For the past 29 years, the Arab-American community has gathered on the second weekend of June in our nation's capital to ensure that Arab Americans and their concerns, as diverse as those may be, are seen and heard in Washington, DC, and that Arab culture continues its positive contributions in the colorful mosaic of a nation we call our home.

This has always been the intent and these are always the goals of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) Annual National Convention. By attending this annual tradition, which is consistently the largest Arab-American event in Washington, community members and their friends have routinely achieved those goals.

However, this year change has come to Washington and ADC is leading the effort as the voice of Arab Americans from the grassroots to our nation's capital. Through a renewed commitment to its grassroots base, this year ADC solicited and implemented the Convention program ideas directly from its membership. We hope you and your family and friends will join us in what promises to be a more "user friendly" convention that is designed to cater to our grassroots members and their interests. While we know we will have outstanding keynote speakers, as we've always had in the past, including some pleasant surprises, our goal this year is to demonstrate ADC's renewed commitment to its heart and soul; our dear members across the nation!