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63rd Annual Updated: 18 May 2010 |
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Reunion
Forms & Info Tour
Registration (On-Line) Life
Membership Application Hotel Travel Bloomington |
Reunions are a time for all of us to gather together and renew old friendships and make new ones and we want each of you to be a part of this great event. The Troopers of the 1st Cavalry Division Association will be meeting in Bloomington, Minnesota to celebrate our 63rd Annual Reunion from 2-6 June, 2010. The 1st Cavalry Division will be back from Iraq and we will be bringing some of our Troopers to this reunion. Come and join us for a fun time meeting old friends and making new ones. We have numerous events planned and there will be opportunities for you to go off on your own and see the surrounding area. The Walter H. Westman Northland Chapter has set up an excellent program, so make plans now to join us for our first reunion in Minnesota. LODGING The hotel hosting our reunion is the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, Minneapolis South and is located at 7800 Normandale Avenue in Bloomington, Minnesota. This hotel will serve as our Reunion Headquarters for the 63rd Annual Reunion and all of our regularly scheduled events will occur here. For reservations call the national number at (866) 837-4278 and make sure that you identify yourself as part of the 1st Cavalry Division Association Reunion to obtain our special rate of $109 per night plus tax (13.65%). Rates are for single and double occupancy, additional fees apply for larger groups in rooms. While the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel has discontinued normal shuttles to the airport and the Mall of America, they will be providing both services during our reunion to their 1st Cavalry Division Association guests. Please note that the folks that handle reservations at the national number will not be aware of the shuttle so don't ask them about it. Additionally, their web page says that they have discontinued this service but since it is in our contract they will provide the service to us. The Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, Minneapolis South is located in the heart of Bloomington and is only ten minutes from the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America. The hotel has 564 recently renovated rooms and suites and we have blocked a minimum of 325 rooms on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the reunion. Rooms have the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed, cable television, with the normal amenities included in the room and internet service available for a charge. The hotel offers an indoor heated pool, sauna, whirlpool, and 24-hour fitness center. Additional information on the hotel will be provided at a later date. The Sheraton offers you the opportunity to eat at the Nine Mile Grill, Navigator’s Lounge, the Restaurant Coffee Shop and at Stevie Ray’s Comedy Cabaret. Additional information on the hotel and what it offers is available on their web page at (Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, Minneapolis South). There are additional restaurants and fast food venues within walking distance of the hotel and the Mall of America has a wide variety of places to eat. RV Parks There are several RV parks located in the area for those of you that are coming and wish to stay in your RV. The hotel does have a place for you to park your RV if that is your only transportation. Contact information for the RV parks is below:
REUNION EVENT
OVERVIEW The
Walter H. Westman Northland Chapter welcomes each of to Bloomington,
Minnesota for the 63rd Annual Reunion of the 1st Cavalry Division
Association. Walt Westman will
be turning 100 years young in 2010 and has promised to be there to welcome
all of you to the reunion. Walt
is a Horse Cavalry Trooper that served with the Division in As
usual, this reunion will include a Welcoming Mixer on Thursday; Gold Star
Family Breakfast, Ladies Tea, War Era Lunches and Sweetheart Dance on
Friday; Unit Lunches and our Annual Association Banquet on Saturday; and
Group Breakfasts and Memorial Service on Sunday.
We will have meetings of the Chapter Presidents and the Foundation
and Museum Foundation Trustees on Thursday, the Board of Governors on
Friday and our General Membership meeting on Saturday morning.
During our General Membership meeting we will hold elections for
the Association and both Foundations.
Please put this important meeting on your list of things to do at
the reunion. This
is the second year that we will have the Gold Star Family Member Breakfast
and want everyone that is in contact with the families of our fallen
Troopers to invite them to attend. There
is never a registration fee for our Gold Star families and the Association
will pay for their breakfast at this event.
Julie Kink, the sister of WO Kink who was killed in Vietnam while
serving with 1-9th Cavalry, and was our guest speaker in Killeen lives in
Minnesota and wants each of you to join us for this special event.
