Dear ACPA Members and Friends,

The 23rd Annual Alabama Cemetery Preservation Workshop will be conducted on Saturday, April 26, 2025 in the historic Gainesville Presbyterian Church, Gainesville, AL. Registration will start at 8:30 a.m. and the program will start at 9:00. The workshop will relocate for lunch to the historic Gainesville Baptist Church. The workshop will relocate again to Gainesville’s historic Old Cemetery after lunch.

We believe we have again assembled an exciting and informative program scheduled for you with presentations and demonstrations by highly experienced and sought-after professionals for their chosen topics. The attached flyer provides additional details with a registration form. The ACPA provides workshops not as a fund raiser but with the goal of reaching the greatest number of people at the lowest possible costs. Operating costs have increased to the point where the board has voted to increase last year’s fees by $5.00 to help defray losses. The $30 (ACPA members) and $45 (non-members) fees include a light breakfast, refreshments, a box lunch and a conference folder. Please note that registrations must be received by Monday, April 19, 2025 to insure handout materials and a box lunch will be available for you. Also please note on the registration form that the board approved extending the policy of "free membership to first-time attendees" for the remainder of the calendar year. The flyer is also available for downloading on our ACPA's website home page at: http://www.alabama-cemetery-preservation.com/.

A special note should be made about this year’s lunch. Lunch will be a traditional Sumter County barbecue using the Timilichee BBQ Club sauce provided by the Gainesville Preservation Society. This will include pulled pork barbecue, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, deviled eggs, etc. There will also be a selection of their best cakes, pies, and desserts.

For those of you traveling to the Gainesville area on Friday, April 25th, we have obtained group rates at the Comfort Inn in Livingston for Friday night. Saturday night can also be reserved at the same rate if booked at the same time. Please note that the cutoff date for the group rate is Monday night, March 31, 2025, almost a month before the workshop. Reservations must be made by calling the motel direct.

The attached flyer provides additional details, instructions, and the registration form. The registration form is of the fillable type where you can use your keyboard to fill in the form if you open it on your screen and, once completed, print the form as typed for mailing. Of course, you can still print the blank flyer & form and fill it in with pen or pencil.

We will also conduct our Annual ACPA Membership Meeting during lunch where the membership will elect officers for the 2026-2027 Term. Both members and non-members are invited to participate but of course only members in good standing may vote in the election of officers. The attached membership meeting announcement provides additional details.

I hope to see you all on April 26th!

Ted Urquhart
President Emeritus
Alabama Cemetery Preservation Alliance, Inc. (ACPA)

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