Post by Stretch on Feb 8, 2009 22:41:07 GMT -5
Now is the time to start making plans for attending the 2009 Marine Corps AFFR Reunion.
The dates are locked in for the 23rd and 24th of October, 2009 at The Clubs at Quantico (on base) at MCB Quantico, Virginia. This is the site of 2005's reunion... the Clubs complex right next to the traffic circle. Those who attended 2005's shindig can attest that this is a nice place...
Click on link: www.quantico.usmc-mccs.org/TCAQ/TCAQ.htm
Meet and greet / informal fellowship is the plan on the evening of Friday the 23rd, with heavy hors 'd overs and cash bar. Cost is $21.00 per person.
Historically, Saturday afternoon has been set aside for a Crash Crew open house and barbecue hosted by the Marines of the A.J. Rose Air Rescue and Fire Fighting facility (Quantico's new crash barn).
The more formal reunion dinner will be held Saturday evening, the 24th. Cost is $24.00 per person.
Make sure your money and reservation are in our hands by September 30, because we have to give Quantico the final tally on October 1.
I'm sure most of us will make a beeline for the new National Museum of the Marine Corps... www.usmcmuseum.com/index.asp
My intent here (at this early date) is to get the word out about the dates so us workin' folks can start making plans to get time off from work, saving up $$$, etc.
Here are a few hotels in the area...
www.ramada.com/Ramada/control/Booking/property_info?propertyId=02669
www.hamptoninn.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=WASDFHX
www.sleepinn.com/hotel-dumfries-virginia-VA327?promo=gglocal
www.super8.com/Super8/control/Booking/property_info?propertyId=03911
A note to those who attended (and were disappointed with) the 2007 reunion at Cherry Point (which included myself)...
The site for the 2007 reunion was decided by popular vote amongst the AFFR membership and announced at the 2005 reunion at Quantico. What we did not know at that time was that the Clubs at MCAS Cherry Point were scheduled for renovation during that time frame, and when it came time to make the reservations for our reunion, the Clubs at Cherry Point did not exist! They had been torn down to make way for a brand-new facility.
Which left the AFFR Association all dressed up with nowhere to go.
The exact dates for the reunion had been picked out by the Board of Directors, within the 'Early Fall' timeframe suggested by the membership during the election. Havelock, North Carolina isn't exactly a hotbed of convention activity, and that left us with two options, since nothing could be found on base at that time: The Hampton Inn and the Holiday Inn.
The Hampton Inn was actually our first choice, but due to size constraints and scheduling conflicts, we decided to check with the Holiday Inn. The Holiday Inn was nice... only a couple years old, with a bar, restaurant, convention hall, and on-site catering. We made reservations and paid the deposit. We were all set.
Or so we thought.
It turned out that the hotel staff had been asleep at the wheel for some time, and Holiday Inn Inc. pulled the franchise just a few months before the reunion. It was alleged that the place was in the process of being bought by Quality Inn (or somebody), but by the time of the reunion, it was owned by Rajiv Dasgupta Patel or somebody, and no major chain wanted anything to do with the place. For good reason.
The restaurant had been closed, the catering staff was running on a skeleton crew, and the rooms were starting to fall apart. In the end, quite a few AFFR members had to swap rooms because of electrical and plumbing problems. And the in-house catered food was dismal at best.
It amazed us that a national-chain hotel could fall to pieces so fast. And for that, we apologize. I cringe when I think of the first-time attendee, thinking to himself "These AFFR guys are a bunch of low-rent morons, holding a reunion at a dump like this."
Live and learn. Come join us at The Clubs at Quantico, mentioned proudly at the top of this post. A large time will be had by all.
The dates are locked in for the 23rd and 24th of October, 2009 at The Clubs at Quantico (on base) at MCB Quantico, Virginia. This is the site of 2005's reunion... the Clubs complex right next to the traffic circle. Those who attended 2005's shindig can attest that this is a nice place...
Click on link: www.quantico.usmc-mccs.org/TCAQ/TCAQ.htm
Meet and greet / informal fellowship is the plan on the evening of Friday the 23rd, with heavy hors 'd overs and cash bar. Cost is $21.00 per person.
Historically, Saturday afternoon has been set aside for a Crash Crew open house and barbecue hosted by the Marines of the A.J. Rose Air Rescue and Fire Fighting facility (Quantico's new crash barn).
The more formal reunion dinner will be held Saturday evening, the 24th. Cost is $24.00 per person.
Make sure your money and reservation are in our hands by September 30, because we have to give Quantico the final tally on October 1.
I'm sure most of us will make a beeline for the new National Museum of the Marine Corps... www.usmcmuseum.com/index.asp
My intent here (at this early date) is to get the word out about the dates so us workin' folks can start making plans to get time off from work, saving up $$$, etc.
Here are a few hotels in the area...
www.ramada.com/Ramada/control/Booking/property_info?propertyId=02669
www.hamptoninn.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=WASDFHX
www.sleepinn.com/hotel-dumfries-virginia-VA327?promo=gglocal
www.super8.com/Super8/control/Booking/property_info?propertyId=03911
A note to those who attended (and were disappointed with) the 2007 reunion at Cherry Point (which included myself)...
The site for the 2007 reunion was decided by popular vote amongst the AFFR membership and announced at the 2005 reunion at Quantico. What we did not know at that time was that the Clubs at MCAS Cherry Point were scheduled for renovation during that time frame, and when it came time to make the reservations for our reunion, the Clubs at Cherry Point did not exist! They had been torn down to make way for a brand-new facility.
Which left the AFFR Association all dressed up with nowhere to go.
The exact dates for the reunion had been picked out by the Board of Directors, within the 'Early Fall' timeframe suggested by the membership during the election. Havelock, North Carolina isn't exactly a hotbed of convention activity, and that left us with two options, since nothing could be found on base at that time: The Hampton Inn and the Holiday Inn.
The Hampton Inn was actually our first choice, but due to size constraints and scheduling conflicts, we decided to check with the Holiday Inn. The Holiday Inn was nice... only a couple years old, with a bar, restaurant, convention hall, and on-site catering. We made reservations and paid the deposit. We were all set.
Or so we thought.
It turned out that the hotel staff had been asleep at the wheel for some time, and Holiday Inn Inc. pulled the franchise just a few months before the reunion. It was alleged that the place was in the process of being bought by Quality Inn (or somebody), but by the time of the reunion, it was owned by Rajiv Dasgupta Patel or somebody, and no major chain wanted anything to do with the place. For good reason.
The restaurant had been closed, the catering staff was running on a skeleton crew, and the rooms were starting to fall apart. In the end, quite a few AFFR members had to swap rooms because of electrical and plumbing problems. And the in-house catered food was dismal at best.
It amazed us that a national-chain hotel could fall to pieces so fast. And for that, we apologize. I cringe when I think of the first-time attendee, thinking to himself "These AFFR guys are a bunch of low-rent morons, holding a reunion at a dump like this."
Live and learn. Come join us at The Clubs at Quantico, mentioned proudly at the top of this post. A large time will be had by all.