| 1976-77 Jaycee Executive Committee Reunion |
Let's Do it Again in '10!
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Rows, L-R: Dock & Debbie Hanks, Cecil &
Kaye Watkins, Joy & Merrill Pottle, Glenn Harger,
George Connolly, Judy & Jim Verhoef, Gloria Harger,
Gene Tatmon, Greg & Joy Strouse, Paul & Jean
Childers, Jim Guest, Ken & Joyce Hawkins, Dave &
Carol Parkin, Diane Kennedy, Cheryl & Glenn Willey,
Don Sargeant, Janie & Dave Williams, Gary Rupprecht Thanks
to Joy Strouse, Tom & Brenda Hlusak for taking excellent
photographs! Branson Golf Photos | States' Parties Pictures | Branson Belle Showboat Trip | Coming Soon -- Photos of All Our Couples! Our 2007 A-Ward Winners! These
A-Ward Winners were chosen by a committee of wives
Dock's Branson Recap - Posting soon!
Dock's
Latest Email Newsletter, May, 2007! Room & Registration Status The room list attached is current as of today. [Click here to see who's coming and when they'll be arriving!] We have all paid registrations except Charlie Perrone and Gary Rupprecht, and they have both talked to me in the last couple of days and said, basically, “the check’s in the mail”. As you can see, we have added Jim Guest to our list of attendees, and he’s room reserved and registration paid. It will be good to see Jim again after so long. The “newbees” list is nice. We have Paul Childers and his wife Jean, Gary & Barbara Rupprecht, Charlie Perrone and Jim Guest joining us for the first time. I hope some of you out there that have never attended and have not signed on for Branson will join the list of “newbees” and sign on. We also have Greg and Joy Strouse joining us. This will be Joy’s initiation to this group. Greg last joined us in Reno in ’87. We hope you will come more often now than every 20 years, Greg. Those of you that have not attended since Reno should join Greg’s return in Branson.The list also includes a few that were in San Antonio but not in Sun Valley, and we are glad to have you back. Others from the past say they may make it at the last minute, and we hope so. Everyone is still welcome, it’s not too late to join us. Complete the registration form attached and send it in with your check and call the Bradford Inn at 800-357-1466 and reserve your room. Check it out at www.bradfordinn.us. We are only five of us away from achieving our goal of 30 of our members for our 30th reunion. Join us and help us reach our goal. Report from the gang…. To run down the regret responses from our group to let you know why many will not be joining us, this is the list of responses that I have not lost. If you responded and are not listed, it’s my fault. Sorry.
I repeat myself, but I may have received responses from some of you that are not listed here. If they are on my laptop email, I may have missed it. If I missed you, please let me know, and I will pass the word. We will miss all of you that can not attend, and we hope all of you that left the door open can work it out to join us. We do have a good time when we get together. Plans are coming together!! In order of the events, here’s the current status and the requests involved in all our events in Branson. July 25th, Branson Belle Riverboat Dinner/Show Cruise -- We do have our group reservations, and I was wrong about procedures. Allow me to explain. When the reservations were made in January, the lady with the Branson Belle told me “we’ll take care of all the details when we are closer to the dates.” When I called back to take care of the details, I discovered I had been mistaken about payment for a group. I thought we could all pay as we arrived at the boat. We can, but it will cost more. Our group rate is $48.36 per person for the cruise, the show and the meal, including taxes and gratuity. Individual rates are $52.66 w/o gratuity or about $62.14 with 18% gratuity. We save $13.78 with our group rate. We have to pay the total for our group two weeks prior to the event in order to get the discounted group rate. The details included a contract that had to be signed and had not even been sent to me. The contract is now signed and returned with our $200 deposit that was due by June 25, 2007. Our next payment due is our full payment per person for everyone in our group. It is due about July 11th, two weeks prior to our cruise. I need your $48.36 per person or $96.72 per couple sent to me ASAP, please. Bob and Jan Eppers sent their ticket cost with their registration. I guess they knew something I did not know. Please send it to me at P. O. Drawer 590, Corsicana, TX 75151. I will keep you posted on who is not paid, I assure you. If everyone that is arriving on or before 7/25/07 plans to attend the Branson Belle Cruise (everyone that has not told me they will not participate in the cruise), we have 40 people for the cruise now. Please advise me if you have a room reserved for 7/25/07 or earlier and do not plan to attend the cruise. Our cruise is the 8:00 p.m. cruise in order to allow maximum time for your arrival in Branson. Looks like a very nice group and a very good time. You can check the cruise at http://www.showboatbransonbelle.com/. You can check the shows and the meal on this site, and take a look at the Branson Belle. July 26th, official arrival and opening of the Hospitality Suite – Since so many of our group plans to arrive early and cruise, the Guest House Hospitality will be open early on Thursday the 26th for anyone that wants to gather and B.S. or get a drink or snack. We should be open for business shortly after breakfast, which will be provided by the Bradford Inn. There are many show choices for daytime shows around Branson if anyone wants to take in a show on Thursday. We will have more on show options a bit later in this report. Welcome Bags -- we will put our welcome bags together during the day on Thursday, and they will be available for all by late afternoon, at the latest. If you have any items you want to provide for the welcome bags, they will certainly be welcome. This has been a nice touch in the last few years. I sort of think Steve Hewlett started the welcome bag idea in Nashville. If not, Steve deserves the credit for doing something right, anyhow. Bring your welcome bag goodies to the Guest House Hospitality room as early on Thursday as you can. We will need at least 25 items for each individual or couple registered, and we hope to need 30 or more. Bring on the goodies. Event shirts have been