51st Biennial Texas State Convention

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1 December 16, 2018 To: From: Re: State Chaplain National Regent National Regent Elect National Director State Officers Past State Regents State Chairmen District Deputies Court Regents Rosie Stockwell, State Regent 51st Biennial Texas State Convention What a pleasure it is for me to send the 1 st Call to the 51 st Biennial Texas State CDA Convention to you! Date: May 2-5, 2019 Place: McAllen Convention Center, McAllen, Texas Theme: Be Not Afraid! St. John Paul the Great McAllen, Texas is nestled in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley and it is also known as the City of Palms. The McAllen Convention Center is a beautifully developed area that offers space, meeting rooms, banquet rooms and a unique Butterfly designed ballroom. The convention promises to be informative, productive and fun. The Official Call to Convention packet from Herminia Martinez, 2019 CDA State Convention Chairman, will be mailed in January The packet will contain registration and meal forms, hotel information, and specifics about convention activities. The convention host hotel is the Embassy Suites and its sister hotel, Homewood 2 Suites by Hilton. Additional hotels are the Cambria Hotel & Suites and La Quinta Inn & Suites. All hotels are just a short walk out of the hotel doors to the convention door. A flyer is included in this mailing for your convenience. Attendance: All CDA members are invited and encouraged to attend the state convention. In addition to delegate seating, there will be areas for non-delegates to observe convention proceedings. Workshops are open to all registered members. Spouses and guests are invited to attend all liturgies and convention activities except for the workshops and business meetings. Opening Mass: The opening Mass will be held in the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle in San Juan, Texas on Thursday, May 2, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. All clergy in attendance are invited to concelebrate; please remind your court chaplains to bring their albs and stoles. Complimentary buses provided by the McAllen Visitor s Bureau will shuttle the mass attendees to the Basilica and back to the hotels. 1

2 Procession: National and state officers, district deputies, and all court officers will wear robes and assemble in the outer courtyard of the Basilica. Past state regents and state chairmen wearing white are invited to participate. The procession will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. Remember to wear the robes in procession only. Guides and signs will help you to line up in the appropriate place. The Opening Mass is one of the most beautiful and most impressive events of the convention; therefore, all officers are requested to observe proper robe protocol. Robes must be clean and pressed; Robes must measure eleven (11) inches from the floor; Please wear white shoes; Small stud earrings can be worn with robes; Do not carry purses and/or cameras while in procession; Slacks, capris, or shorts are not worn with robes; Robes will not be worn for the other liturgies of the convention. New Local Court Officers who do not yet have robes must wear white dresses or dress suits. Pants, shorts nor capris are allowed during the procession for the opening Mass. Delegates/alternates: Each court regent should have received from the National Office a delegate sheet along with instructions for electing the number of delegates and alternates to which the court is entitled. If a regent does not receive this packet, she should contact the National Office immediately. Courts must elect delegates to the convention in time to send the delegate list to the State Regent by March 15, Please read the National Convention mailing carefully to ensure that your court has the proper representation at the state convention. As stated in the Bylaws-Article X, Section 5 B. The number of Local Court delegates shall be determined by dues billed by the National Office as of November 15 and Campus Court delegates shall be determined by October 15 of the preceding year. 1. Representation shall be: (a) Two delegates for the first 25 or fewer members. (b) And one delegate for each additional twenty-five (25) members or major fraction thereof. (c) If she attends, the highest-ranking officer (in office at the time of the convention) shall be automatically be one of the court s delegates. Delegates and alternates are elected, not appointed. I encourage you to elect all the delegates and alternates to which your court is entitled, even if it appears that they cannot attend the convention. Sometimes delegates can attend after all. Courts instituted after September 30, 2018 will be entitled to send only the regent or her alternate as a delegate to the convention. Delegate sheets will be not be accepted after March 15, Credentials: Members who were elected delegates and alternates will check in at the credential desk after completing registration. Delegates and alternates will sign a master list which will be used during the voting process. The credential table will be in the Palm Lobby of the Convention Center. 2

