Welcome to Nashville, TN! We are looking forward to your visit and hope you are, too. We are trying to plan many different kinds of entertainment, so hopefully there will be something for everyone. While the goal of the conference is professional enrichment, we sincerely hope that this year's attendees will participate in at least one "extra-curricular" activity.

Of course, Nashville is known as Music City, so regardless of your taste - bluegrass, country, blues, swing, jazz, or rock - chances are Nashville has a live music venue for you to enjoy. The Grande Ole Opry lives on as the home of country music. The Wildhorse Saloon not only has food, drink, and live entertainment, but also offers line dance lessons - that's a different kind of "continuing education" than we're all used to!! The Bluebird Café offers live acoustic entertainment nightly from rising stars, songwriters, and nationally known acts. And if you like blues we've got "Blues U Can Use" at the Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar . It's Mardi Gras every day of the week! Nationally known blues performing artists are known to frequent here and perform "on the spot." For information on current music and other entertainment events, visit the NashvilleVisitors Bureau.

We are also proud of our cultural attractions and are excited to have the new Frist Center for the Visual Arts as the site of our conference banquet on Saturday night. We also have the Ryman Auditorium, Nashville's "Premier Performance Hall." And our Tennessee State Museum is one of the largest state museums in the nation. Long before Nashville was known as "Music City", it was hailed as the "Athens of the South." Nothing epitomizes the nickname more than the Parthenon, the world's only exact-size replica of the ancient Greek temple. Inside, the 42-foot statue of the goddess Athena keeps a wathchful eye over the city. Or, on a decidedly different note, you can take the NashTrash Tour in the "Big Pink Bus" with Nashville's very own (we are not making this up) Jugg Sisters! Reservations are required, so call 1-800-342-2132 for specific times and rates.

For the shoppers among us (and I know you're out there), Nashville has plenty of opportunities to "shop 'til you drop." Opry Mills is Nashville's newest consumer extravaganza and offers over 200 interactive retailers, theme dining, and stage entertainment - all under one roof. The Mall at Green Hills, Bellevue Center and CoolSprings Galleria are just a few of the other nearby malls that make Nashville a shoppers' paradise.

Many attractions are within walking distance of the Sheraton Downtown, the Southern Chapter's host hotel. Some of the activities we have planned that attendees can look forward to include a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which opened its new $37 million facility last year with over 40,000 square feet of exhibit space. Live entertainment, popular attractions, a massive gold and platinum record display, museum shop and restaurant make this the ultimate destination for any music lover. Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Broadway series will be presenting "The Phantom of the Opera," for which we will be offering tickets at a special group rate. We are certain that you will also want to visit the beautiful Ben West Public Library, newly completed in 2001, which is also nearby. We also hope to get some of you "back to nature" and are planning a hike around scenic Radnor Lake and a walk through the historic Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum. Both of these offer gorgeous scenery that help clear the brain of "conference fog"!

As you can see, Nashville is a vibrant city full of possibilities and we hope you will help us make this year's Southern Chapter meeting the most exciting and fun ever!