Draft itinerary for our 40th reunion October 5 – 8, 2017.   We hope you’ll join us.

Greetings USMA77 Classmates!   

There have been several requests for a Reunion Agenda. Please find below a rough (say again, rough) draft itinerary of the weekend.  This will be finalized in the May/June time frame so there is plenty of time for your input and suggestions.

Know that the fall/winter Corps Squad schedules are months away from being announced.  We will ask for consideration to schedule home Rugby, Sprint and Hockey games if at all possible, with our commitment to support these events by our attendance.  Thanks for your support and your suggestions!
Esprit de Corps!

rich trotter
usma77, F-1/G-1

Preliminary itinerary in progress (very rough draft)

Thursday  5 October

• Golf outing
• Thayer Award Parade (tentatively scheduled pending the awardee’s availability)
• Reception at the Thayer Hotel

Friday 6 October– Activities centered around entire class gatherings

• Morning – Memorial Service
• Ike Hall luncheon
• Academy and Class updates
• Banquet at Ike Hall

Saturday 7 October

• Morning Class Picture around the Class Tree (see pic below of our tree surrounded by Jim & Diane Malcolm’s children)
• Meetings with Center of Oral History; Tours of Barracks
• 3 Meals at the Mess Hall
• Possible River Boat Cruise option
• Tailgate at Corps Squad events in the afternoon pending schedules; hopeful for Rugby and Sprint during the day, hockey at night followed by walk down the hill to the Thayer for late night beers and fellowship, then rack.
• Company centric opportunities on and off post.

Sunday 8 October

• Final farewells
• Breakfast Buffet in the Mess Hall (I have been assured the meals are slightly better at Sunday morning buffets…).  
• Hotel Thayer Champagne Breakfast by reservation.

Click here to view and download updated available lodging opportunities and information.

Looking forward to a great Legacy Reunion!
Esprit de Corps!

Classmates,

Thank you for your quick response this afternoon – the Thayer Hotel room block is full! If the Thayer is still your first choice, please contact them to have your name added to the wait list, then call one of our other blocks to make a reservation. Most of the other hotels need a 24 hour notice to cancel without penalty if you do get called on the Thayer’s wait list, but the cancellation policy (and reservation information) is listed for each block on our reunion website: https://www.westpointaog.org/1977Reunion.

In my last email, I listed the dates for the reunion incorrectly. Our 40th Reunion will take place at West Point on October 5-8, 2017.

If you have reunion questions, please contact the WPAOG Alumni Events team: reunions@wpaog.org or 845.446.1649.

Esprit de Corps,
Rich Trotter
Vice President, Class Gift & Reunion Chair

Greetings Classmates!

Esprit de Corps!  There is much to report.  Firstly, please keep in your prayers our great classmate, Greg Gorzelnik.  Greg, suffered a stroke several weeks ago [Jan 12 or 19?].  Here is a note from his wife, Monica.

Greg had a basal ganglia hemmoragic stroke at 4:30 Thursday morning.   He was doing his usual emails when he saw he couldn’t move his mouse.  He must have called out because I woke and from then on we were very lucky with timing.   EMTs arrived w/i 15 min,, firestation is less than half a mile away so the firemen could help move Greg.  Roads to stroke center were clear, ambulance did 70-80 the whole way.    (45 + miles) You have to come here to appreciate that!  The normal fog around the Poconos held off so he was able to be stabilized and put on the air ambulance to one of the top 10 Neorosurgical centers on the east coast.
The stroke caused him to lose motor functions on his left side (he’s a lefty) and a bit of vision.  He is fully cognizant He’s fighting brain swelling and inflammation.

Right now  Greg is very weak after a hard night. They gave him a drug  to control hiccups caused by stroke blood irritating his hypothalamus and it is having other reactions.  His BP is starting to stabilize Heparin is being given and I hope to get out of ICU soon.  Maybe this week.  Then he’ll be on a regular hospital ward until the blood is reabsorbed or there is no more danger of stroke, then to an acute rehab hospital near home in Scranton. Full recovery is possible ….the next 18 months will tell.  He’s strong, smart and determined. As to your offer,  I will probably need your help keeping him in good spirits and around tailgates and 40th reunion.
Thanks for your note and prayers.

Monica

God bless the Gorzelniks.