3 Dues/Assessments: All state and national dues and assessments must be up-to-date for a court to have delegates seated at the convention. If you have any questions regarding your state or national assessments, please contact the national office at CDofANatl@aol.com or Carolyn Ritchey, State Secretary, as soon as possible. Bylaw Amendments: Local courts may submit proposed amendments to the CDA Bylaws. Any proposed bylaw amendments approved at the state convention must be sent to the national committee for final presentation at the 2020 National Convention. Local courts must vote on a proposed bylaw amendment at a local court meeting. Submit proposed bylaw amendments along with a rationale to the State Regent by March 15, Resolutions: Local courts may submit proposed resolutions to the State Regent. Any resolutions passed at the state convention will be sent to the National Resolutions Committee for consideration at the National Convention in Resolutions proposed by a local court must be approved by a vote of the membership at a regular meeting and submitted to the State Regent by March 15, Clergy/Men s Luncheon: All court chaplains and men attending the convention are invited to the Clergy/Men s luncheon, which will be held on Friday, May 3, It is customary for the courts to pay for the expenses of the court chaplain. The spouse of a CDA member who attends the luncheon will need to cover their expense. Memorial Mass for Deceased Members: Please send the list of deceased members from April 1, 2017 to March 15, 2019 to: Mary Lou Anderle, Memorial Mass Chairman 300 Justice Rd. West Point, TX mlanderle@hotmail.com cell Complete instructions will be found in the Official Call to Convention packet. Representing the deceased members of each district will be the district deputies. The Memorial Mass for the Deceased CDA members will be on Friday morning, May 3, Voting Procedure: Voting procedures from recent conventions will be utilized at this convention. District Deputies are entitled to serve, if elected, as delegates from their courts. If possible, we are asking that they attend as district deputies to aid in the voting procedures. All district deputies and state chairmen will receive letters explaining their duties soon. Details will be explained fully on the convention floor on Friday afternoon before voting. A district deputy who attends as a local court delegate will not be eligible for state reimbursement. Convention Sales: Any court wishing to offer items for sale at the convention must send a Vendor Sales Request Form to: Janie Corona, Vendor Sales Chairman P.O. Box 556 San Benito, TX janie.corona2017@gmail.com

4 The Vendor Sales form was sent in early October 2018 with the Resource Packet Updates. Please look for it there. This form is due on March 15, Please follow the instructions and return as soon as possible. Following approval, the convention vendor chairman will assign a table to the vendor. Proceeds from all sales will be collected by a state representative at the end of each day. While there is no charge for a sales table, the state court will receive fifteen (15) percent of the total proceeds payable at the end of the convention. Fundraising: The 2019 CDA Convention will feature a State raffle, a silent auction, and the lotto drawings. State Raffle prizes have been collected but if you still want to donate to the raffle, please contact: Delia Cardenas, State Raffle Co-Chairman deliacardenas79@gmail.com Please consider donating prizes and participating in all the fundraising activities at the convention. You will have a great time and you may win! At the same time, you will help ensure that the state has the funds to run efficiently and effectively in the future. The State Ways & Means Committee, headed by Cynthia Novak and assisted by Linsay Tomlinson, Darice Miksch, and Delia Cardenas decided on a new item to add to the fun. A 20 oz. RTIC tumbler for hot or cold drinks in purple and with the CDA logo lasered on it will be for sale before the convention. All orders will be packaged and ready for pick up at the convention. The order form is included in this mailing. Convention Ads: The deadline for the convention program ads is March 15, Refer to the Regent s Resource Packet Updates for the Program Ad form, which was included. For program ads please contact: Ita Pena, 2019 Convention Ad Chairman 137 E. Encinitos Rd. Edinburg, TX itapena1950@gmail.com Door Prizes Please donate a door prize or two and bring to the convention. Door prize donations will be submitted to: Marty Pereyra, Door Prize Chairman A table for door prizes will be in the Palm Lobby of the McAllen Convention Center. Drawings will be held throughout the convention and winning numbers will be posted on a bulletin board in the Palm Lobby. Consider donating gift cards for easy transport. Tote Bags Items are needed for the tote bags. Please contact: Esther Waters, 2019 CDA Convention Co-Chairman estherwaters4@yahoo.com

