 The 99th Annual Meeting of the Northern Nut Growers Association will be held at the Hilton College Station Hotel and Conference Center in College Station, Texas, August 10 - 13, 2008. College Station is home to Texas A&M University, headquarters of the USDA ARS (Agricultural Research Service) Pecan Breeding Program and a site of the National Collection of Genetic Resources (NCGR) for Pecans and Hickories. It has been 32 years since the 67th NNGA Annual Meeting was held at the USDA ARS Pecan Breeding Program in Brownwood, Texas, still an active worksite of the Pecan Breeding Program, with active research orchards and NCGR collections. Early arrivers are invited to join the board in their deliberations on Sunday morning. Following registration Sunday afternoon, join us for a Sunday social and Texas-style Bar-B-Q at the Texas A&M University Horticultural Gardens beginning at 4 PM. And be sure not to miss Sunday evening's ever-popular Show and Tell following the Bar-B-Q, also at the Gardens. The schedule for nut growers on Monday and Tuesday consists of technical presentations, starting at 8 AM each morning. The exhibit area will also be open. The 16th annual Research Fund auction will be held at 7:00 PM on Monday evening following a dinner break. The annual Banquet, elections and conclusion of the annual business meeting are scheduled for Tuesday evening. The customary all-day NNGA Nut Growers Tour is planned for Wednesday. We look forward to welcoming the Northern Nut Growers Association to Texas. We are excited by the opportunity to share this beautiful and diverse area as we exchange important information about growing and caring for nut trees. THINGS TO SEE AND DO On the Texas A&M campus, you can visit the Sam Houston Sanders Corps of Cadet Center to learn about the rich Aggie traditions still firmly rooted in the military. While there, be sure to visit the Metzger-Sanders Gun Collection, with over 600 rare and valuable firearms and accessories. Nearby is the Texas A&M University (TAMU) Lettermen's Association Athletic Sports Museum, highlighting slightly more peaceful competitions. The MSC Forsyth Center Galleries and J. Wayne Stark University Center Galleries offer outstanding permanent exhibits of western art, as well as dynamic visiting exhibits for those wanting even greater tranquility. Each of these attractions can be enjoyed in 30 minutes with no admission fee. One of the most popular destinations for visitors to campus is the Museum at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library. Here you can explore, touch and watch history come to life during a self-guided tour. Our meeting will incorporate a visit to the Texas A&M University Horticulture Gardens, where a walking path through the plantings provides educational information focused on gardening tips and techniques. Adventurous visitors may take in the beauty of a central Texas vineyard at Messina Hof Winery and Resort, take a tour of the winery, and taste the award winning wines. Ice cream lovers might make a pilgrimage south to Brenham, where Blue Bell Creameries makes the best ice cream in the world. En route, you can stop at the Antique Rose Emporium, where the rich history of antique and old garden roses comes to colorful life. Or make a short detour to Washington-on-the-Brazos, where Texas signed its Declaration of Independence and started down the path to become the only state in the Union that was first an independent Republic. Or drop by Lake Somerville to catch some trophy bass and catfish. REGISTRATION Register early and save. Click here for a printable registration form and mail it with your check today. After printing the form you may return to this page by hitting the back button on your browser. Those of you belonging to other nut growing organizations or interest groups, please share copies of this article and registration form with your fellow enthusiasts. Registration/sign-in will be held in the lobby of the Hilton, beginning at noon on Sunday, August 10. In the event that it is necessary to cancel your registration, all fees will be fully and cheerfully refunded if your cancellation is received before July 15. For cancellations received after July 15, fees will be refunded, but with diminished cheerfulness. LODGING All meeting participants are responsible for making their own lodging reservations. Hilton College Station. Hilton College Station A block of rooms has been set aside at the special rate of $99. Make your reservations early to take advantage of this special rate, and please be sure to mention that you are with the Northern Nut Growers Association. For reservations made after July 19th, rates increase to the standard rate of $139. You may want to visit the Hilton's informative website at www.hiltoncs.com. Rooms on Campus. Other Lodging. Other hotels available locally include: America's Best Value Inn & Suites Days Inn Clarion Hotel College Station For additional information on local hotels, visit the Bryan College Station Convention and Visitors Bureau web site at http://visitaggieland.com and click on "Accommodations." EMERGENCIES In case of emergency, visitors at the Hilton can be reached 24 hrs per day via the central desk at (979) 693-7500. MEALS Breakfast is not provided with the room at the Hilton. However, the Hilton has several food vendors operating in the hotel that can provide a variety of meals for less than $10. There are also many food service providers located within walking distance of the Hilton. Within the 800 block of University Drive you will find: Abuelos Mexican Food Embassy Atami Japanese Restaurant Bell Ranch Steakhouse Ben & Jerry's Blue Baker Boston's Gourmet Pizza It's a Grind Coffee House For more information about restaurants in the area, visit the Bryan College Station Convention and Visitors Bureau web site at http://visitaggieland.com and click on "restaurants." COOKIES The Hilton will allow us to place homemade cookies on a separate table next to the coffee break table. So bring a dozen or two of your favorites; also bring extra nuts and another dozen cookies for the research auction. SPECIAL EVENTS Sunday Social--Bar-B-Q. A meeting room at the Gardens will be the site for our Sunday Show and Tell sessions. We hope everyone who comes to the meetings will be at the Bar-B-Q and will stay to participate in the Show and Tell. Currently, the Sunday Social is set to begin at 4:00 pm, the Bar-B-Q is scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm, and the Show and Tell should begin at 7:30 pm. All times are subject to change at this date. Tuesday--Banquet. Tomato and Onion Vinaigrette, Red Skin Potato Salad, Creamy Cole