Spring rain greeted us as we arrived at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry, Georgia, on March 9, 2025. We had 20 coaches from California to Florida and points in between. Parked close to both Reaves Arena and the horse show arena instead of our scheduled game afternoon, most of us watched the cowboy mounted shooting competition. Seeing the riders shoot balloons while galloping around the ring was amazing. That evening, we took shelter in the horse barn and had a BBQ platter of pulled pork, slaw, and baked beans with banana pudding for dessert–a true southern meal.
We had even more rain Monday morning, so a selection of breakfast bars and fruit bowls were passed out before we gathered at the hangout room for our tech talk. Tai Taitano moderated for old pros and newbies alike. Our group was filmed during our meeting, and on the opening night of the convention, we were shown on the big screen!
In the afternoon, it rained even more, so we served a variety of sandwiches, sausage link ‘n bun, pimento cheese, or chicken salad, and a cup of Brunswick stew with cookies for dessert from our LTV. Remember I said we went Southern!
Tuesday is our sleep-in day, as the first-timers orientation and chapter fair all happen in the afternoon. Then, from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm, buses take us back and forth for “Welcome to Downtown Perry,” where we can shop, dine, and be entertained with live music.
The Convention begins Wednesday morning. Educational seminars on a variety of topics, craft sessions, contests and games, daily entertainment, free morning donuts and coffee, an ice cream social, chapter and area meetings, daily devotions, line dancing classes, and nightly entertainers from the Atlanta area keep us very busy the rest of the week.
We even gathered at our coaches’ on Thursday night and watched fireworks over the lake!
It all ended on Sunday morning. Hugs and well-wishes were exchanged as we departed.
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