Jacksonville, April 29-30, 2005
All UNA-USA members and friends are invited to participate in the Annual Florida Division Convention to be held in Jacksonville on April 29-30. The business and other meetings will begin Saturday morning but participants are invited to incorporate that into a mini International Vacation weekend. The 13th Annual World of Nations Celebration runs from April 29-May 1 at Metropolitan Park in downtown Jacksonville. Representatives from Antigua, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, French Caribbean, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, India, Italy, Jamaica, Korea, Laos, Lebanon, Martinique, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, Peru and Polynesian Islands, Philippines, People's Republic of China, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Scotland, Sicily, South Africa, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, USA, Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zaire will be sharing their food and culture. We recommend you join the folks here for an evening meal on Friday, April 29, at the World of Nations located just across the river from the convention hotel. Admission to this event is free on Friday from 5:00 � 8:00 and you can sample the cuisine from an incredible variety of reasonably priced meals ($3 - $6) and artifacts.
After socializing on Friday night we will have the Annual Meeting on Saturday. The business meeting (beginning at 9:00) will take most of the morning and be followed by a catered lunch combining Middle Eastern delicacies and Thai food; vegetarian options are available with both. The lunch speaker will be Amy Killgallon, Florida Regional Director of Church World Service. She will also present a workshop on community activism to empower coalitions on global justice issues. Next Lesley Vann from UNA headquarters in New York will give a second workshop on chapter development including grant-writing techniques for nonprofits and ways to promote membership. Finally we will have a synopsis of the changes at the UN proposed by Kofi Annan.
A short post-convention Board meeting will wrap everything up and select the site for next year�s convention. All then may either return home or go back to the World of Nations to participate in more international cultural and cuisine experiences. Saturday night (with a $3 admission) will feature the spectacular fireworks over the St. Johns River. The hotel rates for a second night will remain the same for those choosing to spend Saturday night in Jacksonville.
The convention meetings and lunch will be at the Musicians� Association Hall (AFM Local 444) located at 2030 Schumacher Ave. This is quite near the convention hotel where directions will be provided at the hotel (also available at: http://www.jaxmusic.org/directions.html).
This facility is directly across the street from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. For any questions please contact either Andy Bruck 904) 388-9334 or Steve Baker (904) 388-3531.
The convention hotel is Extended Stay America, located at 1413 Prudential Drive, Jacksonville, Fl 32207 (904) 396-1777. Rooms reserved under the UNA Convention rate before April 14 will be $65.99 for a single and $74.99 for a double. This is a very good hotel located only blocks from the convention location and directly across the river from Metropolitan Park, the location of the World of Nations; a river taxi will run every 15 minutes. The hotel is also across the street from Treaty Oak, one of the oldest and largest live-oak trees in the country. For details about the facility see:
http://www.extendedstayamerica.com/minisite/default.asp?hotelID=617
There is a 13% hotel tax in Jacksonville. However, since this is an official UNA-USA event, the local chapter can pay for the rooms without the tax. To take advantage of this potential savings you would have to include the hotel payment (without the tax) with your registration and it would have to be received in Jacksonville by April 14. Otherwise you can make a reservation directly through the hotel (see the phone number and rates above) but you will have to pay the hotel tax. In either case the rates are only guaranteed for reservations made by April 14.
Metropolitan Park, the World of Nations location, is in downtown Jacksonville on the St. Johns River across from Alltel Stadium, the site of this year�s Superbowl. The Park address is 1410 Gator Bowl Blvd., Jacksonville, Fl. 32202.
We have kept both the registration ($35 including lunch) and convention fees low to encourage participation. The work of the UNA-USA is extremely important and we hope many will become involved at the convention as well as enjoy the food and fun of the World of Nations. See page 4 for registration details and updates at:
http://www.geocities.com/florida-una or
http://users.ju.edu/sbaker/conv.htm
All UNA members are invited to attend the Annual meeting.
Directions to the Hotel (Extended StayAmerica)
From I-95 South, take Exit 350B (San Marco Blvd.). Turn left onto San Marco Blvd. and travel approximately 100 yards. Turn right onto Prudential Dr. and travel approximately 1/4 mile. Extended StayAmerica will be on the left.
From I-95 North, take Exit 350A (Prudential Dr.), staying to the right. Turn right onto Prudential Dr. and travel about 200 yards. Extended StayAmerica will be on the left.
Links to other sites on the Web
United Nations
UNA-USA National
UNESCO
UNDP
ILO
Sarasota-Manatee Chapter