 AFTER
ACTION REPORT
5 November 2008
Subject: USAFA Class of 1968, 40th Reunion,
1-4 Oct 08 Author: Gene Rose, Reunion
Chairman Registration: All registration was
conducted on line thru the AOG website. I did do a "beta test" of the
actual registration form with 4 local classmates and that sorted out one or two
minor issues. In general, the on line registration worked fine and five years
from now I suspect it will be fine-tuned. AOG support:
The AOG took care of all administrative issues, including signing all contracts,
handling all registration issues, and paying all bills. In addition, they reproduced
and mailed all the class mailouts and prepared the registration packages. Our
initial point person, Cindi Kinder, resigned early in the spring and I
was quite concerned. However, our new point person, Jennifer Ganzler, quickly
got up to speed and gave us terrific support. I was very pleased. It is important
that this person be kept fully up to speed on all issues related to the reunion---I
made her a cc on nearly every email I wrote. In addition, she attended all meetings
of any consequence, particularly those at the Embassy Suites. Timing:
We elected the go with the Navy game weekend because it was early in the year
and would likely offer good weather, and because the date was known well over
a year out which gave classmates the opportunity to make plans well in advance.
The downside was that the Class of '63 also chose that weekend and so had priority
over our class for choice of hotels and the USAFA schedule (golf, Mitchell Hall
lunch). Our choice worked out well and presented no problems. My advice would
be to stick with an early weekend, particularly to help ensure good weather. If
the interservice game is early in the year, then go for it even if '63 has priority.
If the interservice game is much later than early October, then I would hold off
and select the first home game in September that is available. The downside to
this is that the actual date would not be know until March or April of the reunion
year. Registration "gift": The reunion
committee elected to give all classmates a '68 coin as a registration gift (a
misnomer, as it is actually paid out of their registration fee). The coins were
$5 each and we received $15 into the class fund for everyone that registered.
We could not find a gift appropriate for spouses so we did not have one. The coins
were a big hit, and I did not receive any complaints from spouses. Classmates
are still trying to buy leftover coins to give as gifts. The 45th reunion committee
might want to pursue the same path, perhaps with a slightly revised coin. Nametags:
Steve McPhail took care of procuring the nametags, which included a cadet
picture, and large first names to make it easy to read (based on previous reunion
critiques). They seemed to be a big hit. After some discussion, we did not include
a picture of deceased classmates on nametags for survivors who attended, but did
place a gold star on their nametag. This all seemed to work well and I did not
receive any complaints. Wednesday Social:
We continued the tradition of a Wednesday social sponsored by the class. A total
of 262 said they would attend, and we purchased food at $20 per person based on
that. In my opinion, not that many attended so we overspent. It seems to be a
fact that when we ask for a count of folks that will attend a free event, more
sign up than actually attend. This was also a high number for the Wed social based
on past reunions. The committee for the next reunion might want to ask a nominal
fee of perhaps $10 per person for the social to get a better count, and help with
the finances. Individuals not staying at the Embassy Suites also needed to purchase
a "happy hour" ticket at the front desk for $8. I did not receive any
complaints. Hike: I led a two-hour hike from
the Embassy Suites to Ice Lake on the Academy, and we had some light snacks at
the turn around point. About 20 people went on the hike and it was a lot of fun.
