Make your plans now to attend the fabulous 2015 Convention/Vacation of CACI scheduled at the Crowne Plaza hotel in the Provi-dence, Rhode Island suburb of Warwick from Sunday, July19, to Saturday, July 25. This 56th an-nual gathering of CACers from throughout the United States will include social events, special daily mass, four hotel banquets, elabo-rate buffet breakfasts, a genuine New England Clambake on the shore of Narragansett Bay on Monday evening, and opportuni-ties to sign up for several historic, scenic and culinary tours - in addi-tion to meeting with CACI friends both old and new. Providence was named by Travel + Leisure Magazine as the 2014 Number One Favorite City to visit in the U. S. The city won ac-claim for "brimming with New Eng-land charm", being "a legitimate culinary capital", and having nu-merous fascinating historical ele-ments. Other finalists cities in-cluded Minneapolis/St. Paul, San Francisco, Houston and Kansas City.

Our hotel contains 266 oversized guests rooms and sits on an 88-acre campus. There is compli-mentary shuttle service from the Providence airport (T. F. Green Airport) less that three miles away. The Crown Plaza hotel (801 Greenwich Avenue, Warwick, RI; [401] 732-6000) is located just off Interstate 95 at Exit 12 and of-fers acres of free parking. For several years, the hotel has won awards for outstanding service and superior quality. It offers an indoor pool, whirlpool spa, a health and fitness center, and con-cierge service. All rooms have marble baths and two-sink vani-ties, individually controlled heat and air conditioning, complimen-

tary high-speed access, 25-inch television and much more. The hotel has several service vans that provide complimentary shuttle ser-vice for guests to nearby restau-rants, shopping, etc. There will be a CACI Hospitality Center off the hotel lobby which will be open most days and evenings as well as for "after hours" gatherings. An extensive selection of daily tours has been planned as part of

this year's convention. Provi-dence City tours will be offered on Sunday and Monday. On Tues-day, CACers can travel to the John F. Kennedy Museum and Library in Boston or go to "America's Most Patriotic Town", Bristol RI, for a tour and lunch. On both Wednesday and Friday, tours will be available to Newport, RI (home of the world famous ocean-side mansions of 19th century millionaires) or to Boston where we can walk to some of the many historic sites along the city's "Freedom Trail" Thursday, we can visit Ply-moth Rock and Plymoth Plantation (and see how the Pilgrims lived); or Mystic Seaport, CT, and tour the historic center of ocean-going culture of the 19th cen-tury. An all-day white-water raft-ing adventure has been put to-gether for Saturday, July 25 and will require participants to stay an extra day at our hotel. Two special dinner tours have been put together for Wednesday evening. A "Sunset Dinner Tour"

Vol. 41, No. 1 Catholic Alumni Clubs International March 2015

The Communiqué

Providence, Cont. on P. 2

2 The Communiqué March 2015

Catholic Alumni Clubs International 2014—2015 Officers

(Effective October 1, 2014)

President: Susie Shearer (Detroit)…………..…….….…….…. 330-494-4613..………..... sshearer@starkstate.edu First Vice President: Mike Kappel (MMRV)………. ……..… 618-397-2320………....... mikek21798@aol.com Second Vice President: Margie Cronin (New York)…….. 718-438-1946………...….. margueritecronin@verizon.net Treasurer: Teresa Walczyk (Detroit))………...………..…..… 248-336-0391………….…. bubbly_ja03@yahoo.com Secretary: Sandra Silbergeld (Washington, DC) ……….…. 301-231-5432………….…. sandyhome1@comcast.net Eastern Region VP: Mike Coogan (Washington, DC)..... 301-916-6336………….... Michael.coogan@hq.doe.gov Midwest Region VP: Janet Yntema (Detroit)……………….. 313-882-0990…………..... janety602@aol.com Western Region VP: Cindy Cronin (LA)……………..……...… 562-943-3351………....... cindyteacher@verizon.net Members-At-Large: Mary Arranz…………………………………. 610-251-0955………………atlarge@caci.org

Chaplain: Fr. Joe Codori (Pittsburgh)……………….…..….... 412-427-7896………....... frjoecodori@comcast.net Past President: Janet Yntema (Detroit)……………………….. 313-882-0990…………..... janety602@aol.com

The Communiqué is published by The Catholic Alumni Clubs International (CACI), an umbrella organization for the more than 25 local CACI chapters across the country. Members of CACI chapters are college and nursing school graduates who are free to marry in the Catholic Church.

