USS TRUMPETFISH SS425 VETERANS ASSOCIATION, INC
2009 TRUMPETFISH SS425 REUNION
at FAIRLAKES HYATT Hotel in FAIRFAX, VA OCTOBER 7 TO 12, 2009
October 2, 2008
2009 REUNION PLANNING MEETING REPORT
On Saturday September 27, 2008, the Reunion Planning Committee met to discuss our 2009 Reunion in the Washington, DC area. Since last spring I have been communicating with several hotels in the surrounding area to get guest room prices, adequate space for our Hospitality Room, to see whether they would let us provide our own snacks and beverages in the Hospitality Room, etc. At our 2007 Reunion, the majority of attendees voted to have the 2009 Reunion at Annapolis, MD, but it didn’t take long to realize that the hotel prices in that area were far too high for us to expect to get a good turnout at our next reunion. Based upon that I began looking at surrounding areas for us to meet next year. In my original request for guest room prices, I stated that I wanted rooms at less than $100.00 per night, and of course most could not meet that low number. Much to my surprise, a few hotels in Fairfax County, VA were able to lower their prices, and two hotels were selected for the committee to discuss. The Hyatt Fair Lakes in Fairfax, VA, and the Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport in Herndon, VA—both upper scale hotels.
After spending this week discussing their contracts, and other options, the committee selected the Hyatt Fair Lakes. The guest room fee is locked in at $87.00 per night. Those of you with internet access may want to take a look at their website at: www.fairlakes.hyatt.com This hotel is located in a very quiet area with lots of trees and not in the heart of the city as are most of the hotels. Linn & Maggie Rogers, and Lucy & I traveled to that area in mid September to attend a 3 day Reunion Planners Conference, and stayed at the Hyatt. We visited approximately eight hotels in that area, and then traveled up to Maryland to visit two hotels there. We feel that we did our homework to select the best hotel for our 2009 host hotel, and we are very confident the you all will be pleased with the
selection.
The 2009 Reunion Dates are now set for Wednesday October 7, 2009 to Monday October 12, 2009. We will actually use Wednesday the seventh to set up the Hospitality Room, and the actual activities will commence Thursday October 8. Anyone that would like to check in early on Wednesday to help us set up will be greatly appreciated.
The planning committee spent a lot of time discussing the hotels, and then we moved on to Tours. The following are not cast in stone at this time, but only listed as those the committee felt would be interesting for most attendees:
We decided to go to the Naval Academy at Annapolis for a tour of the campus and have lunch there. This could be scheduled for Friday October 9. We will rent bus(s) to take us over there and back.
We’ll take bus(s) to the Military Memorials—WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Arlington cemetery, and the Naval Museum. This could take place on Saturday.
There is so much to see and do in the DC area, and I’m sure that many of you will want to travel to other sites such as the impressive Mount Vernon, The brand new Smithsonian Aviation and Space Museum at Dulles Airport, Smithsonian buildings downtown, white house, capital building, Marine Museum, etc. We’ll also have available, information for local side trips on your own.
I would like to have our Business Meeting Sunday morning, and have the drawings for the Raffle items Sunday afternoon. Take a brief rest period, get everyone’s pictures taken, and then assemble in the Banquet Room for our Dinner Banquet.
Our Dinner Banquet will be Sunday evening. Two entrée’s will be available to choose the one of your choice, and our dinner will be served to us instead of a buffet as in past reunions.
We will continue to have Raffle Drawings:
General Raffle for a wide variety of items
Raffle for another Framed Trumpetfish Picture
50/50
And we’d like to try something new this year. Have items that would go to the highest bidder by silent auction. We would solicit items from businesses, and through donations by our shipmates. We learned through other Reunion Planners that this seems to be very successful at their reunions. Any input or ideas from you would be appreciated.
We’ll have a memorabilia table set-up so bring your memorable T-Fish items so others can look them over.
We’ll have the Ship’s Store set-up with many new type shirts, umbrellas, flashlights, T-Fish Assoc Pens and buttons, and lapel/cap pins.
