Optional Events
Golf Tournament
Thursday, December 6, 8:00 a.m.
 The Pete Dye Resort Course is one
of the area’s loveliest but toughest courses. Diabolically Dye,
the course is distinguished by hidden pin placements, carries over
water, pot bunkers, elevated tees and railroad ties. This 6,706-yard par
70 award-winning championship course is just steps away from the resort,
and as such shares the same majestic mountain views. The
$140 fee includes breakfast, unlimited range balls,
greens and tournament fees, golf cart and prizes. Check the appropriate
box on the registration form, and please indicate your handicap.
Tennis Tournament
Thursday, December 6, 1:00 p.m.
After lunch, and prior to the commencement of the annual mixed
doubles round-robin tournament, you’ll take part in a Doubles
Strategy Session conducted by the resident professionals of the Reed
Anderson Tennis School. The session covers the fundamentals of doubles
play, court positioning, shot selection and winning tactics. The session
is fun and informative, concluding with questions and answers. Then
it’s on to tournament play on The Westin’s seven lighted
courts, including a tournament court with stadium seating.
$60 includes boxed lunch, Doubles Strategy Session,
balls, tournament fees and prizes. Check the appropriate box on the
registration form.
Windmill & Thousand Palms Oasis Eco-Tour
Thursday, December 6, 8:00–11:30 a.m.
 The thousands of windmills dotting the foothills
of the fabled San Gorgonio Pass are familiar sights to freeway travelers
and airline passengers. These windmills tower over the desert with their
huge wind turbine blades silently sweeping overhead. Half the length of
a football field, the Palm Springs wind farms have been a source of
mystery to many visitors. You will enjoy a private tour showing the
history of wind energy, current utilization of wind power, its
ecological impact and a look at the future of energy. Your next stop,
the 17,000-acre Coachella Valley Preserve, is home to the spectacular
Thousand Palms Oasis, fed by water seeping out of the San Andreas Fault.
There are also several other Palms Oases, including the Willis, Hidden
Horseshoe and Indian Palms. Located in the center is the Paul Wilhelm Grove,
which is also the location of the Preserve’s visitor’s
center. Descending into grotto-like coolness, the sudden air-conditioned
feeling you will experience is not just from the shade of the fan palms.
Like an evaporative cooler, their huge leaves and dozens of other
plants’ leaves transpire water during the day. Within the heart of
the oasis, it is 10-20 degrees cooler than in the desert outside. You
will stroll through hundreds of Washingtonian Palms whose shaggy skirts
hide creatures from the glaring sun. Pupfish swim in quiet pools.
Emerald grass drifts in the wind and lounging Coachella Valley
fringe-toed lizards—found nowhere else in the world—burrow
into their favorite sand dunes. Life is cool and easy at this oasis
straddling the infamous San Andreas Fault zone and the Indio Hills. The
$75 fee includes deluxe transportation, expert
naturalist guide, guided nature walk in the windmill farm and Palms
Oasis, plus all taxes and gratuities. Check the appropriate box on the
registration form.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Tour
Thursday, December 7, 8:00 a.m.–12:00 noon
Soar from the warm desert floor to the alpine mountain station at
8,516 feet in approximately 14 breathtaking minutes. Leaving the resort,
your  knowledgeable guide will tell you of the
legends of Palm Springs, talk about the San Andreas Fault and how the
Native Americans lived off the land, and point out the homes of the rich
and famous. State-of-the-art tramcars from Switzerland are some of the
largest in the world, offering a large viewing area and featuring an
innovative rotating floor design that provides a 360-degree viewing
experience that you will not soon forget! Once atop Mount San Jacinto,
explore the 13,000-acre State Wilderness Park, eat at the restaurant,
relax while viewing a 22-minute film about the tram, or just enjoy the
unique panorama of the desert below. The $70 fee
includes deluxe transportation, narrated tour en route, admission to the
tram and all taxes and gratuities. Check the appropriate box on the
registration form.
Chefs’ Cooking Class
Friday, December 7, 12:30–2:00 p.m.
Rub elbows with the chefs of The Westin Mission Hills Resort &
Spa as together you prepare a fantastic meal! This hands-on class begins
with a demonstration of the recipes—with an emphasis on technique.
Attendance is limited to 25 people so that the chef can give you
individual attention. When the food is done, sit down with your
classmates and the chef and enjoy the meal you helped prepare. The
$75 fee includes instruction, menus and ingredients,
and lunch! Check the appropriate box on the registration form.
Rock ’n Roll Dance Party, Featuring
ABI’s Own Indubitable Equivalents!
Friday, December 7, 7:00–11:00 p.m.
 Come shake, rattle and roll to music performed by the
“Indubitable Equivalents,” the world’s only all-ABI
member rock-and-roll band. Featuring Andy Caine, Saxophone
(Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub PC; Los Angeles);
Jack Esher, Bass (Altman Riley Esher LLP; Boston); Steven
Golick, Keyboards and Wind Controller (Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
LLP; Toronto); John C. Good, Trombone (ABI; Alexandria, Va.);
Dillon Jackson, Autoharp and Pedal Steel Guitar (Foster Pepper
& Shefelman PLLC; Seattle); George Kelakos, Lead Guitar
(Kelakos Advisors LLC; Greenwich, Conn.); Jordan Kroop,
Keyboards (Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP; Phoenix); Hon. Steven
Rhodes, Guitar (U.S. Bankruptcy Court; Detroit); Michael P.
Richman, Keyboards (Foley & Lardner LLP; New York); Mitch
Ryan, Lead Vocals (Epic Systems; Orange, Calif.); and Tom
Salerno, Percussion (Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP; Phoenix);
PLUS guest artists galore! The fee is $25 for
conference attendees and $75 for guests, which includes
drinks, dinner, dancing and the Dessert Reception. Check the appropriate
box on the registration form.
Dessert Reception
Friday, December 7, 9:00 p.m.
The Dessert Reception is available as a stand-alone event for
$25 per person; please check the appropriate box on the
registration form. NOTE: The Dessert Reception is included with the
Dance Party.
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