It's Location, Location, Location … Dean Free, RC of Bainbridge

The Sandestin location has been just perfect over the past years for the Rotary District Conference. Here's my top five reasons:

• The resort is complete and self-sustained. One can spend the entire weekend there, with no need to drive. Good restaurants are within walking distance. The resort provides shuttle service to the beach. Parking is complimentary.Tennis courts and a golf course are available.The resort is perfect for family vacations before or after the conference.
• All resort activities are well done. The food and food service are good. The staff is always quite responsive.
• Rooms are reasonably priced, nice and well maintained. There is also a reasonable selection of room types: single, double, suites.
• The resort configuration lends itself well to Hospitality Suites, meeting rooms, and assembly rooms. Going from one to another is never a problem.
• Within a short driving distance are shopping malls, movies, restaurants, many different kinds of stores of interest to all ages. Beach attire is acceptable everywhere.

It's the Amazing Stories … Theresa Hall, RC of Bainbridge

It was amazing to see so many Rotarians together. I especially enjoyed all the speakers and how Rotary has impacted these people’s lives. One was about human trafficking; the other was Alzheimer’s. As you know Dorsey Jones, who grew up in Bainbridge, spoke of her life caught in "human trafficking" as a very young girl. Her story was heartbreaking yet she has certainly overcome! And Rotary is helping her spread the message and taking huge measures to help end this horrible thing! The doctor that spoke about Alzheimer’s asked those in the audience to stand if they or someone close to them had been affected by this disease. Not one person was left sitting in that Huge room. That really impacted me and again, look how Rotary is helping to find the cure for this dreaded disease! District Conference really helps you begin to really see the "big picture" of what Rotary is ALL about! And I really enjoyed meeting other people from all over Ga. and hearing about the things they do in their clubs in their hometowns and cities.

It's Time to Register

Conference registration and conference room reservation sites are now active and linked to the District website. All you have to do is go to www.rotary6900.org/v2/ and click on the Smokey and the Bandit REGISTER button and you are off to the races. The " MORE INFO" button leads to the 2019 Conference home page with information about the speakers, events, and the opportunity to Register and Get your Hotel room.

The site is easy to use and has been thoroughly tested. Please pay attention to the room registrations as we are requesting that everyone reserve rooms within the block we have reserved at SanDestin. All of the rooms are within the hotel complex and most of the events are either in the Conference Center or on the Grand Lawn. With a hotel room in our block, you get some AWESOME amenities - such as two complimentary four-hour bicycle rentals each day of your stay, one hour free kayak rentals, one hour of boogie boards, one hour of free tennis time per unit, and free access to the fitness center, the tram rides around the resort, and preferred parking at the beach.

Don’t forget, there are early registration raffle prizes and these are outlined on the website. This month, George Stewart of the RC of Dunwoody won two free nights in a two-bedroom suite. Next month the winner could be you - and you could walk away with $400 in cash or two tickets to the Thursday night gala. Also note, registration goes up in price on January 1, so register now!