mile cruise provides
the best vantage point of “Millionaire’s Row” a collection of Winter
Park’s most prestigious homes. Since
1938, this tour boat company has been conveying passengers by shallow-craft
boats on Lakes Osceola, Virginia and Maitland, which are connected by old
lumbering canals dug during the last century.
Boats pass Rollins College, formal gardens, and magnificent mansions
hidden from the road. The tour also
gives passengers a good view of Albin Polasek’s backyard sculptures.
Then, its
time to enjoy the Morse Museum, which houses the largest private collection of
Tiffany glass in the world. The
museum focuses on decorative arts (glass, pottery, and furniture), paining, and
graphic arts from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
All the major trends and styles of that period – Art Nouveau, Arts and
Crafts, American Realism, Craftsman, Abstraction, and Edwardian – are
represented. The “jewel in the
crown”, however is the Tiffany collection. The collection is rare because it
includes many pieces the master himself designed, as well as work created in his
studio under his supervision. On
view are such masterful works as Tiffany’s Red Peony Lamp, Rose Window, and
the Four Seasons Window. Also on
display are examples of Tiffany’s other artistic endeavors-paintings, pottery,
jewelry, enamels, mosaics, watercolors, and furniture.
There are also works by Tiffany’s contemporaries and other master
artists of the late 19th and 20th centuries-including John
La Farge, Frank Lloyd Wright, Maxfield Parrish, and George Inness.
Tentative
Timing:
10:00 AM –
Depart Hotel
10:30 AM – Arrive at Winter Park Boat Tour
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Winter Park Boat Tour
12:00 PM – 1:15 PM – Lunch on your own
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM – Escorted Tour of Morse Museum
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM – Time for Shopping on Park Avenue
3:30 PM – Depart for Hotel
4:00 PM - Arrive
Price per person: $35
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Breakfast will be served in the Veranda Room of the Outback Restaurant, but no tour program has been scheduled. Attendees are encouraged to relax or enjoy one of the Disney Parks this day. Discount theme park tickets are available through the designated Tour Company, Premier Convention Services. Please visit PCS's website http://www.premier-tix.com/ecs03/, or call Tom McCombs, the event manager at 407-841-8080, or tomm@premier-dmc.com.
Thursday,
October 16, 2003
8:30 AM-9:30 AM — Morning Book Review
This morning, the group will be reviewing the novel
by Carl Hiaasen, “Native Tongue.”
The story is described as “a skillful timely satire – a weird, wild,
comic caper of ecological guerrilla warfare that bites as often as it laughs”
by Richard Martins in the Chicago Tribune Book World.
Imagine you’re driving a rented Chrysler LeBaron convertible to the
perfect family vacation at the Amazing Kingdom of Thrills when a rat is tossed
into your car by a passing pickup. The
rodent in question is not a rat, but a rare blue-tongued mango vole just
liberated from the Kingdom by militant Wildlife Rescue Corps.
Welcome to the world of Native Tongue, where dedicated (if somewhat
demented) environmentalists battle sleazy real estate developers in the Florida
Keys. Hiaasen reminds one of Harry
Crews in his depiction of a South full of eccentric people involved in crazy
schemes. It is a measure of the
writer’s talent that no matter how bizarre the situation, it is believable.
It
is highly recommended that participants read the novel prior to the review.
Copies are available at your local bookstore, library, or on online at Amazon.com.
This book is available in a paperback version.
Please plan to purchase you copy in advance of the meeting, as the books
will not be available onsite.