R. E. Canada Family
Reunion
17 November 1894
30 September 2016
Greetings and blessings to all,
May the Lord’s peace and favor be upon you! May your fond memories of this year’s reunion
remain with you for years to come. May
the expectations of gathering once again begin to grow within you.
First of all, I want to answer some of your questions. Yes, this is a R.E. Canada Family Reunion
letter for 2017 sent out in 2016; and yes, I am sending it now on purpose. Second, which should have been first, thank
you to Tara and John for a fantastic job with this year’s reunion. Thank you!
Now to the future of our reunion—let’s look at 3 basic
goals. We would like it to be inclusive,
sustainable, and participatory. We will
also apply the tenants of concurrent and parallel planning.
What? That means that we are going to do many
things at the same time and need to communicate.
Inclusive. We want to see each other each year for
something other than a funeral. We know
the date. It is Labor Day weekend each
year. Save the date. Protect the date.
Budget for that date. Make sure
that you schedule your time off for that date.
Double your vitamins and probiotics six months before that date so you
know you will be healthy for that weekend, which for 2017 is 1-4 September. We want you there!
Sustainable. For many years, Aunt Fern footed the bill for
lodging and all that we needed to do was be there. That was a blessing for which we should still
be thankful. Now we divide the cost
among the attending adults. Sometimes
the coordinator bears a little more financial stress than desired as deposits
are always due early and payments from family traditionally are not made until
the reunion. That makes it tight for
some coordinators and even for attendees who have to come up with the entire
amount in September of each year.
This year we are going to try a slightly different, and
hopefully better model, that is sustainable regardless of whom the coordinator
might be. It involves giving yourself,
the coordinator, and the reunion a Christmas gift. We are asking for $50 from each adult who
plans to attend by the 1st of December 2016. That means setting aside a dollar a day for the
next 50 days for each person if your budget is tight. It also breaks the cost up into 3 payments
over the year ahead.
Why? First, it gives
the coordinator a little relief come deposit time. Second, it gives you a little relief come
reunion time—you will have already paid $50 towards the final bill. This is not refundable. So if you do not attend, it is a contribution
that mitigates risk of significant fluctuation in the cost for those who do
attend. It might seem hard to swallow
the first year, but once we go through a complete cycle, I think that you will
see the benefits for all. More on
finances at the end of the letter.
Participatory. Everyone can participate in planning and
preparation. We have already made some
progress in that area. Matthew Baker (assisted by Tara) will be in charge of searching
for next year’s site. If you find
something, please research it (minimum stay, price for the days we need, rules
& restrictions, proximity, and any other items of interest or concern),
then send it to Matthew.
The geography of those who commit on 1 December may
influence the geography of the search area.
What does that mean? If most of
the people likely to attend are from the western Oklahoma area, we might look
more to Quartz Mountain. If the Texas
contingent is coming, we might look farther south. If they are not, we might look to the
Illinois River again. We may find a new
place so compelling that makes everyone’s drive worth the while wherever it
is. This is the dynamic of concurrent and
parallel planning. Many things will be
happening concurrently that will impact a few major decisions. Location is one of those decisions.
Darla is composing
a Mailing List. Please keep her current
with both your snail mail and email addresses.
If you received this letter, then we have your USPS address. Facebook is great, but these two tradition
forms of contact are more concise for certain aspects of the reunion. Later, I will set up a web page just for
basic information so as not to interfere with the ongoing conversation via
other media.
David is in
charge of Tee Shirt design and sourcing.
Send your thoughts and ideas to him early. See info on pricing on a separate page.
Tara is in charge
of billeting. We plan for every adult to
have a bed. Kids sometimes end up in
sleeping bags or atop air mattresses, but we do plan a bed for every
adult. Many of us cannot do a top bunk
and some have difficulty getting to upstairs rooms. If you have special needs, please let Tara
know early so we may plan accordingly.
Kristy Baker is
in charge of Reunion Accounting. She
will track payments made and final payments due. This also provides some accountability of the
person collecting funds in advance (me this year).