REUNION UPDATE

1. THAYER HOTEL STATUS

After weeks working thru our AOG rep, Lexie Davis, a phonecon took place last Friday to meet with the Thayer management to discuss our contract.  The Thayer will not move on their rates.  Their position is they have already reduced rates by $50 from their standard fall wknd rate.  They are a private entity now and they fight to be in the black.  The goal was to reduce the wknd rate from $309 to $279 and asked what it would take to make that happen.  They offered a plethora of cocktail, appetizer & meal options over the wknd(again pricey).  My recommendation to our class committee was not to pressure or obligate our class in smaller groups and instead sign the contract as is with the only contracted Thayer event is the Thursday nite reception.  Know that a month long best effort was made, however, it is time to sign a contract so reservations could be made.

The class committee will either approve the request or ask that more due diligence be executed.  In either case a contract will be signed by the end of next week and a day and time will be established to begin accepting Thayer Hotel reunion reservations.  Look for that date to be between the 15th and the 28th of Feb.  We asked that the Thayer be adequately staffed to accept the calls as the rooms will probably book out within hours if not less than an hour.  Know that you will be the first group to be notified of the reservation acceptance date/time and a best effort will be made to insure all our classmates have equal opportunity to make that call.

2. OTHER HOTELS/B&B’s/VRBO.com

Through the good efforts of AOG’s Lexie Davis, and my aide, Deb Reast, we have secured 180 rooms within a ten minute drive to post.  There are another 80 rooms between ten and twenty minutes from post not counting the VRBO.com opportunities which may offer the best value and flexibility for our classmates’ dollar.  Here is the latest updated accommodations spreadsheet.   Again, the recommendation is to book plan ‘B’ room now in the event the Thayer rooms cannot be secured then cancel the plan B room if successful with the Thayer booking.

3. PARADE

Rick Lynch offered to reach out to the Supe and share our class wish for a parade.  Here is Rick’s note on his conversation with LTG Caslen.

Rich

rick lynch

Should the Thayer Award Parade take place on the 5th, AOG will arrange for our class to have our own section in the stands.  Please note that the 5th is a tentative date based on the availability of the recipient.

4. THURSDAY NITE RECEPTION

Classmate Scott Anders suggested the possibility of eating in the Mess Hall Thursday nite for the Thayer Award Ceremony.  Scott’s idea was run up the flagpole.  Here is the AOG note after doing some homework.

On Jan 30, 2017, at 10:08 AM, Lexie Davis <alexis.davis@wpaog.org> wrote:

My response-

Hi Lexie and Marc,

rich

My best guess as of now is that the better option is to have the Thursday nite reception at the Thayer unless we are assured of a close front view of the poop deck in the Mess Hall.  will keep you posted.

5. SATURDAY CLASS CENTRIC GATHERINGS

On a football wknd reunion, options are limited but the day’s events are well scripted and it makes for easy planning.  This reunion’s Saturday’s offerings will be varied and many.  The only class centric offerings to date will be corps squad events.  Unlike football, all other fall sports schedules do not come out till late spring.  Several of our classmates have suggested rally points, tailgate parties and reception rooms secured for gatherings around rugby and/or sprint football in the afternoon and hockey at nite(near the Thayer).  The intent is to do just that so long as the schedule gods look kindly on us.

Greg Gorzelnik, a few weeks back, approached the hockey and rugby coaches to see if they could request home dates for their teams that day.  Pls know that should we be fortunate with these corps squad games/matches, we will arrange for tailgates for sprint or rugby and do our best to secure a good size reception room at the Kinsey Center for hockey.

Thanks to all for sharing your support for these ideas.

6. ON POST ENTRY

Pls go to this link to see the latest protocol for on post entry.  Important.  thanks  http://www.westpointaog.org/page.aspx?pid=3201&storyid21242=18269&ncs21242=3&erid=19678618&trid=20477c74-4aec-47aa-b2e7-60cb06accbf3

7.  CLASS AUTHORS

Pat Linehan has offered to be the point person to gather a list of works by our class authors.  If you or anyone classmate you know has written anything that was published pls let Pat know at prpjtdkl@aol.com.  Our hope is to have a Friday table with copies of our class authors’ books to be purchased and put on our class book shelves at home.  thanks, Pat, for taking this on!

8. CLASS GIFT

Please visit USMA77.com to see the advantages of utilizing stocks as opportunities for our class gift.  If you haven’t made your gift, pls consider doing so early and often.  THANK YOU if you have already given and, if possible, pls send more our way.  It is greatly appreciated.

Appreciate you taking on the role of company class rep.  It is so important to reach out to our classmates regularly and encourage the best attendance possible for our Legacy 40th.  Esprit de Corps!

rich

USMA77, F-1/G-1