Slaw, Relishes and Garden Vegetables, Smoked Brisket, Chicken Fried Steak with Southern Cream Gravy, Barbecue Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Baked Beans with Molasses and Ham, Jalapeno Cornbread, Peach and Apple Cobbler, Coffee, Decaf, Hot and Iced Teas. Wednesday--Nut Grower Tour. CAP members are invited to join the nut grower's tour. CAP ACTIVITIES Monday--Shopping, Crafts and Meeting. Tuesday--CAP Tour Washington-on-the Brazos State Historic Site Star of the Republic Museum. Tour orientation offers an historic overview of the Texas Republic period through the use of a twenty minute film entitled, "Once a Nation." Following the video, an "on your own" self-guided tour of the Museum's exhibits will allow visitors to examine the social, political, and economic history of early Texas. Approximately 1 hour tour time allotted. Audio tours available. Barrington Living History Farm. Visitors will have an opportunity to experience life in early Texas with a tour of Barrington Farm, home of Anson Jones, last President of the Republic of Texas. Discover the sights, sounds and smells of life on a small cotton plantation in 1850. Try your hand at activities around the farm such as plowing, feeding the chickens, working in the garden, cooking on an open hearth or picking cotton. Life at Barrington changes with the seasons, so you will always find something new! Self-guided, approximately 1 hour allotted to see everything. Now open 7 days a week! Independence Hall. With a guided tour of Independence Hall, visitors will learn about the beginnings of the Republic of Texas, the convention of the provisional government of 1836, and the Texas Declaration of Independence. Tour time, 30 minutes. Visitor Center/Gift Shop. The Visitor Center features interactive exhibits in the Gallery of the Republic which present a timeline of the Texas Revolution and highlight the historic attractions located within the Park. The Gift Shop offers a wide range of Texas-themed items and keepsakes. Visitors may tour this site at their own pace, but usually 30 minutes is allowed on a group tour schedule. Bluebell Creamery PROGRAM The program promises to provide a wealth of information on a wide range of nut related subjects. Tommy Thompson, pecan breeder for the USDA ARS, will give us an update on the use of northern genetic materials in the development of early nut maturing pecan cultivars, a strategy that is benefiting all pecan growing areas. Dave Brauer, with the Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center in Booneville, Arkansas, will share research results that can improve black walnut profitability in agroforestry plantings. Bill Reid will offer his observations on the effect of the spring '07 freeze on native and improved pecans in Kansas. Wes Rice, an active Oklahoma grower, will tell of international nut research and development work in both China and Japan. Tom Molnar will bring results from his dynamic hazelnut research program at Rutgers University. Marvin Harris will add important tools to every grower's toolbox, to help them efficiently and economically manage the pests in their orchards. Ken Hunt and Allison Miller will bring results from their cooperative research programs in Missouri, highlighting an active program to both conserve and characterize valuable northern nut materials. Leo Lombardini, who leads research on pecans at Texas A&M, will share valuable information on the nutrient value of nuts, as well as tips on post-harvest handling that insure the highest quality and value. Although the program is coming together beautifully, we welcome submission of additional titles. If you are interested in making a presentation, please contact: L. J. Grauke Our intention is for the nut grower's presentations to begin at 8:00 AM and end at 5:00 PM, on both Monday and Tuesday, with mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks in addition to the lunch break. The schedule is subject to change as the program develops. Details will be provided in the June Nutshell. SHOW AND TELL The annual Show and Tell session is scheduled for Sunday evening at 7:30 PM following the Bar-B-Q and will be held at the TAMU Horticultural Gardens. The Show and Tell session is an opportunity for attendees to share their successes, findings, experiences, disappointments, etc. These presentations are usually made in 15-minute, serious and/or humorous increments and can be in almost any format. Persons interested in making a Show and Tell presentation should contact L. J. Grauke at ljg@tamu.edu or via the Meeting website to make arrangements. AUCTION The 16th Annual NNGA Research Fund auction will be held on Monday evening. The bidding will begin at 7:00 PM and the auction will conclude when the last item is sold and the last payment received. You can contact Ernie Grimo, the Auction Chair, in relation to any donations:
Items can be sent in advance to the following address:
An Auction Donation Form will soon available on the Meeting Website. It would be appreciated if a completed form accompanied each donation. If you intend to make a donation, please send email to the NNGA Webmaster with "Donation Form" as the subject and she will let you know when this form is available. EXHIBITS An exhibit area will be available for set up on Saturday and Sunday, August 9 and 10. We urge nut growers, nurserymen, and other organizations to display in this area. Any exhibits pertaining to growing, processing or selling nuts, scion wood, trees, tools, nutcrackers, displays, etc., are both requested and welcome. GROUP PHOTO The group photo will be taken at the Hilton College Station Hotel and Conference Center just prior to the banquet on Tuesday. There will be no additional cost for the photo. TRAVEL / DIRECTIONS Location Air Transportation Advantage Rent-A-Car, (800)777-5500 More adventurous travelers may want to fly into the Houston Intercontinental Airport, rent a car and navigate through Houston traffic to College Station. Alternatively, flights can be made into Austin's Bergstrom International Airport, almost equally distant in the opposite direction. WEATHER The weather in Texas is notorious for being unpredictable, but long term averages indicate a mean temperature of 84 degrees F in August, fluctuating between average lows of 73 degrees F and average highs of 95 degrees F. If you are prone to fear the month's record high temperature (108 F), you might balance that by contemplating the month's record low temperature (60 F). We claim that it is a dry heat, so it is really not all that bad. And when it is a wet heat, we are so thankful for the moisture, it doesn't bother us. |