ordered for each registered person. We hope we got all the sizes correct, but if not, you’ll just look funny. I think you will like this year’s shirts. I hope so. The shirts will be passed out with the welcome bags. Thursday night the Guest House Hospitality will be open for B.S., drinks and heavy Hors D’oeuvres for all that want to partake. Based on the past couple of gatherings, you need to come early if you want to see anyone. We tend to go to bed as a group these days at about 9:00 p.m. or earlier. If we get real energetic, the group may survive until after 10:00 p.m.. July 27th, golf, a lot of free time and the States Party -- [Golf Rules] Golfers leave for Ledgestone CC at 6:30 a.m. for the Morgan Allen Memorial Golf Tournament. We currently have 20 golfers signed and paid. That number includes three (3) ladies, and we need one more lady for a ladies foursome. The ladies currently signed to play are Alexis Connolly, Lauren Mauney (enjoyed Sun Valley so much, she’s back!) and Debbie Hanks. They need a fourth, ladies. The men signed up to play are Jim VerHouef, Paul Childers, Dave Williams, Ken Hawkins, Glenn Willey, Bob Eppers, Barry Kennedy, Bill Porter, Steve Hewlett, George Connolly, Don Sargeant, Don Mauney (be on your toes, folks!), Greg Strouse, Gene Tatmon, Dock Hanks, Glenn Harger, Jim Hyatt and a maybe for Charlie Perrone. With the golf, we have a “Ditty Bag” of gift items, too. All you guys with golf towels, golf balls, tees, shoes, golf clubs, etc. that you can give to all 20+ of us, you need to bring these items to the Guest House Hospitality room on Thursday, also. These bags will be put together on Thursday and distributed at the course on Friday morning before T-Off. Along with these “Ditty Bags” you will receive your golf tournament shirt if we do not distribute them on Thursday in the suite. This time it looks like a shotgun start in order to get around before the heat becomes too much of a factor. The pro has been very easy to work with so far, and the course is beautiful enough that a bad round of golf will still be great. Take a look at http://ledgestonegolf.com/. Awards will be announced Friday afternoon or at the States Party. There are always lots of winners and lots of low scores at our tournaments. Check the tournament rules attachment for our rules of the game. The cash is included in the cost of entry paid by the golfers and the awards will, once again, be furnished by Don Mauney as they have been since New Orleans in 1992. Glenn Harger has agreed to serve as tournament chairman this year, so please direct all complaints and suggestions to Mr. Harger at Gharger1947@aol.com. I’m sure he will appreciate the input as much as I have in years past. Free Time is not coordinated, at this time. If there is enough interest in groups going to shows, we will try to give you some options so you can pick the show you want at the time you want. There are shows from a breakfast show to day shows in the morning and afternoon and evening shows. You may want to check out the shows at BransonMegaTix.com! This site is recommended by The Bradford Inn, and it looked very good to me. It gives times and availability for the dates you specify. Email me at dock.hanks@hanksinsurance.com or Corky Hyatt at corkyhyatt@kc.rr.com if you have times or shows or both that you would like to put on your schedule for Branson. We’ll see what we can do. There are many things to do in Branson other than the shows. Do a Branson search on Yahoo or Google and you will get a lot of sites for tourist, shoppers, fishing, etc. Lots to do and spare time to do it. States Party is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the “Store” or common area (where we will eat breakfast each morning) at the Bradford Inn. We should have a great time with this flashback approach. We do not know what they will serve, yet, but there are currently states parties promised from Florida (I think Perrone is coming just for this, and he promises to win the award for “Best State Party”), Kentucky (and Williams says Perrone and Florida can’t win anything fair and square, so he will win), Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama, New Hampshire, Colorado, Tennessee and Texas. That’s an even dozen and about all our room will hold. We will share the menu at the various state booths as we get the information and are allowed to share. The few items I know about at this time will be good eating and good drinking. It should be a great time. The room is not very big, so the state “booths” will not be very big. The “booths” will be about 4 or 5 feet wide with a table and about 6 or 7 feet deep with the rear to a wall. If that is not enough space for your “booth” please advise Corky Hyatt, our State Party Chairperson, at corkyhyatt@kc.rr.com. She also needs to know what you may need for your booth. Do you need electricity? Do you need ice? Do you need anything we need to prepare or organize in any way? If so, please let Corky know. As you email Corky, let her know if it is O.K. to share what you plan to serve with the group. We will give a State Party report in the weeks to come with as much detail as you will allow. This State Party will be a great time to drag out any old 30 year old Jaycee stuff you may still have. If you have old uniforms, wear them (if they still fit). If you have appropriate name badges, wear them. Make yourself as much of a 1976-77 Jaycee as possible. We can all act like we are 30 years younger whether we look it or not. And we can enjoy it, too! July 28th, Free time all day -- Once again, apply everything said above about shows and free time for the entire day on Saturday. There will probably be someone in the Guest House Hospitality room all day providing snacks, lunch and drinks for all our gang, but there is no scheduled activity for the group until our “Awards and Business Banquet” Saturday night. Memorial Awards & Business Banquet will be held at the Ledgestone Country Club clubhouse beginning at 7:30 p.m. Check it out at http://www.stonebridgenorth.com/g_ledgestone_clubhouse.php. We will have a private dining room for us, an open bar and a very nice meal as a buffet offering that includes entree choices of Beef Tenderloin, Veal Marsala, and stuffed Halibut. The veggies are Broccoli with Hollandaise, Vegetable Medley, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Pasta & Peppers. Desert buffet includes at least