Soley Reunion 2003
Location
Place: | Holiday Inn-Hurstbourne, Louisville, Kentucky |
Make your room reservations now Click here | |
Dates: | October 8-11, 2003 |
Room Rate: | $73.00 plus 13.95% tax = $83.18 per night |
1. The article in the Scoop explained that according to the Association Guidelines & Practices, the vote taken in Buena Park for potential reunion sites should have been for the 2005 reunion. Potential sites for the 2003 reunion were voted on at the Buffalo reunion. Those sites were Louisville, KY, Baton Rouge, LA, and the Savannah, GA area.
2. Because of the confusion on which sites should be considered for the 2003 reunion, and because those members voting at Buena Park expected the Committee to consider those sites voted on for 2003, the Committee agreed to a site survey of New England.
3. In early June 2002, Ken Hoult resigned as Reunion Coordinator, and as his Assistant, I took over the task of selecting a site for our 2003 reunion, subject to Committee approval.
4. I began the search by accepting an offer from Cliff White, who lives in Massachusetts, to do some preliminary research on the New England area. Cliff met with a staff member at the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) in New Bedford, Mass., who made some recommendations for hotels. Cliff mailed me material that he received from the CVB. Tony Vigna also pitched in and sent me some material on a hotel that was recommended to him. Thanks to Cliff and Tony for their help. Following up on their leads, I phoned Cliff's contact at the CVB in New Bedford, Mass., and made arrangements to make a site-visit to check out hotels, tours, etc.
5. I made a site-visit to New Bedford, July 28-30. Unfortunately, the hotel I stayed in, and others that I visited in New Bedford and Newport, RI, were either not conveniently located near local attractions or restaurants, didn't have adequate space for our hospitality and meeting room or our ship's store, didn't have on-site restaurants, or my overall impression was that the sleeping rooms and layout of the hotel wouldn't be suitable or comfortable for our group. Based on my written report to the Committee, it was agreed that it was in the best interest of the membership not to select New England for our next reunion. Ken Hoult and Frank Brennan had also conducted a New England site-visit a couple of years ago, and came to the same conclusion. Other hotels in the area were not considered due to high room rates.
6. Because our planning time was growing shorter and shorter, the Committee decided that rather than start from scratch by making inquiries, establishing relationships with the CVB and hotels, and making a site-visit to San Antonio, that it was more prudent to take a second look at Louisville. Late in 2000, based on the vote taken in Buffalo, Ken and I made contact and received several written proposals from hotels and tour companies in Louisville. Harlan Dahl had also given the Committee a report on several hotels, based on a trip he took there. All that was left to do was to make a site-visit to make sure the hotels were adequate, within our price range, and that there was plenty to see in the area.
7. I made a site-visit to Louisville, September 8-10, staying at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville. I also had meetings with sales managers at 3 other hotels, met with a staff member at a tour company, met with tour directors at Churchill Downs and a Dinner Cruise boat, and with the staff member at the CVB that I had been corresponding with. When I returned home, I submitted a written report to the Committee, and based on my findings the committee voted to have the next reunion in Louisville, at the Holiday Inn-Hurstbourne.
I found Louisville to be a very enjoyable place to visit. It's very accessible by car and plane, the hotel we picked is a winner, and there is plenty to do in the area. I hope that any members who might be disappointed because we are not going to one of the 3 sites voted on at the last reunion will remember that our main purpose as an association is to get together with old friends and shipmates, to tell tall tales, to remember the "good old days", and to just have a good time. We will have fun wherever we meet.
Anyone who would like copies of my New England and Louisville Site-Visit Reports please contact me, and I can either e-mail or snail mail them to you. If you have any other questions, just let me know by e-mail or give me a call.
For more information on the Louisville area see the article that follows.
Mike Pollack
Reunion Coordinator