The Sweetheart Dance raises funds to support the Foundation of the 1st Cavalry Division Association. Proceeds help fund scholarships for the children of Troopers that were killed in action or were totally and permanently disabled. The
Ladies Tea will have an additional activity for the ladies to enjoy and we
promise the tea will be hot this year!
The
Reunion Banquet will mark the end of the term for our current President,
James W. “Pete” Booth and see the gavel passed to our President Elect,
Lyman C. “Chan” Duryea who will serve for the next two years.
The Commanding General of the First Team will be present to give us
a “State of the Division Address”.
As always, our Division Honor Guard will be in attendance to post
the Colors of the First Team. If
you have not been able to attend one of our Memorial Services and hear the
“Long Roll Muster”, please plan on attending this one.
This is a very special way to honor those that gave the ultimate
sacrifice or that have gone on to Fiddler’s Green to wait for the rest
of us. Seating
for all events is open with the exception of the Reunion Banquet on
Saturday night. If you are
attending the banquet, you must get your tickets marked with a table
number at the Banquet Seating table when picking up your registration
packet. If you want to sit
with specific people, we recommend that you all go to the Banquet Seating
table together with your tickets available.
Don’t wait until the last minute or we may not be able to
accommodate your needs. Cavalry
casual attire is appropriate for all reunion events.
We are always questioned about attire for the banquet.
Wear what you feel comfortable wearing; a coat and tie, your
uniform (if it still fits), casual clothing with open collar or jeans or
shorts. We want you to attend
and aren’t overly concerned with what you wear, as long as it isn’t
indecent! The
Association provides a Reunion Room in the Sheraton during the reunion for
you to gather together and enjoy yourself.
Drinks in the Reunion Room are free but we ask that you generously
donate to help us pay for this room. The
Crossed Sabers Chapter Souvenir Shop will set up a gift shop in the
Sheraton to sell all kinds of First Team merchandise including shirts,
hats, Stetsons, pins, decals and other items to numerous to mention. The Newest Additions to our Reunion The Walter H. Westman Chapter has coordinated with the Minnesota Air National Guard to bring in a CH-47 Chinook and a UH-60 Blackhawk to be at the Air Guard museum just for our visit. They have also coordinated for Huey to be on display in the East Courtyard of the hotel, which is just off of the main lobby. Jerry Barnhart, the producer and Co-host of the TV program, "Vet's Visit on TV" will be at the reunion to film part of our banquet on Saturday evening for a future show. He has offered to mail out copies of the unedited footage of the banquet to any of our members that wish to get one for the nominal fee of $5. We will coordinate a sign up area and you will be able to pay for and sign up to receive these DVDs. TRANSPORTATION We
encourage you to coordinate your travel arrangements by using our on-line
Cav Travel program. Visit
www.ytbtravel.com/firstcav
and give it a try. We have
received a couple of complaints and several compliments on this site.
Our Travel Program offers you discounted rates and also provides
the Association with some income. If
you don’t like making your own travel arrangements and do not have a
travel agent that you regularly use, we recommend either of the two
following travel agents in our area that we know are reputable. Casa
Blanca Travel –
Toll free (866) 833-0327, local (254) 526-5555, web site www.cbamex.com/ If
you send a message to either of these travel agencies, please remember to
provide them with your telephone number and e-mail address so they can
contact you! Air
Travel – The Minneaplois/St.Paul International Airport (MSP) is
serviced by 14 airlines. The
Lindbergh Terminal has Air Train/Bus
Travel – AMTRAK serves the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
The MSP Midway Station is located at The
Walter H. Westman Northland Chapter has coordinated for several tours for
this reunion through metroConnections, Inc.
No one knows the area and what is good to see like the folks that
live there all of the time so we think you will really enjoy these tours.
Additional
details on these tours is available on their web page (metroConnections)
and you can sign up for the tours on line or complete and mail the form
Tour Registration form to: Do not mail your tour registration form to the National Headquarters in Texas! Join
us and help make
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