5 Candidates for State Office: Anyone wishing to be considered as a candidate for state office by the nominating committee must submit her name by February 1, All positions are open for nomination. Candidates must submit five (5) copies each of the following: a statement of qualifications; a current photograph; a statement of court endorsement (voted on by the local court) signed by majority of local court officers; and a signed consent by the candidate to serve. The following state officers have declared their intentions to seek the nomination for the following offices: Melodie Brunt, Texarkana State Regent Rebecca Brown, Angleton First Vice State Regent Carolyn Ritchey, Sealy Second Vice State Regent Mary Jane Albert, Houston State Secretary Send five (5) packets to the nominating committee chairman postmarked no later than February 1, 2019 to: Mellie Smithwick, Nominating Committee Chairman 1921 Helen Street Alice, TX Scrapbooks: Judging of local court scrapbooks will take place at the convention. Scrapbooks are to be delivered to the designated room at the convention center. For specific information about scrapbook rules, please consult the Regent s Resource Notebook. This information is also available on the State CDA website at If you have additional questions, please contact: Georgia Mikosh, State Local Court Scrapbook Chairman georgia43@cableone.net. Contests/Awards: The Circle of Love forms for the local courts were sent out with the Regent s Resource Packet Updates in early October 2018 as well as the contest forms for Education Contest, Newsletter Contest, and Website Contest. Please refer to the National Quarterly September 2018 for the packets relating to the following: National Education Contest; National Newsletter Contest; and National Website Contest. All contest deadlines are March 1, Please refer to Regent s Resource Packet and the Updates for the contest procedures. Awards for first, second, and third place winners in all categories will be announced during the convention. 5

6 Reports of State Chairmen: Please submit a one-page report highlighting activities for the past two years. Send reports to State Regent no later than March 15, Reports will be copied and inserted into the convention bags. Reports must be print ready. State Projects: Texas has four Missions of Mercy (MOM) projects: Cameron Park After School Tutorial Project in Brownsville; Casa Juan Diego Mission in Houston; Missionaries of Charity in Dallas; and Annunciation Maternity Home in Georgetown. In addition, we have the following State Projects: Texas Habitat for Humanity; American Wheelchair Mission; Coalition for Life (Blue Bus); and Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). If your local court has not contributed to these projects, please send a court check immediately, if possible. The check should be payable to CDA Texas State Court and be sent to Carolyn Ritchey, State Secretary. Designate the purpose of your contribution in the lower left corner. Total amounts for the term will be announced at the convention Convention bids: Representatives from areas interested in hosting the 2023 Texas State Convention should come to the convention prepared to present the bid for the convention. Notify the State Regent of your intention to present the bid by March 15, The Bid Presentation will be placed on the agenda for Sunday morning. Workshops: Workshops are open to all registered attendees and will be presented Saturday afternoon. Lunch time workshops will be presented during the noon hour on Saturday. A list of workshops will be listed for your selection in the Official Call to Convention. Workshop Titles: Two sessions may be attended Saturday afternoon 1. Circle of Love Program 2. Financial Reviews from Start to Finish 3. JCDA Why and How to Start a Court 4. Membership Recruitment & Retention How to Build Your Court 5. Court Outreach Recognizing and Reversing Decline in Membership Workshop Titles: One session may be attended during lunch - Saturday 1. Parliamentary Procedures An Overview 2. Ceremonial Procedures The Importance of Tradition 3. State Charities and Projects - Find your own Calcutta Tentative Convention Agenda: A tentative convention agenda will be included in the registration and information packet that will be mailed to you by the 2019 CDA State Convention Chairman, Herminia Martinez. A calendar of due dates will be included. The calendar is also in the Winter 2019 Newsletter and will be posted on the Texas State CDA website Walk/Run for State Projects The 6 th Biennial Walk/Run will be held on Sunday, May 5, 2019 on the grounds of McAllen Convention Center. Registration forms and a map of the route will be included with the Official Call to Convention. MOM Projects EWTN American Wheelchair Mission Blue Bus 6

7 The 2019 CDA State Convention Committee members have spent many hours planning to ensure that you will have a wonderful and productive time in McAllen, the City of Palms. It is my sincere desire that convention will afford you opportunities to grow spiritually as well as to grow in leadership abilities. State convention time affords you opportunities to renew old friendships and to make new CDA friends. It is also the time to celebrate the gift of sisterhood. It is my hope that all courts will make mountains move in order to ensure that their delegates can attend to vote, to learn, and to share experiences. Also, as many members as possible should attend the convention to experience the camaraderie of the CDA membership. Network with courts from different regions in order to learn different approaches to successes within the CDA courts. The convention center ambiance is perfect for meeting new people, sharing new ideas, and enjoying the tropical weather! Consider arriving early to take in the sites and the culture that is unique to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas! Information on the sites will be included in the Official Call to Convention. Enclosures 7

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