We did a survey a couple of months ago to see what your preferences were for
where and when to have the reunion.
1.
WHERE TO HAVE THE 65th
·
West Point was provided as an option and respondents could enter
any other place they preferred.
·
Here were the results:
·
Not too hard to pick a winner here – Woo Poo it will be.
2.
WHEN TO HAVE IT
·
There were several options provided and respondents could enter
other choices.
·
Here were the results:
·
Based on these results, I worked with an AOG rep to look at the
attributes of the most popular options – the pros and cons if you will.
Here is a recap of that analysis.
|
Attribute
|
|
|
Week Name
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
w/Football
|
Pre-Grad Wk Retiree Appreciation
|
Grad Week
|
June
|
|
Timeframe
|
Fall
|
Late Apr/Early May
|
Late May
|
June
|
|
Able to select dates
|
No***
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Days for reunion
|
Thurs in/Tues out
|
Thurs in/Tues out
|
Fri in/Wed out
|
Thurs in/Tues out
|
|
Attractions & Tours
options
|
Same
|
Same
|
Same
|
Same
|
|
West Point tours
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Social/Free Time
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Max
|
|
Class dinners
|
Same
|
Same
|
Same
|
Same
|
|
Parade
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
|
Lunch in Cadet Mess
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Maybe
|
|
Lunch in Ike Hall
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Maybe
|
|
Football game
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
|
Other sports
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
|
Cadet Glee Cub
Performance
|
Unlikely
|
Unlikely
|
Unlikely
|
No
|
|
USMA Band Performance
|
Maybe
|
Maybe
|
Maybe
|
No
|
|
Supt, et al briefing
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
USMA/AOG Briefings
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Alumni exercises
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
|
Memorial Service - Cadet
Chapel
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Boat Cruise - Supt's
Ferry
|
Maybe
|
Yes
|
Maybe
|
Maybe
|
|
Boat Cruise +
Constitution Is
|
Maybe
|
Yes
|
Maybe
|
Maybe
|
|
Prep School Tour
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Maybe
|
Maybe
|
|
Conflict with other
classes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
|
Crowds
|
Yes-Sat
|
Little
|
Yes
|
No
|
|
Golf option
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Demand for lodging near
by
|
High
|
Moderate
|
High
|
Very Low
|
·
The color code:
o
Green
= Good
o
Yellow
= Not so good
o
Red
= Not available or
unsat
·
Pre-Grad Week with Retiree Appreciation Day is the clear winner.
o
West Point’s annual Military Retiree Appreciation Day is a way to
thank and honor military retirees and family members for their selfless and
dedicated service to the nation.
o
As noted in the table above, pretty much everything that is
available during Grad week is available the week of the Retiree Appreciation
Day.
o
It is not nearly as crowded as Grad week or a football weekend.
·
The w/Football option was unsat because of the lack of support
from the Academy for our class for a football weekend. Here is what the
AOG rep provided :
*** Note: if you do decide
a Fall reunion, your Class would be the last Class to select your football
weekend as your Class would be choosing to forfeit your slotted Spring
reunion to a Fall reunion. Also, the football schedules are coming out
much later than previous years. We received this year’s football
schedule in March which means the planning window gets truncated to 7 months
instead of a year.
3.
THE PATH FORWARD
a.
Complete the 65th Reunion Survey 1.
i.
The primary purpose of this survey is to obtain projected requirements
for hotel rooms.
ii.
Reunion dates are Wed 29 Apr – Mon 4 May, 2026.
iii.
You will have to enter projected arrival and departure dates.
b.
To help you decide on dates to be at the reunion, here are some
references to remind you of the many things to see and do at West Point
i.
Attractions and Tours in West Point Area
ii.
Hampton’s Guide to New Your City
iii.
60th Reunion Master Schedule
c.
Use this link to complete your 65th Reunion Survey 1.
Fill out in Google Forms
i.
Obviously many things may change over the next couple of years.
ii.
Just give me your best estimate at this point.
4.
THE PLAN OF ATTACK
a.
The plan for the 65th will be similar to the plans we
had for the 55TH and for the 60th when it was scheduled
to be at West Point.
b.
For reference, attached is a copy of the 60th Reunion
Master Plan.
i.
This, undoubtedly, will provide more than you ever wanted to know
about reunion planning.
ii.
But, it will provide excellent insight into what you can expect to
see for the 65th.
Review 65th Master Plan
Questions or
comments? –
61reunion@cfl.rr.com