We followed the Santa Fe Trail from the Woodman Road access very close to the
Embassy Suites. Golf tournament: Al Blumberg
handled this and I defer completely to his expertise. I would have preferred a
scramble from the white tees, but perhaps that is just me. We had fun, although
we had one weather delay. If possible considering the other constraints, a morning
golf tournament as opposed to afternoon offers a better probability for good weather
early in the fall. Thursday banquet: Total
of 389 attended. It went just fine and the food was good. We paid for a video
projection system and sound system within the Embassy Suites. The sound system
was OK and I was able to make a number of announcements and the class quieted
down and I think most folks were able to hear. Blair Stewart gave Pat Russell,
our webmaster, a plaque on behalf of the class, and he received a loud and well-deserved
recognition. Pat McBride had prepared a very nice video but the video projection
system in the ballroom did not work (the one in the atria area did). The Embassy
Suites refunded us half the money for the system after I complained, and then
left it in place so we showed the video again on Friday, this time in both rooms-so
it actually worked out OK as a number of classmates and spouses arrived on Friday. FAC
Dedication: This went extremely well and was a very nice coincidence so a
large number of classmates were able to attend. We paid for 3 buses to take classmates
to the Dedication site from the Embassy Suites and return, based on 220 who signed
up. We had more busses available than we needed; again, since there was no charge
we had more sign up than attended. The class donated $10,000 to the FAC Association
in honor of our five classmates killed in action as FACs. The expenditure was
recommended by the Reunion Committee and approved by the Class President, Phil
Pignataro. Friday lunch: It was held
at Arnold Hall with the Class of '63. The AOG set this all up and I thought it
was fine. Friday briefings: The Sup and his
staff did a fine job. The new AOG CEO also made a favorable impression. Questions
were, with one exception, reasonable. Open House:
We did not really have much time to wander around. I had asked the Dean's office
thru the AOG if we could go into classrooms if the instructor left the door open.
The Vice Dean disapproved without comment. Might want to pursue this again next
time. Memorial Ceremony: This was a real break
with tradition to hold it at the cemetery, as opposed to the chapel. It was a
wonderful event thanks to the hard work of a lot of people, principally Steve
McPhail, Carl Janssen, Bill Bowman, and Garry Dudley.
We rented a tent and chairs for primarily next of kin who attended. The sequence
of events was just great and the program was terrific. I would not change a thing.
The class (or next of kin) had purchased memorial markers for nearly everyone
in the class who had died and was buried elsewhere, so we had either a memorial
marker or an actual grave marker for almost everyone deceased in the class. Next
of kin or a classmate placed flowers at each site at the conclusion of the formal
ceremony. The only issue with this ceremony is that it is very dependent on the
weather. We got lucky even though thunderstorms threatened. Another option might
be to consider holding this on either Friday or Saturday morning to hedge our
bets for the best weather. Class leadership will need to decide if we will continue
the practice of a memorial marker for every classmate who is buried elsewhere---I
suspect the answer will be yes, but there will be a significant funding issue
in the long run.
Friday dinner: Total of 453 attended. The events
started with a magnificent performance by the cadet chorale that was
set up by Greg Shuey. We rented a grand piano for the performance
and I think the chorale was very pleased with the response of the audience.
The people in the back of the atria evidently could not hear the performance
well, and so continued to talk throughout the performance. Those that
moved to the front could hear fine, but when the chorale was not performing
the noise from the back of the room was distracting. I anticipated this
problem and discussed it in numerous emails and even put out a plea
in the welcome letter in everyone's packet to be quiet during the performance-but
I was not successful. The meal was terrific and I think everyone enjoyed
the evening. A lot of squadrons took pictures and I had brought the
class flag to the Embassy Suites, but in hindsight I wish I had made
everyone aware of it for the pictures.
Saturday
tailgate: It was set up by the Athletic Association and I thought it was just
fine. The food and beverages were plentiful and tasty. Football
game: The area set aside for reunions is on the west side of the stadium and
in the top tier. It is hard to get to for folks not in the greatest of shape.
I heard a number of complaints. Might want to see if the athletic association
can offer some other options-but I suspect this is pretty much set in concrete
for the long run due to season ticket sales. Embassy
Suites: The atrium area and the general areas of the Embassy Suites are very
attractive. The room rate of $107 per night was superb and I did not hear any
complaints about the rooms. Dusti Butaud was very easy to work with and
wanted everything to go well. The food and service were quite good-although everything
is expensive. The main drawback with the Embassy Suites is that they do not have
a single room big enough to hold the entire class. As a result, it is nearly impossible
to get everyone's attention. For instance, having a guest speaker is out of the
question. I also thought they were expensive when we wanted to add on anything
after the initial contract was signed i.e. the hospitality suite and the audiovisual
support. If we had made earlier decisions on those, I suspect the Embassy Suites
might have thrown them in as an inducement to use their facility. The ballroom
area did have a dance floor and they set up a lot of tables, but it is pretty
plain in appearance. However, from a big picture standpoint the Embassy Suites
suited our class very well. The emphasis was on socializing with classmates and
the atria area is very well suited for that. The hotel included a two-hour happy
hour in the price of the meals for everyone who was staying there; others paid
an additional $7 per person for the happy hour each night when they registered.
