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Southern Federation
of Syrian Lebanese American Clubs, Inc.
An Organization of Heritage Since 1931
OFFICIAL EMBLEM
2024 Summer Convention | Letter from the President
What better way is there to share and promote our culture than being together right here, right in the thick of it? Each of you is doing just that, simply by showing up!
It is great to be united with all of you again, in this wonderful city of Jacksonville, Florida, enjoying an incredible masterpiece event that has been brewing for the past couple of years. We know
all the heartaches that go along with planning an event so huge, full of entertainment and information to share with our guests, friends, and family members for five days straight.
I have a deep appreciation for all the volunteers who donated hours upon hours of their precious time to negotiate excruciatingly detailed contracts with hotels, bands, DJs, food
and beverage providers, babysitters, security providers, transportation, and aligning various entertainment venues outside the hotel, etc. Huge kudos to all the cooks who belabored over sitti’s kitchen providing us with a hospitality room so inviting and rich with ethnic food, cultural events, and folk tales to share our heritage. Let us not forget the hard work of the volunteers who planned the banquet seating (thank you Sandy Moses!) and manned the registration counters. None of this would have happened without the fierce leadership of our Federation Convention Committee with Sharon Abercia at the helm, and the Jacksonville Summer Convention Committee Co-Chairs Kim Dewan and Paul Ossi, and all the committees’ members. A special thank you and 1000 Mabrouk’s to Derek Dewan, the Sponsorship chair, for raising an extraordinary amount of sponsorship for Jacksonville and the Federation. All this blends together to finesse and perfect an itinerary that promises to entertain all ages and to please the hardest of tastes.
A special thanks to the Arabic Club and the Salam Club of Jacksonville for working together, hand in hand to ensure the success of this important event. It is only when we work in unison that we are our strongest and able to achieve greatness. This is exactly how we “preserve and further the goals of our Federation.”
Yours in Service,
Johnny Mekari SFSLAC President
93rd Annual Convention | July 4 - 7, 2024 | Jacksonville, Florida 5