Hurricane Dennis Forces AEA to Cancel 15th National Convention

Mobile, AL- For the first time in history a hurricane has grounded an emu. The American Emu Association (AEA) was forced to cancel its 15th Annual National Convention due to threats from Hurricane Dennis. The convention had been scheduled for July 15 - 17, 2005 in Mobile AL. The first AEA Convention was held in Brenham, Texas in 1990.

"It is with great sadness that AEA is forced to cancel the 2005 Annual Convention. We would like to thank the Alabama Emu Association for the hard work they did, not only in spending eleven months planning the event, but in keeping the AEA Board apprised of the developing situation in Mobile," said Gerald Edwards, AEA president. Edwards went on to say that the state association representatives had been closely monitoring the situation as the hurricane developed. "When the hotel advised cancellation, we called an emergency board meeting to discuss our options. Our first concern was the safety of our members, the second was the financial aspects of cancellation vs. re-scheduling." Edwards went on to say that power outages and traffic bottlenecks were some of the problems that will be plaguing southern Alabama and Florida over the next week. "It is unlikely that our members would have been allowed to fly into the area anyway," stated Edwards.

Edwards went on to say that since so many members had arranged vacation time around the convention, that it would not be feasible to reschedule this year. "We will focus on making the 2006 convention to be held in Madison Wisconsin the best we can," said Edwards.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the earliest hurricane appearance in any given season was Agnes. On June 19, 1972 this Category 1 hurricane crossed the Florida panhandle and moved up the east coast. Agnes caused 122 deaths and $2.1 billion in damage in the United States, the vast majority of which came from the flooding. Agnes also affected western Cuba, where seven additional deaths occurred.

At the time the AEA Board voted to cancel the convention, Hurricane Dennis was already a Category 4 Hurricane. "We were told that even if Mobile did not suffer a direct hit that AEMA would be commandeering the hotel for use by emergency personnel," said Edwards.

Registered attendees were contacted by one of the Directors by phone concerning the last minute cancellation. "The Board felt we needed to move fast and that a personal phone call would be better than sending out an email," stated Membership Chairman Mickie Burris. "It also gave us the reassurance that each member was accounted for and safe."

Madison, Wisconsin will host the 2006 convention July 14-16. The American Emu Association is a non-profit trade association representing the emu industry. The emu industry is an alternative agricultural industry, dominated by the small farmer, who is devoted to humane and environmentally positive practices that will produce beneficial products for society. For more information about the American Emu Association (AEA) or the emu industry visit http://www.aea-emu.org or call 541-332-0675.