2010 Toastmasters International Convention moved from Sydney to Palm Desert, California

Just saw this email published online. Thought I share with all.

So sad... Just have to wait longer for the first Toastmasters International Convention to be held outside of North America.

Palm Desert is near Palm Spring, west of Los Angeles. Palm Desert was the venue of the 1998 Toastmasters International Convention.

I attended this 1998 Convention. The venue was a 5 star hotel in a semi-arid flat desert turned into a green palm fringed golf resort with many outdoor jacuzzi pools and snow capped mountains in the distance. A beautiful place for a Convention.
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From: DRex@toastmasters.org
Sent: 12-Nov-2008 16:08:48 PST
Subject: Toastmasters 2010 International Convention

Dear District Governors and Lt. Governors,
I write to you today to announce a change in location for the 2010 International Convention.

World Headquarters recently conducted an extensive Convention analysis, taking into account the global financial crisis and economic downturn, as well as the overall increased costs associated with holding the Convention in Sydney. This led to a realization and decision that it would not be fiscally responsible to hold the 2010 Convention in Sydney, Australia.

The new site for the 2010 Convention is Palm Desert, California. We hope you will join us and many of your fellow Toastmasters there!

We realize this will be a disappointment to many of our members, especially those in Host District 70, led by Elizabeth Wilson, whom we thank for theplanning and work they have already done.

Many Toastmasters saw the 2010 Convention in Sydney as a landmark in ourhistory, a demonstration of the truly global nature of our organization.

As we continue to stretch into more than 92 countries around the world, I can assure you that our global roots are deep. We will continue to evaluate sites worldwide as potential locations for a future International Convention and look forward to holding an “international” Convention as soon as the time is right.

This was not an easy decision to make, but it is one that will ultimately benefit the interests of all members. Our primary responsibility at this time is to be prudent guardians of the organization’s funds.

We appreciate your understanding and support.

Best regards,
Dan
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Daniel Rex
Executive Director
Toastmasters International
drex@toastmasters.org / http://www.toastmasters.org/
P: 949 858 8255 F: 949 459 2466