By Pat Wray
December 19, 2019
The 2020 OWAA conference at the Jay Peak Resort in northern Vermont will mark a return to the days when spouse and family activities were emphasized and assistance from spouses during registration was encouraged and appreciated. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you plan your trip.
Bring your kids: The Pump House Indoor Waterpark is nestled within the Hotel at the Jay Peak Resort. It’s an absolute kid magnet and an experience they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.
Bring your spouse: Our local chairman, Gary Moore, arranged two wonderful spouse activity days.
The first spouse trip is a tour of the Haskell Opera House and a scenic drive to the Old Stone House Museum on Friday, June 26.
The group will drive to Derby Line for a tour of the Haskell Opera House, https://haskellopera.com, a unique facility that straddles the U.S./Canada border. Pose for photos inside the library with one foot in Canada and the other in the U.S. From there we will take a short scenic drive south to Brownington and the Old Stone House Museum, http://oldstonehousemuseum.org. Box Lunches will be available.
The second spouse trip is a two-hour cruise on Lake Memphremagog on Monday, June 29.
The group will drive to Newport for a two-hour cruise on Lake Memphremagog aboard the Northern Star. The cruise includes a stop at the Tasting Bar at Eden Ice Cider,
https://www.edenciders.com/visit/. On the wayback to Jay Peak they’ll stop at Brian and Jenn Cook’s Kingdom Brewing Microbrewery. Their motto is “It’s a mile from Canada but a million miles from normal.” https://kingdombrewingvt.com. Lunch will be available on the waterfront. Following the excursion, each participant will be tested on the proper pronunciation of “Memphremagog.”
Volunteer to help: We’re hoping spouses will volunteer to help with conference registration and throughout the conference as needed. In years past, spousal assistance was critical to our success but the habit was lost when we had a wave of college interns to help. Those interns are no longer around and we’re working with a brand-new conference planner and ED, both of whom are highly experienced but neither with OWAA history. So, when you fill out your conference registration, let us know if you are available to help, and if you’d like to attend the spouse trip(s). Good times will be had!
More details to come on pricing and transportation, so stay tuned! Conference registration opens sometime in January, 2020.
See you at the conference!
OWAA’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE: JAY PEAK RESORT, VERMONT: JUNE 27-29, 2020