Save the Dates: September 26-29, 2024
The 2024 FAUSA Getaway and Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California is your opportunity to get your dose of “Vitamin Sea”. The Getaway will start Thursday evening September 26 through Sunday 29th with optional activities on Thursday and Sunday based on interest.
Virtual Tour of Long Beach
Check out the Hotel
The chic and trendy Hotel Maya is a full-scale resort, featuring 199 spacious guest rooms with private balconies, a fitness center, a heated outdoor pool, and a luxurious spa. The hotel also offers over 20,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space, including a beautiful pavilion and a private beach, making it an ideal location for our Getaway.
The hotel is a Doubletree by Hilton.
It is a 10-minute walk to the Queen Mary. A short walk (over the bridge) or a quick boat trip to downtown. The Passport (free shuttle bus) also offers convenient transportation to downtown sites. For those who will have a car, we have a special conference rate of $20/night for parking.
FAUSA has hotel rooms blocked at a special rate: $259 (+tax) for standard and $289(+tax) for water view depending on availability. The room rates are extended for three days before and after the Getaway also based on availability.
Our contact at the hotel is Audra Walker, Catering Sales & Convention Service Manager at (562) 481-3893 or Audra.Walker2@hilton.com Reference the FAUSA Event.
What do we have planned?
Already in the works are a fun opening dinner with a gorgeous water view and musical entertainment.
A Friday day of touring with:
- A harbor cruise of the tourist sites and one of the busiest container ports in the country.
- A bus tour of the city sites.
- A stop in Belmont Shore for lunch and shopping. www.Belmontshore.org
- A docent led tour of Rancho Los Alamitos one of the two Ranchos located in Long Beach which features an amazing garden.
- An optional ride through the Naples Canals on Gondolas. www.Gondolagetawayinc.com
Our Saturday Annual Meeting with a guest speaker and some optional activities for guests prior to our fabulous Gala Evening at the Hotel Maya.
How to Get Here
In order of preference there are three airports in the area.
- Long Beach Airport LGB is award-winning but it has fewer flights.
- John Wayne Airport (SNA) which has lots of flight and isn’t as complicated as LAX. (Long Beach is on the border of Los Angeles and Orange Counties).
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the “Big Kahuna” flights galore but a somewhat stressful airport. Depending on flight time, you may experience the famed LA Traffic!
A few hints to make your trip more comfortable:
- Long Beach is on Pacific Time 3 hours later than the East Coast.
- Historically the average high temperature is 82F and the low 62F during our Getaway. However, we have had some freakishly scorching temps and some shockingly cold lows. Keep a weather watch as the trip draws closer.
- We will be on or near the water so bring a light jacket or sweater to layer. Bring sunblock and sunglasses too.
Questions or concerns or advice needed regarding the Getaway? Ask Janet Darrow or 562-243-5317.
2023 Getaway Recap
The 2023 Annual Meeting and Gala in Nashville was a great success and so much fun! We had a record 67 attendees and guests! We enjoyed barbecue at Jack’s; a docent-led tour of the historic Ryman Theatre; and, line dancing and dinner at the Wildhorse Saloon. Nashville’s hotel’s proximity allowed the attendees to walk to all of the entertainment and venues during the Getaway.
The guest speaker prior to the annual meeting was Sara Beth Myers, Deputy General Counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center and founder of AWAKE, Advocates for Women And Kids Equality. We elected the 2023-2025 board and announced the winners of FAUSA’s two $5,000 Annual Grants. It was such a close race this year! At one point we had a four-way tie for second place! The winners are A’gin Healthy Sexuality and Body Sovereignty - Braided Curriculum Project, Tewa Women United (which was our guest speaker at the Santa Fe Annual Meeting last year); and Family Sponsorship, Refugee Assistance Alliance out of Miami. Congratulations to both recipients! If your preferred charity did not win this year, please try again next year. The previous board voted to increase our contribution for FAWCO’s Target 5 project, which puts us a little over $9000 towards Awesome Blossoms, which is the highest tier for contributions.
Our entertainment for the Gala was Tatiana 'Tajci' Cameron, an award-winning music artist, a world-class entertainer and songwriter, and a Eurovision Song Contest finalist. During the live auction we had a demonstration from samurai Tim MacNeil, which was a big hit! We raised a record amount of $36,065 from the silent and live auction and also the quilt sales. The quilt drawing winner was a very excited Janet Darrow. The board is committed to continue to be good stewards of the generosity of the members.
Special thanks to Murray Frick for once again being our fun and entertaining auctioneer. A big thanks to Nan de Laubadere for donating the beautiful quilt. And thanks to Rick Chizmadia for creating another great video to remind us of the fun we have when we are together. A big thank you to the Getaway team for putting together another fun FAUSA weekend: Liz Janson, Kathy Limbaugh, Linda Harvan, Rick Chizmadia, and Suzanne MacNeil. And finally thank you Jennifer Padfield for publishing our annual report again this year.