The purpose of CACI is to host an annual national convention, facilitate communication among local clubs, and repre-sent the interests of single Catholics in our Church at large. The annual national convention is during the summer and hosts more than 150 CACers from across the country. Smaller Regional weekends across the United States are also offered, allowing CAC chapters in specific regions of the country to come together for fun and fellowship.

CACI is a non-profit organization organized under the laws of the State of Colorado. The address is of the President, Susie Shearer, 6454 Saint Augustine Drive NW, Canton, OH 44718-4039. The Communiqué editor is Teddi Tri. Send articles to her at tedtri07@gmail.com. Deadline for the next edition is August 10, 2015.

and dining experience will include an authentic Italian dinner at one of Providence's most famous res-taurants, a delightful gondola ride on the Providence River, a stop at one of the city's most spectacular overlooks, and desert at one of the best al fresco dining locations in the city. The "Dine Around Providence" tour will feature a pro-gressive three-course dinner ex-perience at three of the city's high-est-rated restaurants; and our guide will also take us to some of the city's most beautiful sites. No pre- or post-convention is be-ing organized this year; but our

convention tour company will pro-vide selected tours from our hotel before and after the conven-tion. We will have special hotel rates three days pre- and post-convention. The T. F. Green (Providence) Air-port is served by most major air-lines including Delta, Jet Blue, Southwest, United, US Air and Condor. Direct flights are available from such cities as Detroit, Chi-cago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Wash- ing ton, At lanta, Ph i lade l-phia, Charlotte and Las Ve-gas. All major auto rental agen-cies are available at the Provi-

dence airport and our hotel pro-vides daily complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport. Registration forms and additional information have been distributed to all local clubs and directly to CACers who have attended recent conventions. Forms are also avail-able at the CACI website (CACI.org). For additional infor-mation, contact Don Luebbering (513-574-8573), Jim Stammerman (502-263-3793), or Mary Arranz (610-251-0955).

Providence, Cont.

March 2015 The Communiqué 3

Message from the President -

I hope you are having a fabulous winter! The first week of February each club should have received a mo-tion regarding our group insurance policy. Liability insurance protects against two kinds of financial risk: it pays damages for which the or-ganization is found liable, and it defends it in court if it is sued. A service project, a sports program, a field trip or entertainment pro-gram, almost any activity where serious injury could occur can re-sult in lawsuits and liability, de-spite the precautions of trained staff and dedicated volunteers. A public statement can result in a libel or slander suit. An employ-ment relationship gone sour can result in a civil rights or wrongful discharge suit. Even if there is little reason to blame the nonprofit organization, most competent lawyers will name as a party every individual and organization potentially involved. If the injury occurred at someone's home, the resident should be de-fended by a homeowners-insurance carrier. Any contractor or other business involved should have insurance. However, if a small nonprofit with no liability in-surance is named in a lawsuit - even if the facts provide it with a good defense - legal costs could force it into bankruptcy. Therefore, if it can be found at an affordable price, liability insurance is recom-mended for every active nonprofit organization. By acquiring a group policy the cost of insurance is less for large clubs which indi-vidually acquired policies in the past and for clubs that were two small to afford a policy it provides

