Dear Sisters,
The time has come to register for the Concordia Deaconess Conference’s 2024 annual conference. This year, our conference will be in hot, sunny San Antonio, Texas June 17-20. We are in for a special treat with a venue located right on the San Antonio River Walk, a cypress-lined network of pathways and bridges that follows the San Antonio River through downtown and affords easy access to beautiful views, food, museums, historical sites (including the Alamo!) and more. Join us at the Holiday Inn San Antonio Riverwalk for a fun week of learning and fellowship as we conduct the business of the CDC and learn about the intersection of diakonia and bioethics.
Conference will begin on Monday, June 17 with check-in at the Holiday Inn at 4:00 PM and end Thursday, June 20 after a sending breakfast and morning chapel and sectional. Your registration includes a wine and cheese reception on Monday evening, lunch and dinner Tuesday and Wednesday, and breakfast on Thursday morning. Coffee will be available in the reception area each morning and breakfast items for Tuesday and Wednesday (granola bars, muffins, fruit, etc.) will be available in the meeting area.
As you make plans to head to San Antonio, know that there is parking available onsite for those who will drive at the discounted rate of $20/day. If you will be flying into San Antonio International Airport and need a ride to the hotel, please send your itinerary, especially arrival time and departure time, to cdconferencelogistics@gmail.com so we can help arrange ground transportation to get you to and from the Holiday Inn. If unable to email, please mail flight details to the address listed below and include your name and cell phone number.
Hotel registration will be a bit different this year. We have been provided with a link to book our own rooms at a discounted group rate of $149/night. If you are registering for single occupancy or if you know your roommates, you can go ahead and register directly with the hotel as soon as you are ready by following the link below. If you do NOT have a chosen roommate(s) but would like to room with other ladies (double, triple, or quadruple occupancy), please DO NOT book your room yet, but indicate on the "roommate/room split request" field of the registration form that you are looking to split a room and I will match you up with other deaconess sisters. Once I’ve connected you with your roommates, you can then work together to book your room. The $149/night rate is regardless of how many people are in the room up to 4 adults.
Hotel Reservation link: https://www.holidayinn.com/redirect?path=hd&brandCode=HI&localeCode=en®ionCode=1&hotelCode=SATRW&_PMID=99801505&GPC=COC&cn=no&viewfullsite=true
Once you click on the link it will take you to the hotel website, then enter your arrival/departure dates, and it will automatically populate our group name and discounted group rate. The discounted rate is also available 3 days before and 3 days after our event.
You may also call the hotel’s 24-hour reservation phone number at 210-224-2500, option 2. If you are calling in your reservation, please remember to reference our group's block code: COC
The last day to make reservations at our group discount will be on May 21, 2024.
Please fill out your registration form carefully. There is only one option for registration through our WildApricot membership website as the hotel will be booked separately. There is a flat registration fee of $310 for all attendees, which includes the food, speakers, worship, and other associated costs. In addition to the conference registration fee, there will be spaces to register accompanying family members for meals, a place to indicate choir interest, a spot to include a roommate request, and more.
Children and Spouse information: The hotel does not have a space for us to offer group childcare on-site. We understand that San Antonio is a destination, and you may want to bring your spouse and children with you to enjoy a little “vacation.” Your family is welcome to attend and there are options for you to register everyone for meals ($100/ages 3-11, $150/ages 12+). As with last year, you will need to register each guest separately. However, as there will not be on-site group childcare, we encourage you to BYOH or BYOG (Bring your own husband or grandma) to look after your kids. We are also happy to help you connect with a local babysitter to stay with your children in your hotel room if you are solo travelling with kids and will need childcare. Per previous resolution, childcare is the financial responsibility of the parent, but we are here to help you arrange it!
Scholarships (New): Following the conversation at our 2023 conference, the Executive Committee has determined to use $3000 from our discretionary fund to offer $150 scholarships to cover a portion of the registration fee for this conference. If this is something you are interested in pursuing, please email your request for a scholarship to cdcsecretaryofficial@gmail.com by April 12, 2024.
EXCUSES FOR THOSE UNABLE TO ATTEND: According to the CDC Constitution, Article 4, A.3.b.ii, members are responsible to "Attend the yearly CDC conference. Excuses should be made to the chair of the Membership Committee." The Membership Committee Chair is Deaconess Raquel Rojas. Her email address is cdc.membershipchairofficial@gmail.com. Please send excuses to Raquel or register online with registration option "Regrets." Absentee ballots will only be sent to CDC members who have given their excuse for absence by May 18, 2024.
*The last day to register for this conference will align with the last day to submit excused absences, May 18, 2024.*
Looking forward to seeing you all in San Antonio!
Karen Suter
CDC Conference Logistics Chair
cdconferencelogistics@gmail.com
(507) 848 0412
