18 April 2008

40th Annual General Assembly DVD and CD-ROM
Interliners are reminded that a special 40th Anniversary DVD was produced in support of the FIKELELA HIV/AIDS programme for children and is available at USD 25.00 per copy. In addition, a compilation of hundreds of photographs from "the first 40 years" has been assembled onto a CD-ROM and is available at USD 10.00 per copy. They can be obtained from the Regional Vice Presidents or WACA Headquarters.

41st Annual General Assembly (AGA): The 2008 Interline Celebration
Acting V.P. International Events and Special Projects, Elaine Miller, has prepared the following comprehensive report following her recent site visit to Nassau with the Regional V.P. Latin America and Caribbean, Jacquie Lyseight.
First of all I would like to say how very satisfied we were with the preparations and feel the Airlines Club Bahamas (ACB) are ready to welcome us all to their wonderful island in the Caribbean. This “2008 Interline Celebration” promises to be an exciting get together and I can assure you that a special Bahamian welcome awaits us!
Arrivals
Upon arrival at the airport the ACB plan to have a welcome desk set up in the arrivals area. They have arranged for a transportation company to transfer participants to the hotel and return to the airport on the day of departure. It will be important to advise them of your planned arrival and departure times so they can coordinate this with the transportation company. They use air conditioned vans and buses and the trip to the hotel is about 10-15 minutes.
Registration and Check In
There will be a dedicated room, just off the lobby, for registration and hotel check in. There should be no need to check in at the front desk on arrival. The room is big enough to also have an area to bring your charity donation materials and there will be someone to assist in this capacity. Please bring your items of children’s books, educational and hygiene materials early so arrangements can be made to visit the schools and hospital to deliver the collected items.
Tour Desk
There will be a tour desk set up in the registration room to help with extra day tours as required.
Hospitality Room
A hospitality room will be set up and staffed by the ACB. So come and meet new and long time friends and enjoy some Bahamian style hospitality.
Hotel
The Wyndham Nassau Resort is well located with easy accessibility to the beach, shopping and sightseeing. It has been undergoing renovations over the past several months and the management told us it will be finished well before our arrival. It is located on a beautiful beach and has a large swimming pool and water slide as well as a hot tub, basket ball hoops, table tennis, deck chess and lots of beach/pool lounges for relaxing.
The rooms are lovely, well maintained and nicely furnished. Many have spectacular views of the Caribbean and sunsets. Each room has a safe and small bar fridge, hairdryers and iron/ironing boards. There is a USD 1.00 charge for local calls and long distance charges apply. The rooms have access to the Internet at a cost of USD 14.90 per day. The hotel also boasts a well equipped fitness centre and spa.
Attached to the hotel is a shopping arcade as well as a large casino and adjacent to this is an entertainment lounge with an excellent local entertainer who keeps everyone dancing.
Regional Evenings
The Regional Evenings will be held in the Crystal Ballroom which is a great facility. If you are bringing speciality items for your respective Regional Evening, each guest room is equipped with a small refrigerator but if more space is required the hotel has extra capacity. Each person is allowed to bring into the Bahamas two litres of alcohol, 200 cigarettes and 25 cigars. I found, however, that most well known brands of liquor were sold cheaper locally in the Bahamas than at the duty free shop in Toronto. There is a small liquor store in the shopping arcade of the hotel and larger ones very close to the hotel. As well, there is a large supermarket close to the hotel and a short cab drive away. Tables, tablecloths, bowls, glasses, trays, etc. are all available from the hotel and should be requested by Member Clubs well in advance of the AGA. The ACB advised they will supply disposable glasses.
Local Transportation
The Wyndham Hotel and Resort is centrally located and there is a bus stop in front of the hotel to go down town or other places of interest.
Tours
There are two tours planned during the Interline Celebration. The first tour is the Nassau City Tour on Monday, 29 September and will cover the highlights and history of the island. The second tour on Thursday, 2 October is to historical Fort Charlotte which was built by the British and also a tour of the Bacardi Distillery where lunch will be taken.
Beach Party
Wednesday, 1 October is the Beach Party with a fantastic barbeque including drinks. Make sure you bring lots of sun screen as well as swimming gear and get ready to party!
National Flags
National flags should be sent as soon as possible to Ann Albury, President and Chairperson for the 2008 Interline Celebration and WACA Annual General Assembly.
Departures
There will be a fixed schedule for departures to the airport but the ACB will try and accommodate other requests if needed.
Additional Nights
The organising committee have negotiated special rates with the Wyndham Hotel for three nights prior to, and three nights following, the Interline Celebration at rates (including breakfast) of USD 145.00 per night for single occupancy, USD 89.00 per person per night for double occupancy and USD 81.00 per person per night for triple occupancy.
Pre-AGA Tour
There have been discussions about organising a pre-AGA tour but, at the time of writing, nothing has been finalised. I will advise everyone as soon as possible should the situation change.
Post-AGA Tour
At present there is only a post-AGA tour planned to the island of Eleuthera. The tour includes: boat transportation to and from the island, three nights accommodation with breakfast, two lunches, one pool party and two tours. Due to the hotel's size, participation may be limited to 60 interliners so book early as preference will be given to those who will be attending the AGA. The cost of the tour is USD 540.00 plus the USD 10.00 WACA fee. Details about the tour can be found in the Event Calendar section of the WACA Web site: /waca/events.

