The Zerka Family immigrated to Michigan in the early 1900's. We are all from a small village in South Lebanon, called Derdaghaya.

I arrived to Flint, MI in 1971 where I attended a community college and graduated in 1976 from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Computer Science.

I am married to Madeleine for 28 years and have three children, Mansour, Nadia and Noha.

I am a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). I was the Federation Treasurer for six years and currently serve as the Financial Advisor. My family and I have been attending Federation events since 1990 and have made many wonderful friends and memories.

Dear Friends:

My name is Charles Sawaya, Third Vice-President of the THE MIDWEST FEDERATION OF AMERICAN, SYRIAN-LEBANESE CLUBS, INC. As an Officer of the Federation, one of my responsibilities is to promote the sale and distribution of the Souvenir Ad Book for the Annual Convention. We have not had a Souvenir Ad Book for several years, and many people have asked that we reinstate this feature for the upcoming Convention. Therefore, I am sending this letter to you, along with the Ad-Book submission form, so that all of you who are interested in placing an Ad for the 69`h Annual Convention, may do so. These ads can be an advertisement, a 'memoriam', a `best wishes' note, a `congratulations' message, or other messages of interest.

We are asking that you submit your ad forms as soon as you can, since ad positions are made in the order they are received; secondly, so that we may get these Souvenir Books ready as quickly as possible.

Please feel free to contact me by phone, if you have questions. You may also look on the Federation Website, www.rnidwestfederation.com, if you need extra submission forms.

Thank you for your attention to this information. Sincerely yours,

Charles Sawaya Third Vice President