WELCOME

The members of the Mississippi Valley Chapter welcome you to St. Louis as it hosts this year’s 73rd Annual Convention & Tax Seminar. We are also pleased to welcome the Electric Co-op Chapter, which is once again holding its Finance, Accounting and Tax Seminar and chapter annual meeting in conjunction with the national convention.

The Hilton at the Ballpark Hotel in downtown St. Louis is the convention hotel where all sessions will be held. We have been able to negotiate a very reasonable room rate of $129 plus tax. Almost everything is within walking distance of the hotel – restaurants, entertainment, the Arch and museum, and other sites.

At last year’s convention, the Host Chapter set up a Hospitality Room for those arriving Sunday afternoon and evening. We continue this by providing a Hospitality Room that will be open on Sunday afternoon, August 3 from 4:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided near the Registration Desk. Stop in for a beverage and snacks. Members of the Mississippi Valley Chapter Host Committee will be on hand to welcome you. The Electric Co-op Chapter is planning its own Welcome Reception at the hotel from 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Sunday evening. It is sponsored by CFC.

The meeting will begin on Monday with “Tax Day” and continue on Tuesday and Wednesday covering a broad range of accounting and technology subjects of interest to cooperatives.

A full slate of family/spousal events are also planned including a day in Forest Park, a brewery and botanical gardens visit, and a trip to the amusement park, Six Flags over Mid-America.

On Monday evening, August 4th, all attendees are welcome to gather at the International Bowling Museum and Cardinal Hall of Fame for the annual evening event where you will enjoy delicious hot and cold hors d'oeuvres and have the opportunity to stroll through the museum and even bowl a game or two if you so desire.

On Tuesday evening, we have a limited number of baseball tickets (172) to the Cardinals vs. Dodgers game. This is an optional event and tickets are on a first-come, first-serve basis at only $30/ticket. It’s all the food you can eat, a seat in the Coca-Cola Scoreboard Patio section and plenty of time to mix and mingle with old friends or make some new ones.

Following the meeting on Wednesday afternoon, we are offering a visit to the Monsanto research and experimental facility to see what the future holds.

As you can see, we have a full program planned for these two and half days. We are excited you’re coming and extend to you a warm Mississippi Valley Chapter welcome!

Bill Erlenbush
2008 Host Chair
Mississippi Valley Chapter