coverage. If you have any ques-tions regarding the policy you can contact Mike Kappel our 1st Vice President. I know that club leadership, mem-bership retention and growth con-tinue to be problems for many of our clubs. At the typical club: • 5% of members run the club and show up for almost every event; • Another 15% of members regu-larly participate; • Another 20% occasionally par-ticipate; • The remaining 60% never show u p f o r a n y t h i n g ! Club leaders should always be on the lookout for new faces. The first rule of finding volunteers is to ask. Give your members an opportunity to sign up on your dues form, at an event, or through a survey. If your club has difficulty recruiting leaders try co-chairs—it splits the job in half (even the presidency can be a shared position). Let your members know that serving on the club board or in a commit-tee chair position is an honor, and will be looked upon with high re-gard. Following is an article by Marisa Cogan, which I felt applies well to our local Catholic Alumni Club Chapters regarding increasing membership; 8 Ways to Increase Association M e m b e r s h i p Memberships are the lifeblood of many associations, and for good reason – they represent profes-sionals that establish standards and ethics in a given industry and,

more importantly, they drive reve-nue. That’s why each year, asso-ciation managers are tasked with one very special goal: TO IN-CREASE MEMBERSHIPS! If your membership numbers have been flat or, if even worse, you are losing members, you may need some fresh ideas to pump up your numbers. Start by putting yourself in the shoes of a potential mem-ber… Why would they join? What’s in it for them? And for a new member, what would make them stay after their initial year? There is definitely strength in num-bers, so how can you give your membership count a boost? I’ve rounded up a few simple ideas that are easy to implement and will help to get your creative juices pumping during your next strategy session. 1. Market where your members h a n g o u t If you’re a professional business organization, advertise in an in-dustry-specific publication, partici-pate in LinkedIn discussions fo-cused on topics related to your industry, or use social media to tweet about industry news using #hashtags that will generate fol-lowers or endorsers. Go where your members are and you will be able to find new members/leads to mine. 2. Host events that profession-als will want to attend. Associations are known for their professional events – whether it is an annual expo, a quarterly lunch & learn or an online webinar. These types of professional events drive millions of attendees each year. Make your events “must attend” affairs by offering fresh speakers (those that have not made the rounds of every

President, Cont. On P. 4

4 The Communiqué March 2015

other industry event) and sought-after topics. You’ll gain credibility and the opportunity to add additional members. A bonus idea: recruit new members by al-lowing attendees to bring a “guest”, gratis. 3. Have a membership drive. Develop an annual membership drive and reward those who gen-erate the highest number of new members. 4. Get feedback from current m e m b e r s . How will you know what to im-prove upon if you don’t know what is wrong? By asking your current member base for their opinions, you’ll be able to adjust your mem-bership benefits to appeal to the masses. Create an annual mem-ber survey to collect feedback. If the responses evoke a change in member benefits, make sure to broadcast this to your current members. They will not only be impressed that you’ve addressed their concerns, but they will likely spread the word to non-members. Plus, your new benefit perks will automatically elicit a positive response. 5. Keep existing members h a p p y . Increasing your membership count also means retaining current members. The fewer you lose, the easier it will be to reach your annual growth goal. New mem-bers, those within their first year of

membership, are at the greatest risk for drop-off. For these mem bers, develop a drip email cam-paign that will touch these mem-bers several times within the first year. For all other members, con-sider reaching out beyond email – at events, via direct mail or social media – to stay top-of-mind and to communicate continuing benefits. 6. Provide a personalized mem-b e r s h i p c a r d . By providing your new members with a membership card, they will feel like they are a part of some-thing special while being reminded of all the great benefits they will receive with their membership. A membership card can provide ac-cess to events, information and keep your organization top of mind all year long. 8. Begin the renewal process e a r l y . Most members do not renew be-cause they simply “forgot.” Re-mind members early (and often) to renew their memberships. It may take several “touches” before you’ll receive a response. Also, in your correspondence, remind them of all the great benefits that they receive (and what they’ll miss if they don’t renew). 9 . “ J o i n N O W ! ” Create urgency by offering poten-tial members a substantial dis-count for joining on the spot. As you can see, these ideas are

simple, easy-to-implement and will help get your creative juices

pump ing fo r even more ideas! Sometimes you just need to ask yourself “what would entice m e t o j o i n ? ” ( r e f e r e n c e h t t p : / /cpscards.com/8-ways-increase-

association-membership/)

