Gentle
Reminders

»No telephone registrations will be accepted. 

»To confirm your hotel reservation at the Williamsburg Lodge and the Woodlands Hotel & Suites, call 757/220-7976. To confirm housing at the Williamsburg Marriott, call 757/220-2500.

»Registration fees for all meeting participants, except legislators and legislative staff, must accompany registration forms in order to be processed.  Incomplete forms will not be processed.

»There are three ways to register.  Anyone wishing to register for the meeting after June 1, but prior to June 15, must do so online.  After June 15, all registration will be handled on site.   There is a discount for registrations received before June 1.  All pre-registration closes June 15. 

»SLC Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 14, in the Virginia Prefunction area on the lower level of the Conference Center.

»All publicized SLC committee sessions are open to all conferees regardless of formal committee appointments or affiliations; however, meal service can only be made available to appointed members of the specified committee in session.

»Dress for committee meetings is business casual.  Dress for family and spouse activities is casual unless otherwise indicated.  Dress for the State Dinner is business formal.

»Cancellations must be in writing and may be mailed to the SLC office in Atlanta or faxed to 404/633-8209.  All qualifying refunds will be issued approximately one month after the meeting convenes.  An administrative fee of $75 will be charged for all refunds and cancellations.  Once the meeting convenes and credentials have been issued, registration fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

»No shows and all cancellations made after July 13 will be charged full registration.

»If you have registration fees due to the SLC, your registration form will not be processed until all prior outstanding fees have been paid.

»It is always good practice to keep a copy of all forms mailed to the SLC, the Host State, and the Conference hotel.

Come and see where America began!

The 61^st Annual Meeting of the Southern Legislative Conferfence was  held in Williamsburg, Virginia, July 14-18, 2007.  This historic setting provided an excellent backdrop for the consideration of the range of issues before Southern legislatures.  The meeting also took place in the 400th annivesary year of the settlement at Jamestown, a cause for celebration across the country. 

Founded in 1632, Williamsburg is at the heart of the Historic Triangle of Virginia, which also includes Jamestown and Yorktown.  The area in and around Williamsburg offers visitors an unparalleled perspective on America’s colonial and revolutionary history. 

The world’s largest living history museum, Colonial Williamsburg is the restored 18^th-century capital of Britain’s largest, wealthiest, and most populous outpost of the empire in the New World.  The Colonial Williamsburg story, “Becoming Americans,” tells how diverse peoples, having different and sometimes conflicting ambitions, evolved into a society that valued liberty and equality. Americans cherish these values as a birthright, even when their promise remains unfulfilled.

In Colonial Williamsburg’s 301-acre Historic Area stand hundreds of restored, reconstructed, and historically furnished buildings. Costumed interpreters tell the stories of the men and women of the 18th-century city—black, white, and native American, slave, indentured, and free—and the challenges they faced. In this historic place, we help the future learn from the past.

This year marks the 400^th birthday of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in what would become the United States. The establishment of Jamestown expanded England’s territory at a critical historic juncture for Europe and challenged Spanish domination of the New World. English laws, language, and religion were transplanted to North America, and set the stage for new traditions established at Jamestown - including representative government, the rule of law, free enterprise and cultural diversity – which form the basis of American culture today.

Since 1807, Virginia and the United States have marked the Jamestown settlement with major commemorations every 50 years. For 2007, the Historic Triangle of Virginia will celebrate with a year’s worth of activities including visits from President Bush, Queen Elizabeth II, descendents of the original Jamestown settlers and hundreds of thousands of Americans.

There is plenty to see and do in the area around Williamsburg, including Yorktown and the Yorktown Battlefield (site of the British surrender to the American forces), Busch-Gardens theme park, and The College of William and Mary, the second oldest college in the United States and one of Virginia’s premier post-secondary institutions. Williamsburg and the surrounding area offer excellent shopping, touring and dining.