43rd Annual General Assembly (AGA): The 2010 Interline Celebration
Member Clubs are reminded that, in accordance with 2.4 of the Bylaws, any Club that wishes to host the 43rd AGA in 2010 should submit its intention in writing to the Secretary General by the end of this month (April).

Events Calendar
Update
Information is now available for the always popular Fantastic Finland (Sauna Party) which this year will be held from 13-16 June and includes an exciting day trip to Tallinn in Estonia.
Regional Meetings
Interliners are reminded once again that all Regional Meetings will be taking place in the month of May: Europe from 1-4 May in Lisbon, North America from 9-11 May in New York , Far East/Australasia from 16-18 May in Bangkok and Latin American/Caribbean on 30/31 May in Nassau.
Details on the above events can be found in the Event Calendar section of the WACA Web site: /waca/events.

WACA Grand Venture Bonanza
Another Prize!
The Sydney Interline Club has is graciously donating two tickets to the Australia Day Celebration Function on Monday, 26 January. It will be held on a floating restaurant in Darling Harbour where, amongst other things, the world famous Darling Harbour Australia Day fireworks display will be viewed.
Prizes to Date
A total of nine fabulous prizes have now been donated and complete details of the 2008 Grand Venture Bonanza can be found on the WACA Web site in the News and Press Releases section: /waca/news.
First Draw
There is still time buy your tickets before the first draw is made at the end of April so don't delay - buy your tickets today!
Reminder: package prizes are not transferable so, if the winner of a package is unable to use it, the prize will be drawn again.

Interliners Care
Patricia and Heinz Fuhr from the Rhein-Main Interline club have supported a family in Sri Lanka since the Tsunami hit the island. Below is a report sent to a fellow interliner after they made a recent visit:
We had a wonderful time and have seen some good things. The fisherman's family which we supported had only the house, inside was completely empty. We went with the whole family to buy shoes, clothes, a table, 6 chairs, two beds and invested in five glass windows and five doors. We spent quite a lot of euros but it is was well invested. We will send some more euros for the installation of a water pipe to the house. Afterwards the family will again have the basic requirements. From this point on they have to earn the money with the fishing boat again. The original house was located on the edge of the sea. Only the toilet is still there and the boat they received from us. The house where they live now is far way from the sea so, when they go fishing, they will stay near the beach at their aunt's house.

Yours in interlining,

Keith Miller
Manager, WACA Headquarters
World Airlines Clubs Association
Tel.: +1 (514) 874-0202 (ext. 3243)
Fax: +1 (514) 874-1753
info@waca.org
www.waca.org