If you have any membership re-cruitment and retention ideas that have worked well for your club, let us know so we can share your ideas in the next communique. Our next opportunities for fellow-s h i p a r e ; The Eastern spring regional on Long Island April 24-26th, 2015 The Midwest spring regional May 22-25th, 2015 in Columbus, OH Our national convention July 19 - 25th in Warwick / Providence, RI For more details on the weekends and links to the registration forms s e e h t t p : / / w w w . c a c i . o r g /convention.php I look forward to seeing you at the regionals and/or the national con-vention in Rhode Island! Until we meet again, may God bless you with good health and much happiness!

Susie Shearer CACI President

President, Cont.

CACI Annual Contests CACI asks all clubs to participate in the following Contests: CACer of the Year, Outstanding New-Leader, and CACI Person of the Year, Community Service, and the Newsletter Award. The first three awards are to recognize those special leaders in your club that contribute in so many ways to your local club. The Community Service Award is meant to recognize the work your club does in your local community. The Newsletter Award recognizes outstanding work in local club newsletters. Please plan to participate. The forms have been sent to all clubs. The awards will be made at the annual convention in Provi-dence/Warwick, RI. We hope your club will enter the contests. Contact Melanie Miller caci_awards@yahoo.com or Karen Waldschmidt karenkwld@aol.com for more info.

March 2015 The Communiqué 5

More from Our President -

This is an article I received from Bill Mee, of the Tidewater club, a few months back. It discusses how to use an application called “Meetup” to help encourage mem-bership growth in organizations like ours.

Susie Shearer CACI President

Meetup- The Meetup social network can help local Catholic Alumni Clubs advertise their club events. Meetup is a social network tool which is extremely popular as a way for people to find out about local activities and to meet people with common interests. It has be-come the primary way for individu-als to find out about activities in their local area and to meet other people. Clubs would likely benefit from the use of Meetup as a way to increase club mem-bership. Setting Up a Meetup Account It is not difficult to start a Meetup group. First, a Meetup organizer must have a Meetup account. To do this, the organ-izer must first go to the Meetup w e b s i t e a t h t t p : / /www.meetup.com. Click “sign up” in the upper right. You can use a Facebook account or your email address. There is no charge to have account. Once you have an account you can then start the process of forming your group. Setting up a Meetup Group The Meetup home page has a but-ton on the top left that says “start a Meetup Group.” Once you click on this you will receive very easy instructions as to how to start your group. There is a charge for a

group to use Meetup. The current cost is $9.99 per month for up to 50 members or $14 a month for unlimited membership. Your group must have at least one organizer. Tips on Creating your Meetup Page Try to make your club Meetup page as inviting as possi-ble. Under pages you will be given the opportunity to describe your club which will be the first page in the Table of Contents section. Then under photos you can add pictures taken at club events. It is best if they are clear pictures and include more than one individual in a shot. The Meetup organizer should include a picture of his/herself and some short personal profile information. The choice of a

location for the club is critical as people search for groups using mileage criteria based on distance from the zip code chosen. Try to choose a location which is in the center of your area or one which might have a lot of potential mem-bers. For example, when I first set up our Meetup page, I used my home zip code although I live near the edge of the area covered by our club. We determined that potential members from the south-ern part of our area were not find-ing us because they were con-ducting a search which covered too small an area to pick up my

zip code. We have recently changed the club’s zip code to Hampton, which is more centrally located within the club’s territory. Managing your Meetup Page When members sign up for your group they usually include a short personal message. An organizer might wish to write them a brief reply. There will be a member’s page listing all members. The or-ganizer can write a member by clicking on the three dots beside a member’s name which will allow the organizer to send a message to that person. You can add events by clicking on the schedule a new Meetup line on your club home page.

