President’s Message
Dear Friends:
I hope that each of you had the opportunity for some rest and relaxation over the summer months. With the coming of Fall, there always seems to be a certain sense of “now it is time to get back to work.” At the same time, like the rest of you, the past few months have been busy with things like a lawn crypt installation, a new shrine section, a new irrigation system at one cemetery, and the list goes on. Meanwhile, with all of that, there is good news on the CCW front. Much work has already taken place over the past several months in preparation for the annual Catholic Cemeteries of the West Convention in Seattle in April 2010.
In mid-August the Board met in Seattle, and we are well on our way in the planning for what will prove to be an excellent convention. The theme of our convention is “Rainy Days and Sunshine”. While trying to be clever and play to the stereotype that it always rains in Seattle (don’t forget to bring the ponchos distributed last year or else it will rain!), we saw this as an opportunity to look at the current realities that all of us are facing: the economy that has caused its fair share of challenges for cemetery revenue; the need to ensure that our message is getting out to the Catholic families; the occasions when awkward situations arise with families we serve; and striving to enhance our cemeteries in efficient and cost effective ways. All of these represent some of the “raining days” in our ministry. Our convention program will address these and others to ensure that we can provide “sunshine” when we all return home. And, of course, as we all know, our group is fabulous for simply sharing and networking with each other and with our supplier members.
Right now, the most important thing you can do is: mark your calendars. The convention is scheduled for April 20 – 23, 2010 at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Seattle. I invite you to visit the hotel’s web site at :http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/seasm-renaissance-seattle-hotel/.
This year, in addition to golf (which will be held at the Golf Club at Newcastle Course in Bellevue, WA (one of the premier courses in Washington), there will be the “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” Pre-Convention Seattle Tour featuring a Duck’s Tour and a visit to the Space Needle. You can check those out online too.
In the meanwhile, there are a couple things that I invite you to do. First, please make a commitment to attend this coming convention. Yes, budgets are tight, but this promises to be a convention that will pay dividends for you when you return home. As they say, “register early and register often”. Second, contact our fellow cemeterians, especially those who were not able to attend last year, and invite them to consider attending. Third, if you have any photos from previous conventions, please send them to me. Emailing computer files will be best. I would like to put together a slideshow for our opening reception. Finally, if you have input, questions, ideas, or just want to visit, please contact me, Don Sylva, or any of the other Board members.
I thank you for the confidence that you have placed in me by electing me your president. It is a pleasure serving CCW because we all share the common mission of working to best serve the people of God through our cemetery ministry. In closing, I leave you this thought –
Seattle in April – Simply Beautiful!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Richard Peterson
President, Catholic Cemeteries of the West
richp@acc-seattle.org
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