three choices, and I am told you will like at least two of them. If you have not attended one of these banquets, you are in for a banquet we all would have enjoyed in the Jaycee years. The food is better than it was 30 years ago, the awards (again courtesy of Don Mauney since New Orleans in 1992) are much more fun than they were 30 years ago, the formality is not near as formal as it was 30 years ago, none of us have to think about image any more, the business is not very serious or structured and we certainly never know what will happen next. You are in for a fun evening with good food and drink and a lot of laughs. We started door prized a couple of gatherings ago, and they have been a hit. Anything you can bring that will make a good door prize will be appreciated and enjoyed by all. I encourage everyone that is thinking about a site bid for the next reunion in 3 or 5 years (another business meeting decision) to get your ducks in a row. Ask Don Mauney about doing your homework. Don lost the support of Lauren Mauney, his daughter, in Sun Valley for his Baltimore bid. Don forgot his Jaycee railroad training. Lauren supported Branson, and she’s coming to enjoy it. If you want your area to host our next gathering, get some brochures from your Convention and Visitors Bureau. See if you can put together an attractive housing deal for us. Make it a place we can all have a good time, and show us why we should make it our next destination. We have no deadline for site bids. Bring your bid and get it nominated and you will get your shot at promotion. Everyone is eligible. Lauren might help you with your bid. She’s got a pretty good track record. Post Banquet – If any of our group can stay up that late, the Guest House Hospitality Room will be open for post banquet drinks and snacks as needed and as long as needed. See you in the morning, Dave? Or can you make it a bit later one night? July 29th, we wrap it up – After our normal morning hot breakfast furnished by the Bradford Inn, the Guest House Hospitality will be open until the crowd moves toward home. Every morning we will have Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s for the gang, and we will have them on Sunday morning, too. This is always the worst part of one of these gatherings, the parting, but someone or maybe more than one will provide a few more laughs for the road. What a gang. After you have waded through this “Branson Update in some detail”, give me a buzz or send me an email if you have any questions about anything or if you have any ideas that can make the gathering any more fun. We are always open to new ideas. Don’t forget to:
And last but most important: Be Safe and meet us in Branson, MO.
January 22, 2007
Well, I actually believe our stated goal of 30 of us in Branson in July is within our reach. I’ll give you some details on why I believe this to be the case a little later, but first, let me do some catching up. If the last newsletter you got on this reunion was last July, do not fret, you have not missed any newsletters. Ol’ Dock has been more than a bit delinquent in getting you some updates in the last few months. As I have told some of you, I am working harder these days than I did when I was 25 years old. That was not the plan, but that is how it has worked for me. It’s nice to have some productive things working, but I could handle a bit less pace and demands on my time. So much for the excuses. Please accept my apology for the lapse, and keep an eye on me for the next few months to see if I can do better. I would like to congratulate all who had winning teams in the Bowl Games. One reason to bring this up is the fact that I am a Texas Tech Alum, and we just had the biggest come-back in Bowl History in the Insight Bowl in Arizona against Minnesota. Sorry Naak and Sarge, but I sure enjoyed the second half of that game. Another reason to bring it up is the rare opportunity to congratulate our Idaho brethren on a Bowl Championship Series Bowl win over Oklahoma. That was one more fun game to watch. Sorry Jack, but OU has lots of trophies. Congrats to the Boise State fans. Congrats to all the winners and condolences to all the losers. With 32 Bowl Games, there are too many to list, but a special congrats to Perrone and Bechtol and the Florida Gators, our National Champions. Condolences to Fetrow and Weeks. We might want to figure a way to put together some kind of College Football Pot in Branson for the ’07 season. Harger or John Thompson or any of you out there see what you can propose for us. To recap for any of those who missed previous communication or have already forgotten, the 1976-77 U. S. Jaycee Executive Board and Additional Associates (fondly known as Add. Asses.) are having our 30th reunion gathering with a minimum goal of 30 of our group in attendance in Branson, MO July 26-29, 2007. Hence our theme of 30! 30! 07! To really get up to date on past communications, go to www.jayceereunion.com and Corky Hyatt, our Communications Director, has everything posted for your review. Thanks Corky, once again. MORE ADDITIONAL ASSOCIATES JOIN US (ADD. ASSES.) We are happy to welcome Brad Trafton, Wayne Mitchell and Sam Seever, past staff members of the U. S. Jaycees, to our illustrious group. We’ve already heard from Sam, but his Email is defective. He indicated that Barry Kennedy picked up a lunch tab. I’m sure he meant the Nebraska C of C. We look forward to hearing from the other two guys, and we hope all will join us in Branson. Another new member of the Add. Asses. is Phil Marti of Colorado. Phil was a Jaycee politico in the West, and he gets together on a semi-regular basis with Ziebell, Hanks, Porter and Kennedy, so we have asked Phil to join us in Branson. Our fearless leader, Frank Ziebell, has asked that we include his Email list of his group of state presidents and associates that have been having reunions for several years as Add. Asses. The first reunion of this group in the mid-80’s in Indy was attended by Bob Blackwell, Glenn Harger and me. That reunion and the fun we experienced was the genesis for our own reunions that began in ’87 in Reno. Several of that group are already on our list, but we will add all the others as soon as Frank forwards the list to me. Welcome aboard, men. Most of us helped make you look good once upon a time, and we’d love to have you join us in Branson to help us remember how great we once were. Welcome