Frost Valley, April 18-20, 2008

Dear Classmates,

The enthusiasm at the 40th reunion was incredible! After years of not connecting with one another I was touched by the level of caring and the feelings of trust and love that were shared by so many! We had such a great time. The only problem I heard voiced by many was “We cannot wait another 10 years to get together” joined by “I wish we had more time; the weekend went by so fast! I wish we had more time to talk to everyone … and a quiet place to do it”. Everyone really enjoyed the musical contributions of our classmates Mark Haskins, Frank Morgan, Frank Micare, Kathy Salman, Herb Mayne and Mike Otis …. and Carole Clarke Doody with her bagpipes and we wouldn’t have had in any other way. Still I started thinking after the reunion about how we could schedule a quieter time to talk, really catch up and to enjoy each other some more.

That led me to suggest this weekend at the Frost Valley YMCA Camp in the Catskill State Park. My “church” - (Unitarian Universalists don’t always use that word - they call the congregations “Fellowships” - despite the inherent gender-biased language) - has gone there for weekend retreats in the Spring for many years. And I’ve been the coordinator for the Fellowship many years, so I figured I already know how to plan this kind of weekend. I think I can coordinate it for the class without a whole lot of work. The choice of weekend is because my fellowship isn’t going this year, and that’s the weekend they have “dibs” on. I realize now that this is Passover, and I’m truly sorry - I know the timing eliminates some people. I hope this will not be the only event where we can see one another.

I don’t know how many people can come or would be interested, but I’ll offer it to all of you and any family or friends you want to bring and find out. The only tricky part is knowing how many rooms or lodges to reserve and to get the money from the attendees early enough so that I can try to modify the amount of space I’ve reserved without losing any money. I paid a deposit of $1,200 myself for two big beautiful lodges next door to one another, each with a huge fireplace in a very large common room. The minimum number of people that would cover the cost of two lodges is 48…….24 in each. Each lodge has 4 separate rooms that can accommodate up to 10 in each people, but I don’t like to put that many in a lodge.

So here’s how I plan to manage the reservations. The price is $170 per person. This covers the room, meals in the common dining lodge and use of the 6,000 acres of the park. Children 3 years or younger are free. OK here comes the tough part. If you want to go, please let me know by JANUARY 13th and mail me a check for at least half of the amount. I will have to give up any un-filled reserved space at that time. After that, it’s possible I’ll forfeit some or all of the deposit money. Unlike the reunion committee, being just one person and considering the demands of my job, I don’t have the time to make phone calls to encourage people to come and to remind them to send in their money. So please make note of the date now and follow up yourself. Talk to your friends to see who’s going. Especially those who couldn’t make it on Oct 6th.

I will ask Charlie Redmond our Webmeister to post this announcement on www.BC67.com. You can learn more about Frost Valley YMCA Camp at their website www.frostvalley.org. You can mail checks to me at PO Box 767, Brewster, NY 10509. I would like to tell you lots more about this very very special place, but I’m tired now and I can post more later on BC67.com, so check there frequently. If you have questions you can email me at joyced@ibm.com or call me at 845.278.6450 or at work if you can catch me in my office at 914.499.4383.

I look forward to spending some time kicking back with you - hiking, talking into the wee hours in front of the fire and so much more. Enjoy the coming holidays everyone - but don’t forget to reply by January 13th !!

Love to you all,
Joyce DeFlumer
Rah, Rah !! Go Eagles !!

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Joyce De Flumer
Finance Transformation
joyced@us.ibm.com
(914) 499-4383
Armonk 2C-27N-3
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