[mlbvb]

I think this is what you need:

<template name="welcome_thread" templatetype="template" date="1129555561" username="amykhar" version="3.5.0">
- <![CDATA[ 
<p>Welcome $userinfo[username]!</p>
Welcome to "change to your forum name". We are happy to have you here.
    
Please, take the time to introduce yourself. We're a small, caring community.
If you have a problem figuring out how to use a forum feature, ask and we will be glad to help.
We are a support group, first and foremost. But, we also offer an arcade and a photo gallery. 
We are pretty open on what we can talk about, so relax, enjoy and make some new friends.
Please be sure to read the forum rules.
           
Thank you for regestering we all hope to talk with you soon. 

  ]]> 
  </template>

Just put that between the < templates > < /templates > tags.