aboard. For a full list of our group, including the add. asses. on our Email list, go to our website and take a look at the full Email list. If you have anyone you would like to add to the group, please forward their Email info and any other info you may have. Bill Porter is our most regular Add. Ass., and he’s attended two of our gatherings. Ask Bill if you don’t think it’s a good time. He and Eileen have already reserved their room in Branson, and we hope you will do so, too. ROOM REPORT Speaking of reserving a room, have you got yours, yet?? As of 1/5/07, our group has 21 rooms reserved. That means there are only 13 rooms remaining for you that still need to reserve one. If you think there is any possibility you will join us, I strongly recommend that you call The Bradford Inn at 1-800-357-1466 and get your room reserved. Refer to the Jaycee Reunion group for July 26-29, 2007. You can check out the Bradford Inn at http://www.bradfordinn.us. I have had a couple of new Add. Asses. let me know that they may stay at another property in Branson if they join us. If you want the full benefit of this gathering, I strongly recommend you join us at the Bradford Inn. The greatest times at these gatherings happen at the hospitality room, and this year, the States Party and furnished breakfast at the Bradford. You will miss a lot of stories and laughs if you are not there with us. Check with the member of our group that you know best and see what he may recommend. Those with a room reserved as of 1/5/07 are: Williams, Bennion, Pottle, Hlusak, Harger, Hawkins, Jusilla, Willey, Mauney, Eppers, Rupprecht, Kennedy, Porter, Watkins, Hewlett, Connolly, Sargeant, Strouse, Hyatt, Hanks and Tatmon. As you can see, we have regained several folks we lost between San Antonio and Sun Valley as well as one we have not seen in a few years, Strouse. Welcome back, guys! We also have one brand new face. Mayor Rupprecht must have declared a holiday in Frankenmuth so he can join us for the 30th. We’re lookin’ forward to seein’ you again, Chaplain. No room reservations for Perrone, Guest or VerHoef (Michaels), and they have all said they will be there. Guys, I plead one more time for you to get your room reservation in to the Bradford Inn. Nothing personal, Michaels, but we would really like to see these other two that we haven’t seen in 30 years. We want to see you again, too, Jim. We have seven paid registrations to date. Kennedy, Sargeant, Jusilla, Pottle, Hyatt, Harger and Hanks are paid, and the money is in the bank. Now we’ll start spending it on deposits for our functions as well as our shirts, etc. Please complete the form attached and mail it back to me with your registration check. We need some early income to cover some early expenses. We now have reservations for our group for Wednesday night, July 25th, for the Showboat Branson Belle. You can check out all the details on line at http://showboat.silverdollarcity.com/. From this page, you can check out the dinner menu. We will be attending the 8:00 p.m. show in order to allow the maximum time for all interested to arrive in Branson. The reservation lady told me we need to bring a healthy appetite. She says it’s a great meal. The show is not yet set for July, but I was told that it could be set as early as the 20th of January. We’ll just have to keep checking the site for the updated information. You can also check this on the same site. The total cost for this evening is $48.36 per person. We have all paid that for a good meal, and this includes a show and a cruise on the lakes of Branson. I’m told it is a very memorable experience. Several of you have made reservations for a 7/25 check-in, and I assume you plan to attend this cruise with us. Some of you let me know by Email that you plan to attend the cruise. In order to avoid the need to search all my old Emails, please let me know if you plan to attend, and this time, I’ll keep a list of our cruise group. I will let you know in a month or so how we’re doin’ on the cruise. QUICK UPDATES Branson Shows – Make your own plans for shows, and there are many web sites to aid you in making your plans. Here’s just one: http://www.branson.com. Morgan Allen Golf -- We have now finalized the plans with the pro, Bill Hasler, at the Stonebridge Village course, Ledgestone. There will be more later on the golf, but the main thing to remember is we have lots of winners, and skill is not required to win something. Check out the course at http://ledgestonegolf.com/. Friday Night States Parties – Check out the prior newsletter from July for the specifics on the States Parties, but we need to know if you plan to hold one. I will put out the list of States Parties to date in the next 30 days. Let me know if I need to include your state. Branson Shopping -- If you have never been to Branson, you will not believe the shopping opportunities available. Check it out at http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2828661-b-1-branson_shopping-i;_ylt=AsmvKtHi3sFLjZXRbNjByDqFFmoL. Saturday Night Business and Awards Banquet -- Again, final arrangements have been made with Bob Nichols, the meetings manager for Ledgestone. This is the same facility that has our golf course. You can check out the club house and amenities at http://ledgestonegolf.com/. We will have our own room with a buffet layout that includes entree choices of Beef Tenderloin, Veal Marsala, and stuffed Halibut. The veggies are Broccoli with Hollandaise, Vegetable Medley, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Pasta & Peppers. Desert buffet includes at least three choices, and you will like at least two of them. There will also be an open bar. All this for a better price than we paid for similar lay-out in Sun Valley. “Alive in ‘05” Care Packages -- Corky Hyatt mailed photo CD’s and reunion books from Sun Valley to all our regulars in May. If you did not receive your care package, please Email Corky at corky@corkyhyatt.com. If you are an Add. Ass. and would like a book or CD, please Email Corky. Corky is probably the best asset we have for information and follow-up for our reunion efforts. If you get a chance, you should let her know how much you appreciate her. We’ll get you more detail on the States Party, Golf, etc. in the weeks ahead, but the main things you need to know are: We should have our largest group ever in Branson in July. AND --- WE WILL HAVE A GOOD TIME!!!
