Hi Brothers
Welcome back to school and I hope this finds you all having an exciting and productive fall. Let me start of by introducing myself; my name is John Burkey and I am a recent graduate from Mount Union College in Alliance, OH and Brother from Xi Upsilon Chapter. I am also serving on the Convention Committee as the Operations Committee Chair. While a Brother attending Sectionals in the spring of 2004 I got involved with the Louisville Bid Committee who wanted to go to Denver in 2004 and win the bid to host and plan the 2006 National Convention. I don’t need to go into more details because everyone knows we won the Bid and that this December Thousands of Brothers will attend what has the potential to be one of the largest and greatest conventions in Fraternity History.
I have to tell you all that personally, and while you may think that I am biased because I am on the Convention Committee, that every time I go to Louisville I find another thing great about the city. I could not imagine a more perfect city to host our National Convention then Louisville. This city has so much to offer and so many local attractions, that if you don’t go to Convention for any other reason then to check out the local attractions and establishments you will not be disappointed. One of my Sub Committees is Day Trips, and they have been working very hard to locate and plan trips to local highlights in and around Louisville. Everyone knows the infamous Kentucky Derby Trumpet Call; it is one of the most recognizable sounds in the world. Louisville is home to the world Famous Kentucky Derby and how can you come to Louisville without seeing Churchill Downs? Take a tour of the Grand Stands, walk on the track and take a tour of the infamous Infield where the largest party in sports takes place every year. Watch on an IMAX Screen a newly released movie on the Derby and get the sensation that you are a Jockey riding a horse in the Kentucky Derby. This IMAX movie truly gives you sensation that you are there and does help bring to life the Greatest 2 Minutes in Sports! For those of you familiar with the Louisville Bid theme, The Greatest 2 Minutes in Sports Meets the Greatest 4 Days of Service!
Ok so you’re still reading this and thinking ok the Kentucky Derby is just another Horse race, so what? Well I would bet that you enjoy going to Baseball games with your friends on a nice sunny afternoon, and cheering on your favorite team. When you come to convention it will be December and the World Series will have a winner, except baseball season never stops in Louisville. If you’re wondering how this is possible, think about that key piece of equipment used in every single baseball game, the wooden bats. Those wooden bats your favorite player used to hit the winning home run in the bottom of the 9th to clinch the win for your team are made in downtown Louisville. That’s right, so if you’re now thinking to yourself, Louisville Slugger….Louisville Kentucky you have figured out why Baseball season is never over in Louisville. Another Day Trip that is being planned is of The Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory that makes the most popular brand of bats in the world. While at the museum check out how bats go from a piece of solid wood to the key piece of equipment in a baseball game. Get your picture taken with the Worlds’ Largest Baseball Bat and then pick out a bat for yourself and get it personalized and engraved as a souvenir of your trip. Just remember to check it into your suitcase or mail it home if you fly to Convention. The TSA will no longer let you take them on the plane as a carry on.
Now that we have covered two of the largest sports in Louisville let’s change pace a bit and tell you about our other two trips that we have planned for your enjoyment. Remember back to 6th grade history class and we read about Steam Paddleboats and how they traveled up and down the Nations Rivers? Well come join us for a river tour of the City of Louisville on the Spirit of Jefferson. For those of you who didn’t already know Louisville sit on the Ohio River and across the river is Indiana. Louisville was built around and on the banks of the Ohio River, so what better way to see the city skyline then by taking a Paddle Boat River Ride? Ok so maybe you want to learn about more about what else makes Kentucky famous. Well Kentucky is known for its rich history in Bourbon making. Kentucky Bourbon has been ranked some of the best Bourbon in the world. That is why we are planning a trip for everyone to take a tour of one of the oldest Distilleries in the state. It is a short 40 min drive from the city, so sign up now if you’re interested, spots are limited. The tour will take you on a guided walk through the original Distillery that they used over a hundred years ago to make Bourbon, and then take a tour through the one they use today. While many of the techniques are still the same they used hundred years ago, the equipment is newer. The tour then takes you to the museum that shows you the rich history and background of the Kentucky Bourbon industry and how that good old Kentucky Heritage has helped make its Bourbon some of the best in the World.
We would have loved to offer more trips to more places but because of limited amount of time we just couldn’t do that. However, it is greatly unlikely that you would come to National Convention and not participate in any Convention Activities. I can tell you that the socials and nightly activities that are being planned are not your typical convention activities. For those of you who have been to other conventions like Denver and New Orleans, you may have some preconceived ideas of what you may see. I can tell you that what we are working on planning is not your normal stuff, and some of it can never be duplicated at another convention in the future. This will truly be a once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in activities that are unique to only this Convention.
Now what would a convention be without Service, after all we are a Service based Fraternity. So we have for you Service 24 Hours a day. After all what would you expect for APO’s National Convention? As a Fraternity we set the standard on campuses around the country for service and in many cases lead in doing more service then most other student organizations. So yes you should not expect us to do anything less then for us to offer Service for our Brothers to participate in 24 Hours a Day for 4 Days! Think about the hours you could earn and take back with you to your Chapter. Is there someone in your Chapter that always seems to get the Centennial Award (100 Hour Award) well get a head start on your spring hours by helping us out. Regardless if you are a morning person or a night owl we can use your help. Our two biggest needs for volunteers are to help with Security Patrols and Floor Service Runners. On Security Patrols you and a partner walk the halls of the hotel and help make sure that our fellow Brothers are staying quiet at night out of respect for the other hotel guests that we will be sharing the hotel with. Our second Opportunity comes in the form of service to our fellow Brothers that are working the Reference Committees & Legislation Floor. As you may know they have to spend countless hours on the Legislation Floor and may not get lunch breaks when its lunch time. Many Chapters help take care of their Delegates by bringing them food, drinks, snacks, toys and other items to keep them entertained, but we need volunteers to help deliver the items to the Delegates on the Legislative Floor. Come help us help our brothers by delivering messages, counting votes, posting messages back to Chapters and many other tasks.
I am sure that something I have talked about sounds like it could and would be something enjoyable to do. Remember you don’t have to do any of this by yourself. Bring your friends from your Chapter, take a well deserved break from everyday class and campus environment and join us for what will be the greatest National Convention in Fraternity History. I look forward to meeting you all this December.
In LFS
John Burkey
Operations Committee Chair
2006 APO National Convention Committee
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