Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/646776
B M & T ••• January/February 2016 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 12 T P O C N E W S B R I E F S Hello TPOC Member, As mentioned in previous mes- sages, the pre conference FAM will take place April 21, 22 and the morning of April 23rd. Also on the evening of April 20th, we will have our very first Founders Awards Banquet. The cost to enjoy the festivities during these three days will be $189.00 per person. Included in the price is: a ticket to the Founders Awards Banquet, a tour of Long Beach, a cultural tour of Los Angeles, a visit to the Aquarium of the Pacific, hotel inspections and some meals. Please note, hotel accommodations are not included in the $189.00 price. We have blocked space aboard the Queen Mary Hotel docked in Long Beach for April 20, 21 & 22nd. The night- ly rate starts at $129.00. You can start booking your space by calling the reser- vations department at (877) 342 0742. To receive the special TPOC pre confer- ence rate, you must inform the agent that you are with Travel Professionals of Color. We still have a few cabins available for the conference cruise. If you are planning to attend, please get your payment in to reserve your cabin. The date for the conference is April 23-30, 2016, aboard the Carnival cruise ship Miracle. For those of you who have already made reservations or you are planning to send a payment, make sure you submit your date of birth, telephone number and your past Carnival guest number (if appli- cable). Submit this information to Beverly Bentley at bentleytravel- @hotmail.com. Remember, TPOC is offering a great savings to anyone who would like to join the vast number of travel professionals with the CTA (Certified Travel Associate) designation. The CTA, focuses on those "nuts and bolts" skills that you use on a daily basis: selling skills, customer service skills, destination knowledge and communication skills. Do not delay in your decision to join the ranks of our CTA's. Testing will be offered during the conference. Contact Michael Taylor if you are interested, he can be reached at mikalt01@gmail.com. TPOC is always looking for oppor- tunities to give back to the communi- ty. Through the Miracle Globe proj- ect, we give annual donations to organizations that provide for the care and education of children in the areas we visit as well as to others in need. Many companies often look for groups to give money as a tax right off. If you are aware of anyone, please feel free to recommend TPOC's Miracle Globe. For additional informa- tion, please contact Carol Kirkland at ccwktravel@yahoo.com. BY BETTY JONES Retired Ocean Liner RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor Copyright: Michael Rosebrock