Cathy Kirkland is
in charge of meal coordination. We
always have too much food. Maybe we
should just have one meal and then leftovers. J I’m sure that it will work out great. Tell Cathy what you want to do to help.
Anne Spence will
be in charge of bringing games (Pictionary, Balderdash, or even something new).
Justin and Larry
are in charge of the auction. It will
most likely be Saturday evening.
Tom is in charge
of compliance, clean up, and check out.
We won’t know the exact requirements until we select a site, but
somebody needs to keep us in touch with the rules. This usually involves what to do with linen
and trash and details that if we can get 1 or 2 people to read them and explain
them to us, we will all pitch in and get them done. This will most likely fall to the coordinator
or site selection person each year.
Tom will moderate
the family meeting which will be held at 10:30
a.m. on Saturday, 2 September 2017. Sharman will be the recorder. She has great penmanship! J The first two agenda
items will be to elect a moderator and recorder for 2018. Other agenda items will include use of
auction proceeds, debrief of the current model, selection of a 2018 planning
and preparation team, return of the talent show, and pets for future
reunions. Please submit your additional agenda
items via email to Tom no later than 1 August 2017.
Just sayin’… It is good to come together and just visit
but we should recognize that we bring a lot of education and experience into
one place each Labor Day weekend. We
have counselors, supervisors, those who work retail and those who build,
rebuild, and repair, those good with money and numbers, pastors, retired
teachers, a couple of retired Leathernecks and others with military and combat
service, and the number of college graduates continues to grow. We even have people who are current on the
latest technology.
How about, we set aside about 1 hour right after lunch on
Saturday for 3 workshops (No! Let’s call
them Funshops!) and a craft for the
kids? Each Funshop would be about 20
minutes. Who knows, the follow-on
discussions might go on long after the weekend. Here is what I was thinking for 2017:
Biblical Finance – Amanda Swint
Empathic Listening – Tara Ryan
How do I do that with my phone? – Caitlin Womble
Craft for Children – Sharman and Heather Spence
What if we left
the reunion not only having enjoyed seeing one another, but having learned from
each other? We could set up other
workshops for 2018 at the family meeting.
~
The other what ifs… Yes these are those things that people tend
to worry about even though we have very clear instructions about not worrying
about anything and turning everything over to God.
What if I lose my job
or get in an accident or a meteor hits my car the week before the
reunion? Am I still out the cash? We can always work with extreme
circumstances. The intent in this model
is to come up with something that mitigates the risk of the group without
placing undo financial hardship on any one person. If you find out that you have to work that
weekend or you get the flu, we would ask that you donate the $50 you sent in
December and enjoy the tee shirts that will be sent to you. If you find out that you have leukemia the
week after you send in your $50, we had better not have to wait until September
to hear about it. We want to start
praying with you now and really want to find a way to get you there in
September. For most circumstances, this
model won’t impact anyone in a financially adverse manner. In fact, it should help most spread the cost
across a year. If it really puts you in
a bind, please call me.
What if I didn’t
think that I could go and didn’t send in my payments but find out at the
last minute that I can attend? Come! By all means come and be a part of this
special gathering. You may have
to bring an air mattress or sleeping bag and deal with what’s available, but
please come! There are no penalties for
having not paid in accordance with the very official looking schedule that is
attached (other than you have to pay for everything at once when you arrive [as
we have done in the recent past] and if you didn’t order a tee shirt, we can’t
pull that out of thin air).
What if I am pretty
sure that I can’t go but would like the tee shirt? Just send in your money in March and we will
send them or deliver them to you. If you
find out later than you can go, well see the preceding paragraph and know that
your shirts will be waiting on you.
What if I can’t
afford to contribute to the food?
That should be the least of your worries. We usually end up with enough food to feed
twice as many people as attend for twice as long. Pitch in somewhere else with preparation or
cleaning or whatever you notice needs to be done and don’t worry about food
costs.
What if we try it
this way and don’t like it? Notice
closely that this is written on paper and not in stone. Give it a try this year, evaluate, and then
we will keep what we think works, kick the rest to the curb, and get creative
where we need something better.