That is the Planning Committee’s Meeting minutes in a nutshell. The meeting was long, but excellent progress was made toward another memorable reunion. I will brag on this committee at this time. This group not only get along extremely well, but it has developed into a very good working force with all of your best interests at the forefront. Every person on the committee willingly voices their viewpoint throughout the various items of discussions, and it’s always a very satisfying time for me when we have these meetings, where harmony prevails even in disagreement. I hope you will thank all these hard working shipmates and their wives for all they do to make these reunions so much fun and memorable.
The Planning Committee consists of:
Jim & Fay Brincefield
Bob Dorris
Jim & Charlotte Loveday
Linn & Maggie Rogers
Jerry & Christine Rosenberg
Terry & Lucy Trump
We are open for comments, questions, and/or suggestions from all of you out there. Remember this is a Reunion for all Trumpetfish Veterans, and we’d like to make any improvement that can make the next event better than the last. I hope this finds everyone of you enjoying good health, and we want to see you in Fairfax next October.
Take care and let me hear from you,
Terry
The 2009 Reunion Dates are now set for Wednesday October 7, 2009 to Monday October 12, 2009. We will actually use Wednesday the seventh to set up the Hospitality Room, and the actual activities will commence Thursday October 8. Anyone that would like to check in early on Wednesday to help us set up will be greatly appreciated.
The planning committee spent a lot of time discussing the hotels, and then we moved on to Tours. The following are not cast in stone at this time, but only listed as those the committee felt would be interesting for most attendees:
We decided to go to the Naval Academy at Annapolis for a tour of the campus and have lunch there. This could be scheduled for Friday October 9. We will rent bus(s) to take us over there and back.
We’ll take bus(s) to the Military Memorials—WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Arlington cemetery, and the Naval Museum. This could take place on Saturday.
There is so much to see and do in the DC area, and I’m sure that many of you will want to travel to other sites such as the impressive Mount Vernon, The brand new Smithsonian Aviation and Space Museum at Dulles Airport, Smithsonian buildings downtown, white house, capital building, Marine Museum, etc. We’ll also have available, information for local side trips on your own.
I would like to have our Business Meeting Sunday morning, and have the drawings for the Raffle items Sunday afternoon. Take a brief rest period, get everyone’s pictures taken, and then assemble in the Banquet Room for our Dinner Banquet.
Our Dinner Banquet will be Sunday evening. Two entrée’s will be available to choose the one of your choice, and our dinner will be served to us instead of a buffet as in past reunions.
We will continue to have Raffle Drawings:
General Raffle for a wide variety of items
Raffle for another Framed Trumpetfish Picture
50/50
And we’d like to try something new this year. Have items that would go to the highest bidder by silent auction. We would solicit items from businesses, and through donations by our shipmates. We learned through other Reunion Planners that this seems to be very successful at their reunions. Any input or ideas from you would be appreciated.
We’ll have a memorabilia table set-up so bring your memorable T-Fish items so others can look them over.
We’ll have the Ship’s Store set-up with many new type shirts, umbrellas, flashlights, T-Fish Assoc Pens and buttons, and lapel/cap pins.
That is the Planning Committee’s Meeting minutes in a nutshell. The meeting was long, but excellent progress was made toward another memorable reunion. I will brag on this committee at this time. This group not only get along extremely well, but it has developed into a very good working force with all of your best interests at the forefront. Every person on the committee willingly voices their viewpoint throughout the various items of discussions, and it’s always a very satisfying time for me when we have these meetings, where harmony prevails even in disagreement. I hope you will thank all these hard working shipmates and their wives for all they do to make these reunions so much fun and memorable.
The Planning Committee consists of:
Jim & Fay Brincefield
Bob Dorris
Jim & Charlotte Loveday
Linn & Maggie Rogers
Jerry & Christine Rosenberg
Terry & Lucy Trump
We are open for comments, questions, and/or suggestions from all of you out there. Remember this is a Reunion for all Trumpetfish Veterans, and we’d like to make any improvement that can make the next event better than the last. I hope this finds everyone of you enjoying good health, and we want to see you in Fairfax next October.
Take care and let me hear from you,
Terry