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And we thought, oh my god, this is such a big hotel, we will never get 200 people. We lasted at that hotel only for a year, and we have moved from one hotel to another weve held the convention every other year in washington, d. C. And this year there are almost 1300 folks registered already. [applause] with all those conventions, weve always started in the same way, and that is having an invocation to get started on the right foot. Each of us who have not drank alcohol or use drugs today is grateful, but we remember that seldom do we take credit for that all by ourselves. And two years ago and several other times in our history, deacon ron ely has been wanting to come early in the morning to start us off on the right foot. Deacon ron, could you get started on the right foot . [applause] god bless you, paul, and thanks for the introduction. God bless all of you. Im happy to be here. I dont know how many times, but truly indeed this is a pleasure for me to be here amongst all of you as w ....