Clan McAlister of America
Biennial Gathering
July 12-13-14-15, 2012
Louisville, Kentucky

Many interesting and exciting events are planned for the Clan McAlister gathering in July 2012. The CMA Gathering Committee has devised an outstanding program. We encourage you to pack up your kinfolk and join us in Louisville next July. We promise to continue popular features like the memorial service, bagpipes, time to meet and greet cousins new and old, and the genealogy room. There will also be some exciting new features. From the minute you arrive until the closing prayer service, you will have more fun than you can imagine. Registration forms and more program details are included in this journal.

RESERVATIONS: A reservation form and other information about the Louisville Gathering can be found in this issue of the Journal and on our website at www.clanmcalister.org. We are offering a choice of entrees for the banquet this year, so remember to mark your selection on the form. Links to many Louisville area attractions can also be found on the CMA website.

HOTEL INFO: The Holiday Inn Lakeview is the location for our 2012 Gathering. (NOTE: the hotel is actually in Clarksville Indiana, just across the river from downtown Louisville.) It has elegant meeting rooms, spacious sleeping rooms, excellent beds, and CMA has an outstanding deal of $79 per night (king or two doubles) for up to four people in a room. For an even better deal, choose the $82 per night rate that includes 2 breakfast buffets (this is $20 deal!). The hotel also offers high-speed Internet access, a beauty shop, 2 pools, lobby lounge, exercise room, and a minigolf course. Parking is free, and there is a courtesy shuttle to/from the airport. Atlantis Water Park is on the hotel grounds, and Derby Dinner Theater is next door.

The Holiday Inn Lakeview has a full-service restaurant (all three meals and room service). There are many restaurants nearby (several with views of the Ohio River), and the hotel courtesy shuttle will drop off/pick up within three miles. Make your reservation directly with the Holiday Inn Lakeview by June 20 and ask for the Clan McAlister rate. The best highway access to Louisville is via I-64, I-65, or I-71.The hotel is located off I-64 North, exit 1.

SPECIAL EVENTS: The Derby Dinner Theater is next door to our conference hotel. Although the July schedule won't be final until February, the theater manager told us that July is nearly always a Broadway musical suitable for families. A number of board members attended the theater this past summer and had a delightful experience. Tickets include a buffet meal with many choices, pre-show entertainment, and the featured musical. Matinees are available on Wednesdays and Sundays. The theater is round with seating on three levels, so there are no bad seats. CMA does not plan to be in the ticket business, but we may ask the theater management to hold a block of seats so our group will be seated in the same area. Watch for more details about the Derby Dinner Theater in the March journal or at www.clanmcalister.org.

YOU CAN HELP: The 2012 hospitality room will be very close to our meeting rooms. Hospitality chairmen Jeanne Bowman and Scott Dykes will be traveling from Maryland for the 2012 Gathering in Louisville. If you could give them a hand by bringing cookies or other goodies to share, they would be happy to hear from you. Every gathering since the 1990 has had a bazaar with proceeds used to defray costs of the gathering. Bazaar chairmen Bill and Phoebe McAlister welcome your donations, especially if you have a talent for homemade crafts of some sort. Clan McAlister cookbooks will also be available in Louisville.

COME JOIN YOUR CMA COUSINS IN THE BLUEGRASS STATE FOR OUR BEST GATHERING EVER!

Cindy McAlister Bresson, CMA President