The 2003 Convention Exhibit Hall is shaping up to be an exciting place to browse, learn, and shop. At least 19 of the 24 available spaces are reserved, and several additional groups and organizations have expressed interest in displaying and promoting their products. If your club or region wants to be represented in the exhibit hall, please act quickly to reserve your space, with AVA headquarters. There are booths that will provide information about volkssporting events both in the United States, and internationally. Many of the AVA regions will have booths, and you will be able to relax with a massage, at one of them! Commercial vendors will display their merchandise, from outdoor sports apparel, to walking equipment, to designs for unique awards. Of course, the AVA specialties booth will offer many tempting souvenirs, and a chance to incarcerate your “favorite” Regional Director.  Click here to view Exhibitor Prospectus.

In addition to the many exhibit hall booths, there are other companies and groups that have generously agreed to become sponsors, or make donations to the success of the 2003 Convention. The silent auction will offer some collector’s items unique to the Rocky Mountain Region, in the form of wine and autographed books, but all parts of the United States, and other countries will be represented by products such as quilts, wall hangings, regional products, and much more, available to the highest bidder. Any club, Regional Director, or individual is welcome to contribute items to the silent auction. Sponsors of individual walking events, will provide high energy snacks for walkers and their canine companions, sunscreen products to prevent damage from our intense UV rays, and possibly free products to enhance your walking experience. We welcome any additional donations of funds or merchandise that could enhance the convention volkssporting activities. We are continuing to receive contributions for the registration check-in hospitality bags, but we will try to keep their weight below 25 pounds!!

We are excited with the variety of donated goods and services that will be utilized at this convention, and expect the volume to increase. You can contribute donations directly to the committee, or help the AVA through participation in the silent auction effort. We hope you are planning to participate in the convention, and reap the benefits of our corporate sponsors’ generosity.

http://www.2003avaconvention.org/

The convention host hotel, DoubleTree World Arena Hotel, is completely booked for the block of rooms reserved for the AVA convention. There are still rooms available at nearby hotels, that are within walking distance of the DoubleTree. Contact the Quality Inn, Fairfield Inn, or La Quinta directly, for rates and reservations. Handmade centerpieces for the final banquet, are completed, and all other social preparations are nearly finished. The exhibit hall is nearly full, and the workshop schedule is almost complete. The first order of convention awards is lasered, packaged, and ready for distribution. Nametags, social tickets, and transportation tickets are printed, and ready to label. The event book is published, and should be mailed with convention registration confirmations, by mid-March. The committee continues to walk the convention events, to fine-tune the trails, and familiarize volunteers with the routes. Volunteers are still need to help at all volkssporting events and with convention activities at the DoubleTree hotel. If you are interested in volunteering your time and talents, you may register your preferences on-line, at www.2003avaconvention.org.

We hope you enjoy reading about the final three walks of the convention, in this issue. We are sure you will like the mixture of urban history, national pride, small town ambience, frontier history, and rugged beauty that are incorporated into this trio of walks. Also included in this issue are articles about convention bus transportation (a great deal), contributions to the community service project, to benefit the Pikes Peak District of the US Forest Service, details concerning volunteer assistance, and a reminder about the Quick Start Program. If you are anxious to see some of the rest of the Front Range, that we just can’t cram into the convention schedule, take advantage of the Quick Start service, to register for YRE/SEA events, via mail, and before you leave home, receive all the necessary materials to complete the walks you choose, once you arrive. Detailed descriptions of all of these walks are found in the 2003 Starting Point.

The convention is quickly approaching, and the committee is excited and anxious. We are anticipating a busy and rewarding week of work, walks, friends, fun, and much activity. Join us to “Ramble the Rockies” AVA style!

The interest and enthusiasm surrounding the 13th AVA Biennial Convention is increasing, based on the volume of reservations received by the host hotel, Doubletree World Arena Hotel, for June 19-30, 2003. Still, only 80% of the allotted rooms had been reserved by the end of December, so there is still plenty of space for YOU to be part of Rambling the Rockies!! If you are denied a reservation when calling the hotel, please contact the committee so that the room allotment might be increased. Donations have already been received for the Community Service Project to benefit the Pikes Peak Ranger District of the National Forest Service, and committee members are fielding questions about all aspects of the convention events and activities.

