Conference Social Events Set

The National Guard Association of Michigan has finalized plans for social events and activities at the 146th General Conference & Exhibition, Aug. 23-26 in Detroit.

Activities begin Aug. 23 with the NGAUS Golf Tournament at the Pine Knob Golf Club in the village of Clarkston, about 41 miles from downtown Detroit. The course features 27 holes of championship golf, with three distinctive nines: The Eagle, The Hawk and The Falcon.

Participants will play 18 holes; the extra holes will enable 216 players to participate. Breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. The shotgun start is at 9 a.m. A hot buffet lunch will be served beginning at 2 p.m., with awards to follow. Transportation will be provided from conference hotels.

The traditional conference mixers are set for the evening of Aug. 23. Company-grade, warrant and field-grade officers will all gather on Belle Isle for Picnic and Cruise at the Isle. Enjoy a Detroit-style picnic dinner, music by the Blue Water Kings Band and the 126th Army Band and a car show courtesy of the Detroit Police Department and Detroit Public Safety Foundation.

Belle Isle is a 982-acre state park in the Detroit River that separates the United States from Canada. It’s five miles from downtown Detroit. Transportation will be provided from conference hotels.

The all-attendee Governor’s Reception is set for the evening of Aug. 24 at the Henry Ford Museum in suburban Dearborn. The museum is one of the area’s top attractions. The collection includes the presidential limousine of John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln’s chair from Ford’s Theater, the Rosa Parks bus and many other historical and cultural exhibits. More than 1.7 million people visit every year. Transportation will be provided from conference hotels.

The Spouses Luncheon is Aug. 26 at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The event features lunch, entertainment and an opportunity to tour one of the nation’s largest art collections, with more than 65,000 works. It includes Vincent van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait,” the first Van Gogh painting to enter a U.S. museum.

The States Dinner concludes the conference. A special concert by Michigan natives Sadie Bass, a country-music singer-songwriter, and Jason Cross, a country-rock musician, follows. Recommended attire is from the World War II era, both warfront and home front dress.

For further details, including an attire guide, visit www.ngaus.org/conference.