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Friday, April 24, 2015

Mid-Year VGEC Board Meeting - Fun! Fun! Fun! in Saint Louis!

Board members returning to the Union Station Hotel from Christ Church Cathedral after a tour: Terry, Bill, Richard, Scott, Barry, Cheryl, and Duke. Photo by Margaret.

By Ken, Holloway, News Manager, VGEC

Your VGEC Board gathered in St. Louis last Friday and Saturday for its mid-year meeting, reviewing budget, learning more about the details of our annual conference scheduled to begin on October 1st, and charting the next six months activities. I was able to attend the meeting via video hookup from Round Rock, Texas along with Michael Sanchez, who was barely awake out on the west coast. The 2015 Conference discussion lasted most of the day on Friday and proved most worthwhile.

How would you like the opportunity to win a $100 gift certificate from the Guild Shop? All you need do to be entered in our Guild Shop Gift Certificate Drawing (hereafter known as the Annual GSGCD) is to register BEFORE June 1st. It is open to vergers only, you must be present at the drawing to be held during the business meeting on Saturday morning at the conference, and board members are not eligible to win. Register today!

Our 2015 conference chair and host Shug Goodlow has been working with last year's conference chair and new chair of the VGEC Annual Conference Committee Terry Hughes to prepare a first-rate conference experience for you. Board members stayed at the historic Union Station Hotel and uniformly rated the accommodations "fantastic" and "very comfortable." The hotel is set in a grand architectural location, reminiscent of a stately era in historic Saint Louis. The hotel is exactly 0.8 miles from our host church - Christ Church Cathedral.To see the online photo album of the meeting, clickHERE.

At the morning break, Margaret McLarty visited the Fudgery shop located in the hotel mall where they sell fudge frosted with live entertainment. This morning a singer was belting out standard hits. Margaret's fudge purchase was reported as "very tasty" by every board member! I noticed through our video relay that board members greeted her return to the meeting room with more-than-usual interest in her sweet-tooth report. Sweet food and fun. What a combination!

All of these shops are located within the Union Station property. You don't have to go far to find what you want in St. Louis, but if you're planning to "do St. Louis" during your stay, the local site lineup is really stunning. Here are the St. Louis Points of Interest you may want to explore.

Several board members exclusively used the MetroLink rail for transportation between the airport and the hotel, and several point of interest. Duke DuTeil, VGEC Treasurer and Training Course Advisor stated, "The Metro rail system is very convenient to the hotel and offers transport from the airport for $2.50 for young folks and $1.25 for the over 65 crowd. It's clean and very easy. Best of all, it took me to the Forrest Park stop where I had easy access to the 1904 World's Fair site, the St. Louis Zoo, and many other attractions. Public transportation along the rail line could not be better."

Later, there was talk of a VGEC paddle-boat challenge-match tournament to be staged at the pond located on the Union Station hotel's proximity. This is a fast-evolving plan, running up to early October, so make sure that you stay tuned to this channel for all of the latest details.

The entire conference agenda was reviewed, tweaked and updated on Friday by Shug and the board so take a minute and have a look at it. The agenda will continue to evolve and slightly change so be sure to check the link to remain up to date.

We'll be sending a conference registration reminder post card to you next week which will go to all VGEC members and to all Episcopal Churches across the United States. Don't fold it into a plane or a crane. Keep it in plain view to remind you to press the big red button (before June 1st)!

The board meeting continued on Saturday morning and included reports and discussion from all committees of the VGEC. Board president Scott Smith said, "The mid-year board meeting is a great chance for us to meet together at the site of the annual conference. We always enjoy being together, learning more about how the plans for the conference are taking shape, and reporting on other projects and activities of the vergers guild." The board also meets regularly every other month by conference call, but everyone agreed how nice it is to be in the same room.

The board unanimously wants everyone to know how much we all are looking forward to the conference in St. Louis. We have a phenomenal lineup of speakers and sessions which is not to be missed - So remember to Meet Us in St. Louis!



Click the big red button to register for the 2015 Annual Conference being held October 1-4, 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri:



Abstract: There'll be Fun! Fun! Fun! in St. Louis coming your way in October. Here are just a few items to tickle your interest buds about the fun side of our 27th Annual Conference. And a reason to register before June 1st.


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