Tom Spence
2017 Coordinator
580 515 2995
Tomspence0302@gmail.com
Snail Mail: PO Box
809, Burns Flat OK 73624
Bonus!!! I will contribute $10 towards your
housing costs for the first 3 Registration Fees received before 1 December 2016
if you also can tell me the
significance of the date on the letterhead and the full names of the two people
responsible for that date. I will go by
the postmarked date on your envelope to determine sequence. USPS registration only for this
incentive. More ways to earn something
towards your bill to follow.
Payment Schedule and Explanation of Charges
|
DATE
|
PAYMENT
|
NOTES
|
|
1 DEC 2016
|
REGISTRATION FEE (NON REFUNDABLE)
$50
|
THIS SAYS, “I’M COMING AND I WANT A BED! I WILL DO MY BEST TO SAVE THE DATE AND BE
THERE!”
OUCH! THIS SEEMS EARLY AND CHRISTMAS IS JUST
AROUND THE CORNER. REMEMBER, THIS IS
YOUR CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO YOURSELF.
SET THE MONEY ASIDE NOW BEFORE YOU SPEND TOO MUCH ON CHRISTMAS.
THIS IS ONLY FOR ADULTS.
|
|
1 MAR 2017
|
TEE SHIRT CHARGE
$25
|
YOUR SHIRT WILL PROBABLY COST LESS, USUALLY $12-$18. IF Y0U CAN’T MAKE IT, WE WILL DELIVER OR
SHIP YOUR SHIRT TO YOU ALONG WITH WHAT’S LEFT AFTER THE COST OF THE SHIRT AND
SHIPPING. IF YOU DO MAKE IT, ANYTHING
OVER THE COST OF THE SHIRT WILL BE APPLIED TO YOUR HOUSING COST. THIS IS FOR ALL ORDERING TEE SHIRTS—ADULTS
AND CHILDREN.
|
|
2 SEP 2017
|
FINAL PAYMENT
|
THIS WILL BE THE BALANCE DUE.
SO IF YOU ARE PAYING ONLY FOR YOURSELF, AND THE CONSTRUCTIVE [FOR THIS
EXAMPLE ONLY] HOUSING COST PER ADULT WAS $135 AND YOU PAID $50 IN DECEMBER
AND HAD $9 CREDIT ON YOU SHIRT ORDER [PAYING $25 IN MARCH], THEN YOU WOULD
OWE $76 IN SEPTEMBER.
IF THERE WERE 2 ADULTS AND 2 CHILDREN IN YOUR GROUP, YOUR TOTAL BILL
WOULD BE $270 FOR HOUSING MINUS THE $100 THAT YOU SENT IN DECEMBER. YOU WOULD HAVE SENT $100 FOR SHIRTS IN
MARCH BUT WOULD HAVE A $36 CREDIT, BRINGING YOUR FINAL FAMILY PAYMENT TO
$134.
|
I don’t like charts
and graphs and tables. What do I need to
do? Save $1 per adult per day from
now until the reunion. On 1 December
2016 send Tom $50 per adult. On 1 March
2017, send Tom $25 per person for shirts.
When you arrive, you can pay the balance. If you are only planning for yourself and
saved $1 per day per adult, you will have $225 for your reunion budget remaining. That should cover your housing cost and
travel expenses and more. If you have a
carload of kids or multiple adults, you may have to use the table above and do
some math. If you have a carload of
kids, give it to them as a special homework assignment. J This will work!
General Itinerary
(Tentative)
Friday, 1 September
2017
Arrival
Meals on your own
Saturday, 2 September
2017
10:30 am Family
Meeting
11:30 am Lunch
12:30 pm Funshops
and Craft for Children
8:00 pm Auction
Sunday, 3 September
2017
TBD
Evening Sing
Along (Lloyd, please bring your guitar)
Monday, 4 September
2017
Clean up, pack up, farewells (usually by 11:00 am)
This will surely be revised several times based upon
location and activities in the area, meal plans and eating out, and a variety
of other factors. Scheduling will be
kept to a minimum to keep the whatever
factor high.
