In this update:
- Recent finds and reconnections?
- How many on the Tehran American School Assn. lists?
- Pam Faris (TAS Spouse).
- Many thanks, Jim Moore’78.5!
- 2010 reunion decision.
- Reunion realities.
- Anyone interested in a Southern California get-together?
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1. Recent finds and reconnections?
- Judy Harrison Kenney (67-68)’69
- Erich Ault (66-69 & 73-75)’75
- Kelly Vange’78
- Kim Vange Boestam’78.5
- Susan Reichert (74-75)’79
- Katharine McGurrin (78)’83
- Alise Goudarzi Nolan (76-77 & 78)’86
- Suzi Beck Latham (76-77)
2. How many on the Tehran American School Assn. lists?
- Email list = 1,103.
- Regular mailing list = 1,143.
- Current members of TASA = 156.
- (Check with Joe on your status.)
3. Pam Faris (TAS Spouse).
Our condolences to Kevin Faris’75, whose wife, Pam, died this past month. Kevin, your TAS classmates, friends, and the TAS family are with you during this difficult time.
4. Many thanks, Jim Moore’78.5!
Jim made a special effort to have a regional get-together of TASers in the Seattle area on Friday, April 17. That effort resulted in more than 70 TASers from all different years coming together for an evening of fun, laughter and memories.
Jim, many thanks for undertaking this responsibility!
5. 2010 reunion decision.
We’re going to the Washington, DC area for our 2010 reunion! Specifically, August 5-8, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Reston in Reston, VA, a suburb of the Washington, DC metro area.
Registration fees and hotel reservation information should be available on or about August 1, 2009.
How did this decision come about?
The 4/7/09 update specified that there would be three essential criteria needed in determining this decision. They were:
I) TASers vote.
II) Determining which location is going to be the most affordable and accessible to our crowd.
II) What is our best options where we don’t have to do a lot of work or be responsible for a lot of financial arrangements, cancellation clauses, or other financial situations that place the TASA treasury at risk.
A further review of the above:
I) TASers vote. Those who voted chose the DC area over San Diego by a slim margin. But as was shared in the 4/7/09 update, the vote was not the sole criteria that determined the decision.
II) Determining which location is going to be the most affordable and accessible to our crowd.
Although there is a recession going on, San Diego remains one of the most expensive locations in the U.S. to have a reunion in. The reality with our reunions is that we need a full-service hotel with several hundred rooms in order to house our reunion and hold our functions in. In July 2008, special room rates for the Bangkok reunion at the Hanalei Hotel in San Diego were $189 a night.
While a survey of special group rates of San Diego room rates have come down somewhat, they still are in access of $150 or more a night. Too, most hotels in San Diego don’t offer free shuttle service to and from the airport. San Diego is a FANTASTIC city (I say that with some prejudice because my mom lived there until recently) and while the San Diego airport is great (I’ve flown out of it a few times on cruise assignments) and accessible and affordable for those who live in California, it is a bit pricy flying in from other parts of the U.S. And even though this is a recessionary year, the standard of living in California remains among the highest in the U.S., meaning food and service costs would be higher there than elsewhere in the U.S.
In the Washington, DC area, I’ve found a hotel, the Hyatt Regency Reston, that will offer a $129 a night rate (single/double occupancy), and free shuttle service to Washington Dulles Airport. For excursions and transportation access downtown, the hotel is a 15 minute bus ride to the DC metro system.
III) What is our best options where we don’t have to do a lot of work or be responsible for a lot of financial arrangements, cancellation clauses, or other financial situations that place the TASA treasury at risk.
While this doesn’t mean a heck of a lot to most TAS people, it speaks VOLUMES to those who are held responsible for planning a reunion. Hotels these days require a deposit from reunion groups like ours a deposit that ranges from $250 to as much as $1,000 and in some cases, stipulate that a percentage of hotel rooms will be booked by the reunion group or else penalty fees are accessed that group. Although TASA does have a treasury, I would rather have it pay for expenses to keep your alumni group going rather than have it be subject to a hotel clause that puts that treasury under the gun.
These are dark clouds that I try to avoid with a passion wherever and whenever possible when planning the TAS reunions. And to avoid these financial clauses and get help for our reunion, we are fortunate that the OVERSEAS BRATS Homecoming is happening in the Washington, DC area in 2010.
OVERSEAS BRATS will assume those financial risks. Not us.
Too, except for a few dedicated souls, few people from our crowd actually help with a reunion. We are very lucky if we get a half dozen or so people to help with the hospitality suite or the events. Too, up until 2004, when it came time for our reunions, I was spending more time working with the hotel and other suppliers, rather than with TASers. Having our reunions in conjunction with Homecomings 2004 and 2007 got us the help we needed.
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Who’s interested or planning on coming?
6. Reunion realities.
Some of these include:
*Not everyone who went to TAS will to come to a reunion.
*And not everyone will be happy with the decision for the 2010 reunion. Since the first major TAS reunion was held in Houston in 1982 there have always been people unhappy with the location, hotel, dates or situations the reunions have been held under. Still reunions were held and people came!
*We should be pleased the reunion is being held in 2010 and not 2009 when the economy is in a recession.
*No expectations on how many people will come for the reunion. Over the years between 108 and 340 have come to our reunions. We can only hope that somewhere between those numbers will show up for a reunion in the DC area in 2010.
*Yet another factor in our reunions is that while many come to party, few step forward to help, leaving that task on the shoulders of a few. This has become especially apparent with the last four or five TAS reunions. Having it with the OVERSEAS BRATS Homecoming will get us the help we need so our people can party!
*TASA alone cannot get our people to come to reunions. Your help is needed here, too!
*The OVERSEAS BRATS Homecoming will give our crowd some special opportunities that we could not necessarily afford on our own. A number of TASers participated in the jam session and Midnight concerts, things we could not afford to host if we did it on our own.
7. Anyone interested in a Southern California get-together? Why not? Over the years there have been TAS get-togethers in California. Most recently quite a few TASers showed interest in a reunion there. Let’s see if we can get something going for sometime in 2009. Who would be interested in assuming this responsibility?
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Questions on your membership status? Ask Joe!
Have a terrific day!
Joe