oaks

Our Next Frontier

As we look to the future, an exciting opportunity has come

our way. Up to now we

have

offered a two-day program in

local churches, which has served us well. Now, in the next

couple

of years, we might be able to relocate to a new facility

nearby and expand to three or four days.

In the rural community of Lake Hughes (about 22 miles

southwest of our current facility),

there's a Christian camp and

conference center called The Oaks (www.theoakscamp.org). It's nestled among the oak and
pine forests of the northwestern San Gabriel Mountains, about 90 minutes
north of Los Angeles. Over 600 acres of wilderness allow for serenity as
you hike along the many trails and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.

Their climate-controlled cabins, lodges, and dining halls can serve about
300 guests, with state-of-the-art meeting rooms, a prayer chapel, and
many activities in-between the scheduled events. Several housing options
are available: you can stay in a cabin that will remind you of your summer
camp as a child, or a lodge that resembles a hotel. The Oaks staff will
provide all meals. Most of the buildings feature wireless Internet service
for your convenience.

This new arrangement offers many advantages. When no one has to go
home at night, you'll have more opportunities for fellowship and
networking. You can stay up late with your fellow writers and talk,
critique each other's work, or just hang out. No one has to lose focus by fighting city traffic. We
can offer more classes, including multi-session tracks that go more in-depth on each topic. All

told, this intimate setting offers a much better value for your

conference dollar.

Of course, these perks will come at a cost. We will need to pay our

speakers more, you'll spend

more time away from home, and so

on. But we've checked, and the housing at The Oaks offers

a better

value than any hotel for miles around. The cost of the meals in the

dining hall is about

the same as any fast food restaurant, but

without the grease and the rudeness. If you're

looking for a

comparable conference experience in a similar camp setting, the

nearest

alternatives are in Northern California or New Mexico. Plus,

if our plans work out as we

anticipate, we will be able to offer our

program at a much lower price than the competition.

While we strongly encourage everyone to stay on the grounds for the duration of the event (for
the reasons listed above), we understand that the added expense might be a dealbreaker for
some. So if you happen to live in the local area, and you'd prefer to go home each night, you
can do so. In place of room rent you'll be asked to pay a daily use fee (currently $11 per
person), plus the cost of your meals.

So, what do you think? We're still a long way from
a firm decision to make this move, but the prospect
is intriguing. Is there something else we can do, to
encourage you to join us? At this early date, just
about anything is possible. Drop us a line, at
info@avwriters.com