If you have never been with us before, we need to see you after 30 years to see if you aged as much as the rest of us! MAKE YOUR MOVES TODAY AND JOIN US IN BRANSON IN JULY!!
Dock's Updated Email Address list, January 7, 2007 To
see our latest email list, click
here!
Dock's July 2006 Newsletter!
The 30th anniversary reunion of the 1976-77 U. S. Jaycee Executive Board plus Additional Associates is shooting for at least 30 of our number at our reunion scheduled for July 26-29, 2007 in Branson, MO. Make your plans to join us for one really good time with a really fun group.
To date, we have indications of reservations or intent to attend from: Dave Williams (oh, well – all news can’t be good), Charlie Perrone, Bill Porter, Jim VerHoef, Gene Tatmon, George Connolly, Jim Guest, Bob Eppers, Jim Hyatt, Barry Kennedy, Dock Hanks, Glenn Harger, Don Sargent, Steve Hewlett, Merrill Pottle, Dave Bennion and Cecil Watkins. Did I miss anyone? If so, let me know and I will add you to the early registration list. We are still over a year away, and we already have over half or our initial goal of attendees on board. We may have to increase our goal. The registration form is attached to this Email. Please complete it and return it at your earliest convenience. There are a couple of things to point out that are favorable. In this age of daily price increases, both the registration and the golf are reduced from the cost for “Alive in ‘05” in Sun Valley. When this cost reduction is coupled with the lower room rates, you just can’t afford not to join us in Branson. It’s too good a bargain to pass up. (You can click on any of the "Registration Form" links to print the Branson 30-30-07 registration form!)
NEW ADDITIONAL ASSOCIATES (ADD. ASSES.) Barry Kennedy has been appointed chairman of the Add. Asses. participation for Branson. Most, but not all, of the Add. Asses. were members of Barry’s Executive Committee, and Barry has encouraged three additional unsuspecting former associates of ours to get involved with this group in Branson. From their responses, they may be brave enough to join us next year. Paul Childers was President of Nebraska Jaycees in 74-75, so the poor soul served with our fearless leader, Frank Ziebell. Paul states that Kennedy was one of his V-P’s and that he “made him what he is today or maybe what he was then or what he should have been. Whatever.” Paul says he plans to join our festivities in Branson, and we can get some new Kennedy stories. That’s if we want any new Kennedy stories. Jerry Franklin says Barry invited him to join our merry group just to get him to buy the beer! Well, Jerry, you will become a key player in this group if you buy the beer! Jerry was President of the Missouri Jaycees in 80-81 and a JCI VP assigned to Europe in 1982 when Barry was JCI President. He went on to serve as JCI EVP assigned to Asia in 1983. Jerry indicates business interest in Branson, and he still thinks it will be O.K. to join us there. So much for those business interest, but we will welcome the new soft touch for beer, Jerry. Gib Garrow was U.S. Jaycee President in 80-81 and hailed from Oklahoma. Gib has business interest in the area of Branson, too, and we hope he will join this merry group and buy some beer to lighten Jerry’s load. Come on down, Gib. Jerry has forwarded his address and phone numbers, but we need that info on Paul and Gib. Will you two guys please forward that info for us. THE STATES PARTY O. K. guys, here’s where we stand on the states party for Friday night, July 27, 2007. Perrone has already let us know that Florida will win. Williams says Kentucky will have a states party and that Florida never won anything honestly. Kennedy has indicated Nebraska will have an entry but has no idea what to serve. We suggested corn. Harger has volunteered to have an Alabama party, and we have requested shrimp. Texas will have a party, but don’t expect rattlesnake meat. It’s expensive. Even more than shrimp, I think. Porter indicates he may be able to find some “Colorado Kool Aid”, just like the good old days. The Hyatts will have a Kansas party, of course, with item(s) yet to be determined. Hewlett indicates Tennessee will be represented, and Harger and I are hoping for some Jack Daniels, just like the good old days. Cecil Watkins indicates South Carolina will be represented, and he’s concerned about getting out of his “booth” enough to enjoy the others. Merrill Pottle says they are trying to think of a good idea for the Maine party (think lobster, Merrill). I have no doubt that other ideas are bubbling up out there. Let us know when you decide you’re in for the States Party. Here’s the deal, gang. The States Party will be held in the area where the Bradford Inn serves breakfast each morning. There will be room for several “booths” around the walls that will consist of a small table and a small space. There is also a deck off this room with grills as well as a loft area just above the main room. Most states will only have a couple or maybe two couples to man the “booth”. The room is small and the group is expected to be around 60 or so. The atmosphere will not, repeat, not be formal. Everyone will help serve for everyone else as we all mill around the room and enjoy each other’s efforts. Dig deep in the old chests to see what pieces of your old state uniform you can find. Michaels doesn’t think his will still fit. I bet many won’t fit, but I bet most are gone completely. If you can find a shirt, hat, belt, whistle, duck call, cow bell, etc., bring it and see what memories and stories they might prompt from 30 years ago. If you have any photos from that year, bring them, too. State magazines or newsletters, bring them, too. Let’s make an effort to step back in time on Friday night and see what we can remember about 30 years ago. When you decide what you are going to try to do for the States Party, we don’t want to know your trade secrets, but if you need electricity or anything else that might take some arranging, please let us know as early as possible so we can make the necessary plans for you. With as many as we already have getting on board with the States Party idea, I bet we can make it one fun night and one very inventive and entertaining night. Put your thinking cap on and see if you can come up with a good fun idea for your state for the States Party. DINNER CRUISE Many of the folks coming in early have asked to be included in the Dinner Cruise on the river boat for Wednesday night. Looks like a group of 20 or so, already. If you decide to join us a day early and go on the Dinner Cruise with us, please let us know as early as you can. We will try to make