Hurricane Katrina not enough to prevent Sigma Pi Convocation in New Orleans for 2006:

We have all wondered what our plans would be after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In early November we were contacted by our host hotel, The Fairmont, who informed us that they were going to completely refurbish their property and that it would take almost a year. Unfortunately this meant that they would not be able to honor their contract and Sigma Pi would have to look at other properties. Within a couple of days the New Orleans Marriott contacted us and offered a comparable package for our organization. On November 18th Grand Sage, John Kitch and I visited the Marriott to do a site inspection and insure their property would be suitable. We found the Marriott to have recovered very well from the disaster and was a perfect facility for the 2006 Convocation.

The site inspection is an important prerequisite we perform before each convocation but even more important with respect to this year as we wanted to make sure that the city had recovered enough for our attendees. While large areas of New Orleans is still devastated by the hurricane we found that the Airport and French Quarter had survived very well and were operational. An evening trip down Bourbon Street, which is only three blocks form the hotel, proved that the Cajuns are back in business and welcome visitors with open arms. Within the next nine months the city will continue to make progress and our commitment to remain in New Orleans will help to bring back this great city.

Mark your calendars and make plans to attend the 2006 Convocation August 2nd - 6th at the New Orleans Marriott at 555 Canal Street. More specific information regarding registration will be on the web page shortly following our Midyear conference in February.

Fraternally,
Mark S. Briscoe
Executive Director