Encourage Your Club Mem-bers to Register on Meetup Hopefully you will soon start having new members join your Meetup Group. It helps if other members from your club join your group as potential mem-bers like to see how large a group is before joining it. The greater number of club mem-bers who register on your Meetup page, the greater the

possibility an event will attract new members. I hope this information will be helpful to your club in starting its own Meetup group. It will take a little while to really get a group going so don’t be discouraged at first. You can write me at wmee1@cox.net or call me at (757) 898-6991. Good Luck. Bill Mee Tidewater CAC

From the Editor - I again want to thank all the contributors to the last edition of the Communiqué. With your help, I was able to meet my deadline and get the newsletter out to the Clubs by the end of August, in time to advertise the up-coming fall regional meetings. Also, thanks to everyone getting their articles to me in time for this issue. Please continue to keep me informed of any members (current or former) that have passed away so that I can include their names in the “In Memoriam” section. The next edition, due to come out in mid-August, will cover the CACI summer convention/vacation in Provi-dencWarwick, upcoming 2015 fall and 2016 spring regionals, as well as other news from the regional and na-tional officers. Submission deadline for the next issue is Monday, August 10, 2015. Don’t wait till the last minute! Sooner is always better!

Teddi Tri

CACI Editor tedtri07@gmail.com

Ed Webb Scholarship Fund I want to thank everyone who nominated either schools or indi-viduals for the 2014 Scholarship. It’s now time to think about who should be nominated for 2015. Within the next two weeks, both e-mails and letters will be forwarded to the Club Presidents asking for the name of an individual or school to be nominated for this year.

I also want to take this opportu-nity, on behalf of those who will be receiving future scholarships, to thank the anonymous donor for their contribution to the Scholar-ship fund. This contribution is greatly appreciated and the Board of CACI also thanks the individual.

Just remember that each club can send in their nomination which will

then be forwarded to the Regional Vice President for their assistance in determining the winner of this year’s scholarship. The Scholar-ships will be forwarded to the win-ner in May. The winners will also be announced at this year’s Con-vention in Providence.

Loretta Lovell, Fund Administrator

From the West -

Happy New Year from the Western Region! Our clubs are holding their own and we are continuing to work on how to attract new members and re-tain current ones. All clubs in our region continue to have Mass and Brunches, cultural events such as museum visits and sporting events. I would like to congratulate three new presidents in the western region: Gilbert Scott(cacofco@hotmail.com) of the Colorado CAC; Carol Siem

(violinpianolover@yahoo.com) of the Los Angeles CAC; and Anne-Marie Boyland (annemarie_cac@yahoo.com) of the San Francisco CAC. On a somber note I ask for prayers for Elinor Tanck of the San Francisco CAC who passed away last October. We have not held fall or spring re-gional for a few years now. If any clubs or club members would be in-terested in planning one please con-tact me.

Members of the western region are very excited about the upcoming con vention July 19-25 to the Providence, Rhode Island area. For those of you who would like to look ahead please go to www.goprovidence.com. I found many interesting sights and ideas for vacationing in the area. And as always we are staying in a great hotel: The Crowne Plaza. I am looking forward to seeing every-one this summer in Rhode Island.

Cindy Cronin, Western Region VP

6 The Communiqué March 2015

March 2015 The Communiqué 7

From The Eastern Region—

The key word in CACI this year? “Island”. One large, one small. No no no …not Gilligan’s Island — but Long Island and Rhode Is-land!!

The 2015 CAC Eastern Regional Weekend takes us to Long Island, the longest and largest island in the contiguous United States (118 miles) from April 24-26, 2015.

If it were a U.S. state, Long Island would rank 13th in population (after Virginia). Our visit to Old Westbury Gardens is on North America's most beautiful English-style country estate. The 160 acres include a walled perennial garden, classical statuary, rolling fields, a charming thatched cot-tage with garden, over 100 spe-cies of trees, sweeping lawns, rose gardens, lakes, boxwood gar-dens, and winding paths. You’ll be charmed by Old Westbury Gar-dens, a pre-Civil War farm village that will allow you to step back in time and experience life in a recre-ated mid-19th-century American village. The 209-acre village in-cludes an assortment of homes, farms, and businesses. It will be

an historic weekend! And don’t forget CACI’s 2015 An-nual Convention in Providence. Rhode Island may the be the smallest state in the nation, but it has plenty to see and experience! Cliff Walk, the Newport Man-sions…you’ll be astounded at the beauty of New England. See you on the Islands...but you may want to shy away from the “three-hour tour!” Michael Coogan Eastern Region VP