Nothing is ever perfect, but from an overall perspective I was well pleased with
the service and value we received. Flags and Coins:
The AOG has both our class crest flag and the large class "jump" flag
and will retain them until the 45th. They also have a number of leftover coins
and were selling them off at $5 each. I suspect there will not be any left. Video:
The video prepared by Pat McBride was a big hit and we are making plans
to "sell" classmates a DVD copy for a minimum $20 donation to the class
agency fund. The AOG will handle the administrative aspect of all this for $1
per transaction. No cost sign up: Whenever
we asked for an estimated attendance at an event that was no-cost (Wed social,
hike, FAC dedication, open house at the Janssens) we got a very high and erroneous
response. In most cases it made no difference, but in a couple of cases it cost
us money. Next reunion committee needs to keep this in mind---if you want an accurate
count, probably need to charge a nominal fee of some kind. Funding/Gift
Fund: In January of 2008, we had approximately $14600 in our class gift fund
(non taxable money). As the reunion came to a close the gift fund was about empty.
We spent $10000 for the FAC Memorial, and around $14500 for the memorial markers.
However, survivors of deceased classmates and classmate contributions to the fund
made up the difference. That fund will continue to receive donations from classmates
for some time so it should slowly build. It is already up to around $15000 as
I write this report (counting all pledges), and that does not count donations
after the reunion. As I mentioned earlier, if we are to continue with a tradition
of memorial markers for all classmates not buried at the Academy, we will need
a continuing program of donations into this fund. Funding/Agency
Fund: Our class agency fund (taxable operating fund) had $46800 in it on January
2008. I had no concerns about spending some of the class agency funds that had
built up over the years. We offset $5 of the actual cost of the Thursday buffet
for all attendees, paid for all the food for the Wednesday social, funded the
hospitality suite on Wednesday and Thursday, paid for audiovisual support in the
Embassy Suites, rented a grand piano, paid for dinner for the cadet chorale, and
supported the memorial ceremony at the cemetery with a tent, chairs, flowers,
and program. We also reimbursed classmates for personal expenses associated with
nametags, contacting next of kin of deceased classmates, food for the hike, and
the plaque for Pat Russell. Although all the bills have yet to be paid,
I anticipate the agency fund will have over $40000 in it as we move towards the
45th. Bottom line: we are in good shape. Checking
the Money: Although there is a natural tendency, once the actual reunion is
over, to relax and let the bills come in and get paid by the AOG out of the class
fund, do not succumb to the temptation. In reviewing the bill from the Embassy
Suites, I discovered a $2000 overcharge, which they then corrected. It would be
easy to just let the money sort itself out without paying attention, but the reunion
committee and particularly the chairman are not finished with the task until the
final bill is paid. Tell the AOG you want to personally review all the final billing
for correctness-with email it is not all that time consuming. Continuity:
I have three continuity folders for this reunion, and a large amount of accumulated
items from previous reunions. I will retain all this at my house until we begin
to power up for the 45th. At that time I will turn it over to the next reunion
chairman. Future Reunions: Al Blumberg
was my principal assistant this reunion (he volunteered) and attended all key
meeting and was copied on all emails. Al is a volunteer to be the chairman for
the 45th. He was involved in nearly all the major decisions, as well as most of
the more mundane tasks. If he still wants to run the 45th when the time arrives,
he will have my support. At our first meeting for the 45th, those in attendance
will vote to select the chairman among the volunteers. I know ten years is a long
way off, but that will be our 50th and probably our most significant reunion during
our lives. The reunion committee has started a tradition of the principal assistant
for one reunion moving up to run the next. I know that worked very well for me,
and Al is poised to run the next one. If you think you might want to be the reunion
chairman for the 50th, think about serving as the assistant for the 45th. Last
bit of advice: Start early, get good folks to take on the major tasks, and
then stay out of their way. Use meetings to make the big decisions (when, where,
key events on schedule) and email/phone to actually control the process of events. Gene
Rose, Chairman | 
