Think Texas for its cowboys, culture.

If you haven't been to Dallas-Fort Worth lately, 2007 would be a great time to reacquaint yourself with cowboys and culture. NCEW hasn't been to Fort Worth since 1988, and it's never been to Dallas.

With more than five million people, the D-FW area has been the most dynamic urban region in the nation since 1990. It's recorded the fastest rate of population growth and, despite the recent recession, has added more jobs than any metropolitan area except Los Angeles.

D-FW is rapidly building a reputation as a national and international arts mecca. Both cities boast fabulous museums and performing arts centers. In Fort Worth, there's the magnificent new Modern Art Museum, the internationally recognized Kimbell Art Museum and popular Bass Performance Hall. In Dallas, there's the just-opened internationally acclaimed Nasher Sculpture Garden, the hundred-year-old Dallas Museum of Art, the Meyerson Symphony Center, and the Meadows Museum, home to the largest collection of Spanish art outside of Spain.

You haven't experienced history until you visit to the Sixth Floor Museum, an unexpectedly moving tribute to President John F. Kennedy and the most tragic of days in Dallas history.

And let's not forget the culinary arts. Did you know there are more restaurants per capita in Dallas than New York City?

But it isn't just high-falutin' artsy places that will vie for Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Museum and the historic Stockyards district--just what you'd expect in the city Where the West Begins.

Fort Worth's urban renaissance in the past decade has provided a national model for public/private cooperation in redevelopment. For example, a tornado-ravaged bank tower at the heart of "Sundance Square" is now a sold-out condominium project, bringing the promise of hundreds of urban dwellers and the retail stores needed to support their central-city lifestyle when the building opens for occupancy in 2005.

We expect to headquarter the convention in the historic Worthington Renaissance Hotel in Fort Worth's vibrant downtown and spend some quality time in Big-D, just a short ride away by bus or the Trinity Express commuter rail.

North Texas is home to one of the largest and most rapidly growing Hispanic populations in the nation. Long regarded as a bastion of conservatism, the region's largest cities tend to elect Democrats as mayor. It's a friendly place, where people greet you on the street and take pride in good manners and warm smiles.

When you think 2007, think Texas!

Editor's Note: J.R. Labbe and Keven Ann Willey say they are submitting a joint convention bid "in a hell-freezes-over suspension of traditional newspaper rivalries."

J.R. Labbe is a senior editorial writer at the Star-Telegram in Fort Worth. E-mail [e-mail]

Keven Ann Willey is editorial page editor of The Dallas Morning News. E-mail [e-mail]