2009 Reunion email

Synopsis of 2008 family meeting:
(i leave spouses names out to type faster)
Cousins attending:
Stormie
Valerie
David
Ann
Jessica
Jarrod
Catie

Cousins not in attendance:
Wade
Anna
John
Chad
Steven
Michelle
Brad

You can see that we only had 50% of the cousins at the meeting so we felt that we werent able to make all the choices for 2009 because not everyone was there to give an opinion.

**We did have to set the date for this year just so that we could reserve locations, but that had been decided by most of the family in 2007 and in subsequent emails SO the date for the reunion will continue to be Labor day weekend which will be September 4-7, 2009.
**We discussed the planners, it was decided that we would volunteer for a 2 year turn on a staggered basis. That way there will always be an experienced planner in the duo. Jessica & Valerie had planned the last 2 years, Jessica stepped down and Kelli volunteered so Valerie/Kelli are this years duo. Next year will be Kelli/new volunteer.
**We discussed the auction.....everyone liked having the live auctioneer and we did raise more money that way (thanks Ed!)
**We had a croquet tournament and that was much liked and voted to do again.
**We liked having the family service outside and want to make sure that continues
**The Bingo and Bridge were done like usual and that was agreed to continue
**There was 100% agreement that having 2 full days instead of 1 was great and made our time that much nicer.

Location: Due to our current economic issues we wanted to bring this up for a vote. Also, David & Kelli just spent a weekend at Roman Nose and we didn't want to mention it if it wasn't a good option.

During the meeting, there was a 6 to 1 vote in favor of keeping the location at Mount Sequoyah. There was overwhelming support of agreement that being in a single "house" with a living room and comfortable seating was worth the extra cost. Also, we were able to use the pool as much as we wanted since it was early enough in the year to still be warm outside. The emotional tie was that this was the location of our last reunion with Granny and Lloyd. The major positive factor was the lodging/comfort, the major negative factor was the cost.

At Mount Sequoyah, the concern was the increase in cost for 2009. Last year, Jessica & Val planned/shopped for all the meals and everyone took turns serving them. Even if this hadn't been the nightmare it ended up being since nothing in our kitchen worked, we don't have the OPTION of doing that again because they are gutting the kitchens and are requiring that we eat in their dining room. This will signifigantly raise the cost over what we paid in 2008.

The alternative mentioned was Roman Nose group camp. The group camp has the A-frame cabins with the central dining/meeting hall similar to the one i know many of us remember growing up at Red Rock. Also, there are the community (just our family) bathrooms. One for women and one for men. They aren't very private. It is more like nice camping. This was considered and discarded in the past due to the VOTE we took which said we wanted privacy/comfort in our rooms and we didn't want to cook meals. They do cater and would do that in our dining hall or we could decide to do our own meals again. They also have a lot of activities available. The emotional tie is that it is near Hitchcock so it would be reminiscent of our trips to visit Granny & Grandad growing up and we would be able to visit Eagle City which we havent done as a family in years. The major positive factor was the location and cost. The major negative factor was the lodging/comfort.

About Roman Nose, we pay a flat fee for the weekend no matter who is there, the more we have the less it costs and the less we have the more it costs. We have based the nightly fee on an average of what we have had in the past. The final cost will be determined when we actually get there; however, it won't change much. Additional cost would be if you wanted to rent a cottage or stay in the lodge instead of at the group camp with the family, those are available by calling the park office and would be on top of the cost for the reunion.

I wanted to give you a sort of comparison between the 2 so you could see what is available, PLUS please check out their websites:



I am also showing last years cost (if you werent there than it is what it WOULD have been) compared to the cost this year of both places.

The breakdown is this for 2009:
*lodging (adults are 18 & up)
*meals (adults are 13 & up) under 1 is free.
*Also, we would provide fri. night and Mon. morning for $5 per adult.
*Meal prices for 1-12 year olds are 1/2 price.

Mt. Sequoyah:
$35 per night/adult, $26.50 per day/adult + $5 grocery/supplies fee per adult
Roman Nose:
$15 per night/adult, $22.00 per day/adult + $5 grocery/supplies fee per adult