Hello Everyone!

For those of you who have asked about GATC, it was absolutely wonderful. I actually expected that some Governor's might be weird, or rude, or clique-y, and I wasn't sure what to expect. But I am happy to say that all of the Governor's were AWESOME (and no, I'm not just saying that because some of them are now reading this) -- I've made 30 great new friends. I was very very well trained to serve you this year, so was Mark Mobley our administrator, and I am even more excited about the year ahead (which is funny, cause I didn't think it was possible to be more excited than I was before GATC). It was also VERY cool to see the Kiwanis International office (if you read my posts before you probably assumed that). It is just so cool to see the cubicle where 1-800-KIWANIS x123 goes. It was awesome to see the pictures of all the Past Presidents on the wall, and the board room where the International Boards meet (and microphones drop from the ceiling, it's very Spy-ish). It was very cool to see the Kiwanis International President's office & special bathroom (shh, I don't think I was supposed to go in there!). It was cool to get to see the files where all of our documents are kept, and it was cool to see the boards that hold all of our membership numbers. For anyone who may be already thinking about running for Governor next year, your decision shouldn't be based solely on GATC, of course, but it's definitely something to take advantage of. It was by far one of the best experiences I've EVER had in CKI, it was life-changing, very intense, and I'm sad that I won't get to go again. The CKI Staff & Int'l board really went above and beyond to make sure that we felt like MVP's (The theme of the weekend was sports related) -- great training, awesome food, and TONS of free goodies (some of which I'll share with you all), and an awesome bonding experience with people who love and care for the organization just as much as you do. So.... to whoever gets to go to GATC next year; you're exceptionally lucky.
Indianapolis was also a great time -- everyone told me the city sucked, but it wasn't even half as bad as I thought it would be. It's not New Orleans (but no place is) --- but it has it's perks. They have this AWESOME place called Conseco Fieldhouse, home to the Indiana Pacers, hockey, and arena football. They have all kinds of little amenities in there (I didn't even get to see half of them), but they do have a club-level restaurant where you can eat fru-fru fancy mediterranean food while sitting on top of the field. It's incredible (we ate there). Also, they have the NCAA Hall of Fame, and for you girls - an INCREDIBLE 4 story mall with all kinds of stuff built into it-- and it's attached to the convention center we're having I-con at. Alison and others (I'm thinking NSU) will be very happy to find out that they have TONS of Dinner Theatre, most of which have a mafia-murder mystery theme. There are also tons of museums, including one where they have all kinds of Historical places (indian camps, prairie towns, etc) that you can really play in. So... bottom line, it's a great town, I can't wait to go back, and I hope a lot of people will be able to get to I-con to check it out.
Well, I'm going to write more later, the board & I are having our first ever online board meeting tonight, and I will post the agenda for you all... until then.....

-Rebecca