arrangements as early as possible to insure our space. The folks that have done the Dinner Cruise say it is a lot of fun and good food. Join us if you can. Check out the Dinner Cruise at http://showboat.silverdollarcity.com/special-offers/default.aspx?id=56. BRANSON SHOWS If you are familiar with Branson, you know there are always many good shows to see in Branson. We want you to get the chance to see as many as you wish to see and still enjoy our group gatherings. As done in both San Antonio and Sun Valley, all of Friday not booked for Golf or the States Party will be free time, and all of Saturday during the day will be free time. Most of the Branson shows have daytime shows. If you want additional shows, plan to stay Sunday and attend a matinee before you head for home. Some of us will probably attempt to put together a group to attend a show on Sunday before we leave. Any such plans will be reported in future newsletters. There are several web sites available for you to take a look at Branson shows. If you want to check on shows as time goes along, try http://www.branson.com or several other web sites to get up to date information on shows, prices and times. MORGAN ALLEN MOMORIAL GOLF The golf game for Friday morning is just about finalized, but the final arrangements will not be firm until November. The course is the Ledgestone Country Club, and it is, literally, just down the road from the Bradford Inn. It looks like a great and beautiful course, and the pro has been very easy to work with, so far. He says a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start will probably be our best bet to avoid the July heat, and after the experience of San Antonio, I agree. The cost of golf is down just a bit, because the course cost is not as expensive as Sun Valley. Remember that the cost of golf includes a shirt, all the prize money and the cost of the golf. Most of us will get some money back on the prize money distribution. The golf rules will be the same as always for the Morgan Allen Memorial, and that insures a lot of winners. Check out the course at http://ledgestonegolf.com/. SATURDAY EVENING AWARDS AND SITE BIDS The Saturday evening event will be held at the same facility as the golf. The restaurant manager has been very interested in working with our group, and his price list is the main reason our registration fee is reduced from the Sun Valley cost. The specifics for the meal are not yet firm, but the meal will be a great buffet with several good choices. The facility will be almost new, since there was a full remodel under way when the Hyatt’s and Hanks’ visited in April. You can get a good look at the clubhouse on the same site, http://ledgestonegolf.com/. If you would like to have this event in your state in 2010, you need to get your site bid together for the selection process and voting that will take place at the Saturday evening dinner. We have heard rumblings of at least two site bids in the works, already. Join the race. BRANSON SHOPPING OPPORTUNITIES You guys don’t have to read this to your wives, but if you have any trouble getting the spouse to buy into Branson, you might share a few shopping facts with her. Branson has multiple “crafts” shops and malls with a lot of choices of types and styles of crafts. There are unique specialty shops and an old five and dime store. And for the serious shopper, there are three full blown outlet malls with every conceivable big name represented. You can check all this out at http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2828661-b-1-branson_shopping-i;_ylt=AsmvKtHi3sFLjZXRbNjByDqFFmoL. REUNION WEB SITE Corky Hyatt reported a couple of weeks ago that our web site is back up to speed after some difficulty with the web host. Corky changed web hosts and all’s back up to speed, now. This newsletter and the registration form will probably be posted on the site soon, and you can check out the various photos of past reunions now. Our site is www.jayceereunion.com. A very big thank you goes to Corky for all the work she has done on this site over the past 5 or 6 years, now. The site is one more glue that holds us all together, and the newest version looks great, Corky. “ALIVE IN ‘05” CARE PACKAGES Corky Hyatt struck again in early May. This lady put in the work to provide reunion books and photo CD’s from the Sun Valley reunion in ’05 to all our group. If you did not receive your book and CD, please Email Corky at corky@corkyhyatt.com and let her know she missed you. This is one more example of how and why this group has succeeded and remained a group for almost 30 years, now. Jim and Corky Hyatt (mostly Corky) have put in endless hours of effort on our behalf. Glenn and Gloria Harger have been there for help and support since the first reunion in ’87 in Reno. Barry and Diane Kennedy have been active in support of the group and have expanded the group to include a lot of quality Add Asses (we need you guys in Branson). Bill and Eileen Porter are getting involved to improve the Add Ass participation. Greg Strouse, Dave Bennion, Ken Hawkins, Steve Hewlett and even Dave Williams have all jumped in to help make these gatherings successful. Those and others have contributed as sponsors to help finance our efforts. All these folks deserve credit for our continued success. Especially Corky Hyatt. Thanks to all involved in promoting the success of the next gathering in Branson. THIRTY IS LOOKIN’ REALLY GOOD We have had about 50 participants at our reunions twice (Reno and San Antonio). With the addition of some new Add Asses that plan to join us in Branson and a little participation from some of our old Add Asses that should join us (how about it Robert Ingram, Mike Robinson, Teryl Bechtol, Larry Weable, Rick Clayton, Robert Adley, etc.) and a good turn out from our basic group, we should have our largest group, ever. We should blow right by our original goal of 30 of the old group and get close to 40. With wives that will bring the total to 60 to 80 – a new record. The more folks, the more stories, the more laughter, the more food and the more great new memories. You don’t want to miss this one. Make your plans to join us. Fill out the Registration Form attached and mail it back. Call the Bradford Inn and make your reservation, today. Click here to access the Bradford Inn Information, photos, and maps. Be sure to check out their "Photos" link and click on "Change photos" to see the Inn, the view, and the "Breakfast" area! You need to be with us in Branson to see why we do this every three years after 30 years have passed. We do it because we have one more great time together. Until the next time --- Dock
