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Conference Update
Most attendees traveling to the 146th General Conference & Exhibition will reach the Motor City through Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (reservation code: DTW), which is about 20 miles from downtown.
The airport is a hub for Delta Airlines, which is offering special discounted fares for conference attendees. More information is available at www.ngaus.org/conference.
The Michigan National Guard Association’s shuttles Aug. 22 and 23 to conference hotels can be found outside baggage claim. MNGA officials promise plenty of signs and personnel in blue polo shirts to direct you.
Taxis and rideshares are another option. Expect to pay about $70 plus tip each way for a taxi. Rideshares are a little less.
The City
Detroit today is not the same place you grew up reading about, or even heard about 10 years ago.
Once America’s fourth largest city and the personification of the American Dream, the city suffered significantly with the downturn of the U.S. auto industry. Detroit lost half its population and had to declare municipal bankruptcy.
But the tough times now appear to be in the rearview mirror.
The Motor City has attracted new investors, innovators and young adventurers, according to National Geographic. Go World Magazine says Detroit has “Comeback Fever” with palpable renewed energy and pride and a revitalized downtown.
People are taking notice. Tourism is back. So are conferences and conventions. A record crowd of more than 775,000 football fans attended the three-day NFL draft in April.
Conference Business
All meetings and the industry exhibition will be at Huntington Place, the 16th largest convention center in the United States. It sits along the Detroit international riverfront. Canada is across the river.
All-ranks business/professional development sessions begin at noon, Aug. 24, with an opening ceremony featuring Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Bluewater Kings Band, which specializes in the Motown sound.
Confirmed speakers include Gen. Randy A. George, the Army chief of staff, and Gen. David W. Allvin, the Air Force chief of staff. They are expected to address the conference theme: The National Guard: Built to Defend America.
Also on the agenda are two speakers outside U.S. military circles that NGAUS believes have valuable messages for Guard officers.
One is Joseph McCormack, a communications expert who has helped Special Forces leaders craft tight and to-the-point messages for years. McCormack is the author of Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less, which was on the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ’s January 2024 reading list.
The second is Bob Parsons, America’s most successful veteran entrepreneur. Parsons, a former enlisted Marine and Vietnam veteran, founded the GoDaddy group of companies, including Internet domain name registrar GoDaddy.com. Today, he is the CEO of Parsons Xtreme Golf. He is worth an estimated $3.6 billion, according to Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires.
NGAUS also invited the two major-party candidates for president. Historically, the presidential candidates do not commit until inside of two weeks before the conference. The conference has hosted at least one candidate in every election year since 1992.
The agendas for the business sessions, the Army and Air breakouts and the separate officer professional development program for company-grade officers will be posted Aug. 12 at www.ngaus.org/conference.
There is also association business to conduct. One item is board elections. This includes the elected officer positions (chairman, vice chair-Army, vice chair-Air, treasurer and secretary), the three representatives (adjutant general, Army and Air) for Areas III and VI, the Army company grade rep and the warrant-officer rep. Delegates will consider resolutions that will be the foundation for next year’s legislative agenda.
There will also be a Spouses Seminar this year. It’s set for the morning of Aug. 26. The agenda features presentations on family issues. Among the speakers is Kelly Hokanson, the wife of retired Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, the 29th National Guard Bureau chief.
Big Show
Expect another large NGAUS industry exhibition in Detroit, but don’t expect to see the exact same exhibitors as last year.
Nearly 40% of the more than 320 companies or organizations that plan to exhibit this year are new, according to Tradeshow Logic, the Marietta, Georgia, firm that sells and manages the exhibition. Among the new companies is PXG Golf, which plans to bring a golf simulator.
The NGAUS booth will again be near the middle of the show floor. This is where you can speak with NGAUS staff and purchase the 2024 National Guard Educational Foundation holiday ornament.
The association will also host the Minuteman Speaker Series on the tradeshow floor. It will feature briefs on equipment modernization by NGAUS task force chairs. Retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, the new association president, will also talk about his first year in office and take questions.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony opens the exhibition at 10 a.m. Aug. 24, followed by a complimentary brunch.
Beyond the Business Sessions
Social events this year will take advantage of some of the Motor City’s most popular attractions.
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.
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.
The Spouses Luncheon is Aug. 26 at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The event includes lunch, entertainment and an opportunity to tour one of the nation’s largest art collections, including 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. The recommended dress is from the World War II era, both warfront and home front. An attire guide is available at www.ngaus.org/conference.
You can stay updated by downloading the NGAUS Conference App sponsored by the Armed Forces Benefit Association. It’s available at the Apple Store and Google Play.