Registration information should have been received by all Volkssport Associates, clubs, and Regional Directors. If you would like a copy of the Registration Booklet, please contact AVA Headquarters, your Regional Director, or the 2003 AVA Convention Committee. The complete awards have been sent to all Executive Council members for display at area events, and the transportation and convention activity tickets are almost completed. The Event Book, detailing all information about each volkssport event, is currently under revision, and will be mailed to each participant, with their convention registration confirmation. Committee members and event volunteers will begin walking each convention event again, in January, with each event scheduled twice over the course of the next 5 months.

In this issue of the TAW, you can read detailed descriptions of the events scheduled for Wednesday through Friday, June 25-27, 2003. These three walks encompass some of the best scenery that Southern Colorado has to offer, near the foothills at Turkey Creek Ranch, in the spectacular sandstone formations of Garden of the Gods, and the unique flavor of a small historic town, with big city aspirations, in Castle Rock. Another article describes the process for pre-registering for area YRE/SEA events through the Quick Start Program. There are 50 diverse walks available in southeast Wyoming and along the I-25 corridor throughout Colorado. You will receive all the necessary documents, ie: start card, walk directions, and maps, for each event you choose on the Quick Start form, prior to your departure for the convention.

We hope that you have made the choice to spend part of your vacation with us and all of your volkssport friends, enjoying the Western hospitality, breathtaking scenery, true pioneer history, and some of the best entertainment and attractions anywhere! We are looking forward to welcoming you to our corner of the AVA.

The committee is pleased by the large volume of e-mail inquiries we have received, regarding all aspects of the convention. Many questions concerning transportation to volkssport events should be answered by the transportation article found elsewhere in this issue. Also presented for your reading enjoyment in this issue, are descriptions of the Monday and Tuesday walks, the Tuesday night social, the Friday night banquet, awards, workshops and the community service project. Whew!! You may be almost as tired after reading all of this, as the committee is from the work to put the convention together! We have begun to receive reservations from vendors for the exhibit hall, the quick start program form is ready for publication in the next TAW, the first quantity of awards have been ordered, contracts have been secured for entertainment at both socials, and the keynote speaker has been selected. Many volkssporters have already reserved rooms at the convention headquarters, the Doubletree World Arena Hotel. We hope that you will make your reservations, and pre-register for the convention, to enjoy a “Ramble in the Rockies” Front Range Style!

The committee progress this month is not as dramatic as pre-walking all of the potential convention events, but there is activity and achievement to report.  The contract for the production of the wood laser-cut awards is under review, and Regional Directors should have awards samples to display at area walks by October, 2002.  Several workshop topics and presenters have been selected, and the exhibit hall reservation forms have been sent to all potential exhibitors and Regional Directors. Requests for silent auction items have been made, and some very attractive merchandise has been received.  We are actively pursuing a transportation agreement, to provide bus service from the convention site to every volkssport event.  The registration packet is currently in the final "spit and polish" stage, and should soon appear in the mailboxes of all volkssport associate members, and can be downloaded from the RTR web site and or you will be able to register "on-line." Elsewhere in this issue, you will enjoy reading about the location of the Thursday night social.  It is truly a snapshot of the "Old West" in an entertaining, educational, and tasty package!  The volkssport events have all been chosen, and you can read about the history, trail rating, and highlights of the first three walks in this issue.  The scenery and trail surfaces are diverse, in imitation of the diverse landscape of the Rocky Mountains. We hope you plan to join us for the first ever AVA convention in our region. We promise to show you a good time while you enjoy our beautiful area. See you in eight months!

Members of the 2003 Convention Committee walked prospective event trails during the last week of June, 2002, in preparation for the 13th Biennial Convention. Conscientiously measuring the routes, and testing for accessibility by wheelchairs and strollers, we also evaluated the locations for scenic beauty, parking volume, cost, and porta-pottie space! Special highlights of the walks include: glimpses of a large bull elk and a couple of cow elk just off the walking trails, unique shops and a sparkling clear mountain lake, the world’s highest suspension bridge, the bustle of a busy capital city, the laid-back atmosphere of a friendly small historic town, the beauty of blooming cactus on the high desert, numerous birds, rabbits and ground squirrels, and the wind softly whispering in the pines. These sensory treats can be yours during the 2003 Convention in the Rocky Mountain Region. 

The host hotel and convention location have been selected and contracts signed, reservations are made for the Thursday night social, the convention specialty items are available for sale, and we are looking forward to hosting volkssporters from every region of the AVA. Visit our web site for continuous updates on the progress of your 2003 convention!!