Hanks, CIC, CRM
Dock's
First Branson Newsletter: Site Inspection & Lodging Arrangements The Hanks’ and Hyatt’s spent last week-end in Branson, MO working diligently on behalf of this group with a real before daylight to late at night dedication to the goals of the trip. (Some of that time we were asleep, but we were dedicated!) This location and the date range were selected after a heated and lively site bid competition at Sun Valley. Do not let Mauney run any site bid program for your preferred site. There have been discussions regarding date and facilities since Sun Valley, and last week-end, things came together. The first choice of the site team was the Branson Inn. This 33 unit inn is run with a Bed and Breakfast approach and is just our size. The owners, Bob & Lucyanna (Lucy) Westfall, are actively involved in the day to day operations to the extent that we were fed breakfast cooked by Bob and visited with Lucy one day as she was doing laundry. They will be great hosts for us. The reasons for choosing the Bradford Inn include price, location, facilities, and size. This will be a new and unique experience for our group. We have stayed at “resort” type facilities for most of our reunions through the years, and this will be much more “our place” with a much more casual atmosphere while retaining the same level of quality. The Bradford Inn has been named the “#1 Best Deal in Branson” by the Unofficial Guide to Branson, MO in their newest edition as well as being given the “Highest Recommendation in the Branson Area” by Frommer. Point by point for us -- Price includes a full hot breakfast cooked by one of the owners and it includes home made pastries and biscuits, toast, cereal, waffles, sausage, eggs cooked to order, milk, juice and coffee. I may have missed something, but the idea is that it’s a great breakfast and is included in the room cost, and we do not have to prepare anything! Rooms are all decorated differently, but all the rooms we saw, and we saw several, are very nice with plenty of room. Room rates range from $69 to $109. Watkins, you may want to check out room #6, the Bridal Suite and get it reserved before Strouse gets to it. Strouse may need #31 or a similar very large room for his growing family. How’s it coming, Greg? Any other new additions we should know about, anyone? Space is available. Location is away but not far away from all the activities of Branson (more on that to come). The Inn is located on a ridge that overlooks Branson for very nice views of the night lights and nightly fireworks displays from most rooms and the deck areas. The bustle of the Branson strip, famous for excessive traffic, is no concern at the inn, but the strip is very handy by auto as are many other attractions in the Branson area (again, more to come). We will have our own area of the Ozarks in a very nice spot. Facilities include a main area around the registration desk where breakfast is served with a loft and basement area for additional space. The same building has a large deck that overlooks the Branson area and has tables and chairs for extra seating. On both sides of that central building are “Guest Houses” that will serve as our hospitality suite or suites and can house two or three couples each. One is not yet available because the owners live in it, but it will be available prior to our visit. This will give our group some options on home base and a new suggestion for Friday night’s activities. Size gives us an opportunity to virtually have our own place. With some luck and the addition of some of you from the Branson area surrounding states that have indicated you will attend along with better attendance of Add Asses and a good turn out from our regulars, we may fill the place with our folks. They have no idea what they are in for. The negative for the Bradford Inn regarding our group was the fact that we are larger than most groups they usually host. They have such a high percentage of occupancy in the summer that they fear loosing some regular customers, and they are afraid they will loose some “extra day” occupancy for Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday that they would normally have filled. We assured them that we would give it our best shot to fill extra days with our group. The Hyatt’s, Kennedy’s, Harger’s, Porter’s and Hanks’ have all reserved rooms for at least one extra night along with our three night registration for July 26-29, 2007. We need others to join us. If you think you may attend and may stay an extra day or two, please go ahead and make a room reservation now. They would like to know how many “extra nights” our group may want in order to make their early plans. No credit cards will be charged until March 1st of 2007, but they would like extra night reservations as soon as possible. Those of you that usually stay an extra day or two, please make your reservations now, if you can. The reservations phone number is 1-800-357-1466, and refer to the Jaycee Reunion group for July 26-29, 2007. Check out the Bradford Inn and the rooms at http://www.bradfordinn.us/. You will see what a neat place we have to anticipate. Some new ideas brewing! Wednesday night we expect to have enough folks arrive early that we are planning a Dinner Riverboat Cruise that, I understand, includes music and entertainment along with a great meal. This will not be part of the basic registration, but we welcome anyone that plans to arrive early to join us for a riverboat cruise. This is in the early planning stage right now, but there will be more soon. You can check out what we are considering at http://showboat.silverdollarcity.com/special-offers/default.aspx?id=56. We still have to work on package deals, and there are no firm plans today. Let us know what you think. Sunday afternoon or night we tentatively plan a show for those that want to attend a show and have not had the chance or found more pressing things to do before Sunday. There are a lot of choices and we have no idea how to choose one, but we will find a way and go to a show as a group, if there are enough for a group, on Sunday afternoon or Sunday evening, July 29, 2007, just after the reunion is adjourned. There will, again, be a lot of free time for couples and groups to attend shows on Thursday evening, July 26th as folks are arriving and during the day on Friday and Saturday, July 27th and 28th. You can explore the show opportunities at http://www.bransonshows.com/ and other very good sites for Branson. On this site, click on “Shows” on the left side and just see how many options there are! Friday Night there is an “Old new idea”. Let’s have a “States Party”. With the area available