21 Feb 2000

'80 Classmates and Friends,

Can't believe the years have flown by so quickly, but it's time to come together and celebrate at our 20th Reunion! Your reunion committee has been hard at work and we are on track for a great gathering. The Reunion is scheduled for 18-22 Oct 00. That's also Homecoming Weekend, so the festivities will include a great football game between our Fightin' Falcons and the New Mexico Lobos. Reunion headquarters will be the Holiday Inn, just south of the Academy on Garden of the Gods Rd. Their newly renovated facilities are first-rate and their staff is eager to help make it a very special weekend for our class! We will be sending out hotel registration cards in our next letter, but if you'd like to make reservations directly with the hotel please call 1-800-962-5470 or (719) 598-7656. Please ask for the Class of 1980 Reunion rooms. Be sure to call the hotel directly at one of these two numbers. You will not be able to reserve a room at the reunion rate ($70 per night, including breakfast for two) using the Holiday Inn world-wide reservations number.

Our reunion schedule is coming together nicely. We've built in several key events for all of us (football tailgate and game, Memorial Ceremony, class photo, two all-class socials, etc.), but have left plenty of time for individual squadron get-togethers and optional free-time activities. We'll get a firmer schedule out in our next letter. Be sure to also frequently check the class website (http://usafa80.tripod.com) for updated information (thanks to Bud Uyeda for managing this super site!). For planning purposes, our first event will be a no-host social on Wednesday night at the hotel. Things will really start rolling on Thursday morning. If you have an activity you'd like to share with your planning committee, please contact us immediately through the e-mail address or phone number below.

Traditionally, reunion classes present a gift to the Academy to commemorate their visit and to augment the heritage of our school. Your gift committee is working diligently to identify the ideal gift to present. Part of our gift will include the purchase of stone pavers to commemorate the lives and service of our 19 fallen classmates. We are also exploring the feasibility of kicking off a first-of-its-kind funding raising campaign that will culminate in the presentation of a very substantial gift to the Academy to commemorate our 30th reunion. You'll soon receive a letter with background on this part of our reunion.

You will receive two more mailings from us prior to the reunion. The next will come in late April and will have information on hotel registration and our souvenir merchandise, plus a tentative schedule. We had some nice stuff last time and many of you were disappointed that you had not pre-ordered. This time, to help yourselves and the reunion committee, please insure you order in advance. The last mailing will be in July and will include registration information and a complete schedule of events. Be sure to return the registration information as soon as possible to insure we can accommodate all those who want to attend.

It is important that we contact as many in our class as possible. If your address is not current with the AOG, please provide them with an update at reunions@aog-usafa.org. Phone: (719) 472-0300. If you have e-mail, be sure to contact Don Myers (DonKathmyers@worldnet.att.net) to be added to the class list-serve. We are also posting a "lost souls" list on the class website. Please help us locate our classmates!

Finally, I want to thank the committee for their hard work so far. Tony Aretz, Ralph Boedigheimer, Eric Bussian, John Farquhar, Debbie (Dubbe) Gray, Steve Green and Chris Seaver have devoted countless hours already and we are just getting started. Many others have volunteered to help and I promise we will put you to work as we get closer to the reunion! We still need folks to serve as squadron reps/planners for the squadron events on Friday night. E-mail me if you want to volunteer. That's it for now. Until our next letter, take care!

Tom Mabry

Reunion Committee Chairman

Tom.mabry@usafa.af.mil DSN 333-4172 or (719) 333-4172.