From the Midwest Region—

I am the CAC Midwest Region Vice-president. I am a longtime member of CAC Detroit and have been a Mid-west Region officer in the past in vari-ous capacities, including VP, and also a CACI officer in the past, including President. I would like to thank Andrea Brosch for her previous terms as CAC Mid-west VP. But Andi isn’t going any-where. She is now serving as MW Region Secretary. Barbara Accordino is our MW Asst. VP. Barb has been active in the MW Region for a number of years having also been Midwest VP and has also served CACI in vari-ous capacities including President and also convention coordinator at times. Debbie Kamer is our MW Treasurer. Debbie is a CPA and re-cently handled the reservations for our CACI convention in Gatlinburg just this past summer. Thanks also go to our previous offi-cers Frances Nawrocki who was MW Secretary the last few years, Tracey Becker our former MW Asst. VP. I

cannot thank Mike Kappel enough for all he has done for the CAC Midwest Region. Mike has served us for many years as treasurer and as VP and has coordinated many of our fun regional weekends. We will still see Mike around a lot. Mike is in his second term as CACI 1

st VP and will most

certainly move on up. All of the above people have served CAC on various levels for a number of years. I use the term “serve”. As someone said to me once, what we do is truly a ministry. We are serving God’s singles as so many of you also do in your work in your own local CAC chapter. So thanks go out to you folks also. The first CAC clubs started in 1957. I think I can safely say that thousands have made lasting friend-ships over the many years because of CAC. I have had a lot of fun with CAC doing things I may not have done oth-erwise, and having people to do things with because my married friends are very busy with their fami-lies. I have traveled a lot, have seen a

lot of places with CAC. CAC gives you someone to vacation with. So if you have not been to a CAC Regional weekend getaway or a CACI week’s vacation, you have to come and experience a CAC vacation yourself. And if you are attending a CAC regional weekend for the first time, you will get a $50 discount this year. So if you don’t see it on the res-ervation form, ask about it. Memorial Day weekend May 22-25, 2015 we will be in Columbus, Ohio for our CAC Midwest region weekend. But it is not just for those in the Mid-west CAC clubs. Eastern Region and Western Region club members are urged to come and join us. See infor-mation elsewhere in this Commu-nique. So come enjoy God’s beautiful land with CAC and let’s keep CAC going.

Janet Yntema Midwest Region VP

8 The Communiqué March 2015

Members-At-Large - Mary Arranz is continuing to maintain the roster for these members of CAC. All renewals for 2015 are due by April 1. (No fool!) Dues are $25/year. If you have not received your renewal notice, contact Mary at cac_at_large@yahoo.com.

News from Our Regions

Eastern Region -

Spring Revival—

Long Island Style!

Press your pause button on the Winter Channel and fast forward to the Spring Channel. Now press your TV guide button and scroll down to April 24-26, 2015 to see the show listing for those dates: "Spring Revival--Long Island Style". This is a TRUE REALITY show for us CACers because it's going to be a live experience for all of us who attend the 2015 CAC Eastern Regional Weekend to be held on Long Island, New York!

Long Is-land has it all: natu-r a l b e a u t y , p r i s t i n e beaches, breathtak-ing gar-

dens and arboretums, fascinating history, wonderful wineries, amazing maritime life, majestic lighthouses and countless beauti-

ful waterways--just to name a few-and to offer a perfect way to really get into spring! For Saturday tours, we will be visiting beautiful Old Westbury Gardens, a former family estate where we can tour a majestic 1906 mansion with its beautiful manicured grounds and gardens surrounding it. The second part of our Saturday tour will be a visit to Old Bethpage Village Restoration where you can take a step back in time as you experience a living history mu-seum. Period-costumed interpret-ers will tell you the stories and his-tory behind antique houses, farms, shops, etc., from all parts of Long Island so that you can experience what it was like to live on 19th century Long Island. For Saturday evening--as a spe-cial celebration for Singles Sunday--we will attend a unique off-site Mass and dinner-dance to follow--both especially designed just for us! For those of you who are planning to arrive by Friday afternoon, we are planning a possible optional tentative Friday evening dinner-cruise--if there is enough interest. Long Island is well accessible by air (three airports on Long Island); train--the Long Island Rail Road, Air-Train Service from and to JFK