to us (and already reserved for Friday night) at the “Lodge” of the Bradford Inn, let’s put together a 30th anniversary “States Party”. I bet we can do a better job than the active Jaycee organization does at their national convention these days. Just like the old “States Party”, let’s be creative and come up with food and/or drink that represent our states for each (or at least several) of us to serve to the group. No one would have to feed everyone, but you would need enough to give everyone a taste of your state. I can not guarantee Texas rattlesnake (seems that has become a delicacy and expensive), but I can guarantee a taste of Texas of some kind. (Ziebell, Thompson and Clayton, help me!) Those driving can bring just about anything: Porter promises some “Colorado Cool-Aid” (that’s Coors Beer for those of you that have forgotten) and Kennedy says he will bring a cow or some corn from Nebraska. Weable is in the restaurant business, so I have no doubt his off-center mind can be real creative for MO with some help from Guest. Speaking of an off-center mind, how about it, Teryl? Can’t you and Perrone come up with a winning entry for Florida? (I’m sure Mauney will come up with “States Party” Awards!) I do not remember what each state served, but I do remember what fun it was and how much variety there was. Let me know if you are willing to participate in a “States Party” on Friday night. Those traveling by air can be creative and plan the transportation for their party entry, too. Those driving can help those flying in an effort to gather what they may need for their “booth”. By the way, “States Party” calls for state uniforms. Any of you still have the old state uniform? Does it fit? I think the Friday night “States Party” would be a fine time to find out. I’ll give it a try. If you do not have an old state uniform, how about a name badge? If not, how about a campaign button or badge? We can drag up a lot of old memories on Friday night and create a lot of discussion about 30 years ago that many of us have forgotten if we will jog our memories with some props. You also need to bring a photo of yourself from the 1977 era, or in the case of the Add Asses, the 1979 era, so we will accept the 77-79 time frame, but we need a photo to prove you were there. Old Events with new Locations We, the core committee of five (plus five ladies) now constituted by the Hyatt’s, Porter’s, Harger’s, Kennedy’s and Hanks’, have about settled on the facilities for the Friday morning Morgan Allen Memorial Golf Tournament and the Saturday night Memorial Banquet. The facility of choice is the Ledgestone Country Club, a private and gated area that is very handy to the Bradford Inn and will be more cost effective for us, by far, than Sun Valley. We should be able to make our registration and golf fees go further for us as well as some possible reductions in cost. You can view the course and the clubhouse at http://ledgestonegolf.com/. There are still some final arrangements to make, but it looks like they will put us on a first class golf course with every opportunity to loose lots of golf balls on Friday and wine and dine us in style on Saturday night. We will provide more details and specifics on cost in the next full newsletter, but this looks like a quality place for quality fun and both the food service manager and the golf pro seem to be folks we can enjoy. Final Arrangements Coming Soon We will finalize our arrangements with the Ledgestone Country Club for Golf and the Saturday Banquet, soon. Once that is done, we will start taking registrations. If you have any specific requests for 30/30/07 in Branson, please let me know. If you are willing to provide a party for your state at our Friday night “States Party” please let me know so we can start to grow that party. If you can find and fit your state uniform, let us know. If you have an old photo from 77-79, Email it to me and I will share. Be sure to bring the original to Branson. Don’t forget to make room reservations today! Please make a room reservation today. Call 1-800-357-1466 and refer to the Jaycee Reunion group for July 26-29, 2007. Make your reservation for an extra night if you think it at all possible you might be able to join us for an extra day. The Bradford Inn was very hesitant to commit to our group. Let’s let them know quickly that they made the right decision. Really believe this can be our best reunion, ever! The location is central and easy. If you are not in driving distance, you will probably fly in to Branson/Springfield Regional Airport at Springfield, MO. The initial check on shuttle service indicates that if the group can coordinate just a bit and utilize the shuttle in groups of 6 or more, the shuttle cost one-way may be as low as $25.00 each with about an hour ride. One shuttle company has a 29 passenger Mini-coach that should provide an extra hour of fun for 16 or more of our folks at around $25.00. We will not have firm prices until Spring because of the variation in gas prices. I’m sure we can all relate to that. There are several folks in the area that have said they would join us in Branson that have not joined us in the past, and the regulars say they will be there. Bill Porter and Barry Kennedy assure us they will let all the Add Asses know what a great time is to be had with this group to improve Add Ass attendance. If all things go as we plan and hope for, that should mean the best turn-out ever. The record was 24 in San Antonio, we think. Our 30/30/07 will be the biggest and best if we can reach our goals. Goals. Remember those. The facilities are ideal for our group. I refer to the Bradford Inn and the Ledgestone Country Club as well as the Branson area. At least I think so, and I hope you will agree. Check out these sites to see just how much is available at Branson. It still amazes me.
Corky will have more site links on our home page as she gets it all up to date and working smooth, again. She is working on it as we speak. If you have forgotten, our site is www.jayceereunion.com and is a real resource for us, thanks to Corky Hyatt. When you receive Corky’s “Care Package” in the next few days, you will see just how much work she has put into our little group. When you do receive the “Care Package”, take a few minutes to review the material and you will get a much better feel for just how much fun we have when we get together if you have not yet experienced one of our reunions. Check it all out. Please make your plans now to join us, and let us know you will be there. We want to see you, and others want to see you, too. Dock
Hanks, CIC, CRM |
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