by Berl Colley
Yes, your ACB convention tours committee is looking, very favorably I might add, at as many as five possible convention tours for next summer’s convention week, July 3-10, 2004, in Birmingham. No contracts have been signed yet, but we're close to concluding our negotiations, so strap on a seat belt — here we go!
A Day of Looking Toward Space Frontiers, and Remembering Our Past
A pre-convention tour to Huntsville, Alabama is being planned for Friday, July 2. We’ll take a bus northward to Huntsville, where we’ll visit the Space and Rocket Center, which features a great interactive facility with an array of space memorabilia that most of us can relate to, from our collective awareness of their news-making space work over the last 40 years. Even the first monkey to be shot into space is buried there. You’ll be able to see the first lunar module and a full-sized (363 feet long) Jupiter rocket. Those who care to try it can even experience a simulated blastoff. There is a 67-foot-high IMAX screen, where we’ll view a 45-minute film, and there’s a mock-up of the inside of the Space Lab that is currently being manned. There are several gift shops on site.
After lunch at the Space and Rocket Center, we will be going over to Tuscumbia to tour Ivy Green, the birthplace of Helen Keller. After a tour and a delicious dinner, we will have front-row seats at Ivy Green’s outdoor amphitheater for a production of “The Miracle Worker.” There is also a gift shop at Ivy Green.
We’ll Take David Trott at His Word And ...
Ride in a race car? I’m sure that many remember when David, President of the Alabama affiliate, rose on the convention floor last summer in Pittsburgh to promise us a ride in a NASCAR vehicle. Well, David is almost as good as his word, as anyone who wants to try it can have a ride in one of the NASCAR pace cars.
Yep! On Saturday, July 3, join us as we head south to Talladega to visit the NASCAR museum and racetrack. There will be lots of old race cars to view and hear about, plus a bus ride around the two-and-a-half-mile oval where we can investigate the degree of slant in the curves, the pits and other sites that we may have wondered about while listening to broadcasts of car races. Those who are really adventurous may have the opportunity to ride in a pace car at nearly 100 miles an hour. The tour includes a plated lunch and there is a large gift shop here also. We are hoping to add a tour of the Honda or Mercedes-Benz plant, but have nothing in place yet.
Remembering the Struggle for Civil Rights, And Honoring Fallen Heroes
We are putting together a moving and soul-searching civil rights tour for Friday afternoon, to be repeated on Saturday, July 3, and later during the week. We will visit the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church where four little girls were killed when a bomb went off in the basement of the church on Sunday, September 15, 1963. After paying our respects, we will cross the street and visit the Civil Rights Institute for an educational tour of sights and sounds from civil rights actions. The tour will conclude at the Civil Rights Statuary Park, where a variety of action settings are depicted.
City Tours
Of course, we are also working to put together a couple of city tours of Birmingham. This largest city in Alabama is home to several colleges and universities, and has a long and rich history within the old and new South.
The tours listed here are just a start. We’re also investigating planes, trains, movie settings, Alabama services, a comedy theater, sports museum, a spy and natural history museum, tactile art and a wonderful fun place that re-creates an 18th century community. We will talk in more detail about these tours as they are finalized in future issues of the “Forum.”
So, now you know just how much there is to look forward to in Birmingham, in addition to ACB business, special-interest affiliate meetings, an exhibit hall, and meeting and greeting friends old and new. Be sure to reserve your room at the Birmingham Sheraton, (800) 325-3535 or (205) 324-5000. The summer will be here before you know it!