MIC3 4th Annual Meeting
Louisville, Kentucky | 13-15 Nov 2011
The 4th Annual Meeting of the Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunities for Military Children will take place in Louisville, Kentucky. This meeting will expand on previous years, bringing together experienced members who can share their experiences with those recently appointed. This year we will be taking the opportunity to brief newly appointed Commissioners separately prior to the beginning of the main meeting. We will also, I am sure have some lively debates as we suggest a few new rules changes to the floor, coupled with this, we may get the opportunity to hear from some outside speakers. Please join us as we strive to continue the growth of an organization dedicated to providing educational opportunities for the children of those who serve so dutifully in our Armed Forces.
Currently, the Compact has 39 member States and we continually seek to add new members.
Named for King Louis XVI of France in appreciation for his assistance during the Revolutionary War, Louisville was founded by George Rogers Clark in 1778. While its initial growth was slow, the advent of the steamboat in the early 1800s sparked booming industrial development, and by 1830 Louisville had secured its place as the largest city in Kentucky.
During the Civil War, Louisville was an important Union base of operations and a major military supply center. In the postwar era, the city emerged even more prosperous than before, with merchant princes and manufacturers shaping the new economy. Owing to its strategic location at the Falls of the Ohio, Louisville was a major commercial center. River transportation was supplemented by the construction of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which was chartered in 1850 and operated more than 1,800 miles of line in the state by 1920. Joseph E. Seagram and Sons opened the world's largest distillery in Louisville following the repeal of prohibition. Thanks to companies such as Dupont, the city became the world's largest producer of synthetic rubber during World War II.
Louisville was also a city of firsts. In the reform-minded progressive era of the 1880's the city was the first in the nation to introduce the secret ballot, significantly reducing vote fraud. It was the first city in Kentucky to adopt zoning and planning measures to control and shape urban growth. Home to the first bridge designed exclusively for motor vehicles to cross the Ohio River, Louisville was also the birthplace of Mary Millicent Miller, the first woman in the United States to receive a steamboat master's license.
The city has been home to a number of men and women who changed the face of American history. President Zachary Taylor was reared in surrounding Jefferson County, and two U.S. Supreme Court Justices, including Louis D. Brandeis, the first Jewish Justice, were from the city proper. John James Audubon was a local shopkeeper in the early years of his career, drawing birds in his spare time. Second Lt. F. Scott Fitzgerald, stationed at Camp Zachary Taylor during World War I, was frequent presence at the bar in the famous Seelbach Hotel, immortalized in the novel The Great Gatsby. Muhammad Ali, perhaps the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, was born in Louisville and won six Golden Glove tournaments in Kentucky."
Louisville is a multicultural city with deep cosmopolitan roots stretching back centuries. From the African American experience that predates the history of the United States to the arrival of Asian and Jewish communities in the early Twentieth Century, to the most recent immigration of Hispanic and Latino communities, Louisvilles unique character continues to be remade by each influx of new people.
Whilst we understand everyone has a busy schedule, we hope that many of you will take the opportunity to explore the sights and sounds of Louisville. Famous Kentuckians have included the late and great Victor Mature, world famous actors such as Johnny Depp and Ned Beatty. From the age of 19 this was home to the founder of the phonograph (Mary had a Little Lamb), light bulb and moving camera, Thomas Edison and of course the birth of Colonel Sanders laid the foundations to the worldwide phenomenon known as KFC.
For the sporting enthusiast why not spend some time wandering around the museum dedicated to the 3 time world heavyweight boxing champion, the great Muhammad Ali.
For the history buff, the neighborhood of Old Louisville is home to one of the largest historic preservation districts in the nation. Visitors will find the country’s greatest collection of preserved Victorian architecture.
Of course, no visit to Louisville would be complete without the classic Louisville experience of Chruchill Downs, home of the world’s most famous thoroughbred horserace: the Kentucky Derby. Horse racing in Kentucky is rich in history, dating back to 1789 when the first race course was laid out in Lexington. However, it was almost 100 years later, in 1875, that Churchill Downs officially opened and began its tradition as "Home of the Kentucky Derby."
Purists nostalgic for the time-honored traditions of old Kentucky can find their pleasure on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail or the Urban Bourbon Trail or relive a bygone era aboard the historic Belle of Louisille, the oldest operating steamboat in the nation.
140 N. 4th Street | Louisville, KY 40202 | ph (800)-THE-GALT or ph (502) 589-5200
Views from the hotel suites (courtesy of Kathleen Berg during the EXCOM Meeting Jul 2011)