Airport with connections to the Long Island Rail Road, and, Am-trak going to and from Penn Sta-tion in Manhattan with an easy, smooth transfer to the Long Island Rail Road also located in Penn Station; bus--service runs to and from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; ferry ser-vice between eastern Long Island

and New England; and, of course, by car! For more info, and a reservation form, go to the CACI website (www.CACI.org). So, "stay tuned to this program"--you don't want to miss it! See you in April!

Pat Dugal New York CAC

March 2015 The Communiqué 9

In Memoriam:

CAC Members who died in the past year.

Fran MacDonald—Boston—Oct. 4, 2014 Elinor Tanck—San Francisco—Oct. 24, 2014 Richard Hogan—Boston—Dec. 24, 2014 Lee Vogel—Central Illinois—Jan. 2015 Frank Canham—Colorado—Feb. 2, 2015

Eternal Rest grant them, O Lord. May they rest in peace.

Midwest Spring Regional -

A Taste of Columbus

There is always food involved with anything that CAC does. So get a Taste of Columbus in more ways than one. CAC Midwest Region’s getaway weekend to Columbus, Ohio is May 22-25, 2015. The cost is $319 for a double occupancy package, $498 for a single, and includes 3 nights lodging, 3 break-fasts, 2 dinners (one a dinner theater), and 3 after-hours parties plus our welcome party. If you have never been to any CAC re-gional getaway weekend before, you are eligible for a $50 discount as a first-timer. Reservation forms are being sent to each CAC club. You may also download one from the CACI website at www.caci.org under the “Convention & Week-ends’ button or contact Janet at 313-882-0990 (Eastern time) or Janety602@aol.com. We are staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites Columbus-Polaris. The Polaris Fashion Place mall is 5 minutes away. We have an op-tional tour on Saturday for a cost of $66. Our Saturday tour will give you a “taste” of Columbus. First experience what it was like to be a part of the Underground Railroad.

Join the lady of the house as she gives you a tour of her home (Kelton House) and find out the secret she is hiding. Next take a tour of this wonderful city by bus. Listen as the history of this city is told and view some of the famous landmarks such as German Vil-lage, the Ohio Statehouse, down-town, the Short North Arts District. Step inside a painting at the Topi-ary Park, a re-creation in topiary of Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday Af-ternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” I’m sure all of you have seen the painting. Saturday evening is a dinner theater. On Sunday we will attend Mass at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic church. There are so many places to visit around Columbus: Colum-bus Zoo and Aquarium with its

Heart of Africa new in 2014; COSI, their science center; Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gar-dens with its large collection of Dale Chihuly glasswork creatively placed in unexpected places throughout the gardens; Ohio His-tory Center and Ohio Village. We did not want to make the choice for you so you decide where you want to go on Sunday. If you don’t have a car we will help you get there. Afterwards we will have din-ner at the Polaris Grill. There is so much to see and do in Columbus that you might want an extra day. This too can be ar-ranged. Usually a number of us add an extra day. Please join us for a good time of eating and sightseeing.

Affix Postage

Mark Your Calendars!

2015 Spring Eastern Regional Weekend Long Island, NY; April 24-26

2015 Spring Midwest Regional Weekend

Columbus, OH ; May 22-25

2015 CACI Convention/Vacation Providence/Warwick, RI; July 19-25

2015 Combined Eastern/Midwest Fall Regional Weekend

Harrisonburg, VA; Oct. 2-4