2012 AWON National Conference

Celebrating 20 Years

Indianapolis, Indiana • October 19-21, 2012

This year's AWON conference celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the organization. To commemorate the event, co chairs Walt Linne and Barb Kelly coordinated a wonderful, upbeat, well-organized and interesting conference with a great mix of speakers, sharing circles, and just fun time to hang out with other AWONers in the bookstore or hospitality suite. The conference was held at the Embassy Suites in downtown Indianapolis. Sunday included a tour of the majestic War Memorial Building, in which the board meeting and memorial service were held. The weather was gorgeous; a warm fall weekend with beautiful trees turning their autumn colors. The Embassy Suites staff provided a wonderful dinner for the banquet Sunday night and the traditional ending with all singing "I'll be Seeing You" came all too soon.

Walt Linne and Barb Kelly; Conference Co Chairs. Walt read proclamations from the
Governor of Indiana and the Mayor of Indianapolis honoring AWON.

 

Sam Tannenbaum, Emcee Extraordinaire, with his wife Rachel who ran the family sharing circle.

 

Board President Ed Peters welcomes the flock to Indy.

 

Founder, Ann Mix, and her daughters, Serena Bennett Worthington and Cydney Michelle Payton,
celebrated twenty years since AWON's beginning.

 

First Founders in attendance were: Mary Swaggerty Slowey, Sam Tannenbaum, Ann Bennett Mix,
Walter Linne, Lorin McCleary, and John Linne. Letters were read from first founders Ann Black
and Susan Hadler who were unable to attend the conference.

 

Past President, Gloria Layne, helped out in the bookstore with party decorations.

 

The decorating committee for the Friday night party were hard at work; Danielle Bevan, Judi Kramer,
Sheryl Bevan (friend of Barb Kelly), Kristie Clark (Barb Kelly's daughter) and Gloria Layne.

 

Rik and Dianna Peirson sent the digital frame with rotating photos of AWON fathers.
We always had someone watching for their own Dad's photo to scroll by.

 

Board Member Judy Hathaway coordinated the sharing circles.

For the next page of Indy pictures, Click Here!
To return to the main Indy Conference page, Click Here!

The pictures of the Indy Conference, unless otherwise noted, were shot and submitted by our own Darlene
(she's already standing) Mott, with organization and staging by past Board President Judy Geis Hoffman,
with thanks and recognition to PFC Garner William Mott and to S/SGT Daniel Raymond Geis.