As a native Texan, I want to personally encourage you to attend the 2016 ASOR Annual Meeting in San Antonio. It will be memorable. It is a given that high quality academic presentations will be made. What will set this year’s Annual Meeting apart is the setting—the La Cantera Resort and Spa.
I have stayed at the resort many times and always look forward to going back. I promise it will be the best setting of an ASOR Annual Meeting in recent memory. If there ever was an Annual Meeting destination made for a family vacation, this is the one. Given the special room rate ASOR has negotiated (with the usual resort fees waived), it will be an absolute bargain for the value received.
The resort sits on top of a hill northwest of downtown. The Texas hill country sunsets are stunning from this vantage point. The weather in late November is close to perfect—sunny and clear with highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s and, most important in west Texas, low humidity.
The guest rooms and facilities are excellent. What distinguishes this resort from others are the amenities—both onsite and close by. There are two championship golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer and Jay Morrish/Tom Weiskopf. Until recently, the Morrish/Weiskopf course hosted the Texas Open, a PGA tour event, for fifteen years. There also are multiple bars and restaurants, five pools, a kids’ club and a teen lounge. And the spa is pretty fine, too.
But wait. There’s more. At the base of the hill below the resort are The Shops at La Cantera, an open-air regional shopping mall with more than 140 shops and restaurants for every budget. The resort runs a free shuttle to the shops multiple times a day. Also below the resort is the Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme park; the resort operates a complimentary shuttle to the front gates. SeaWorld is close by and discount tickets are available.
All of this is in addition to visiting the Alamo (a Texas shrine; hats off, gentlemen), strolling the King William Historic District, and exploring the world famous Riverwalk—all of which are located a short distance away in downtown San Antonio and, best of all, are free. In fact, one night, ASOR will provide a complimentary round-trip shuttle to downtown so you can hang out and enjoy the sights.
But enough of this travelogue. It’s going to be a spectacular Annual Meeting this year. If you don’t believe me, check out the ASOR website or Google San Antonio and the La Cantera Resort and Spa, and see for yourself. Or, you can take my word for it, register for the Annual Meeting, and book your room now.
And you thought I was going to write some dry piece about finances and numbers …
Richard Coffman
ASOR Treasurer