1. ABI Newsletter is Coming to Town 2. Register for Houston Online and be Entered for a Prize Drawing 3. Reunion Questions 1. ABI NEWSLETTER IS COMING TO TOWN The Fall 2004 newsletter should be in your mail box later this week. The newsletter is filled with lots of Houston 2005 Reunion information, information regarding nominations for the upcoming election, ideas for places to hold a class party in Houston, an overview of the various ways for obtaining or receiving information about events and news, ABI financials, and much more. Help us track the newsletter arrive by signing on to BradBoard and posting a message. <http://www.aramco-brats.com/BratBoard/> 2. REGISTER FOR HOUSTON ONLINE AND BE ENTERED FOR A PRIZE DRAWING The ABI is pleased to announce that online registrations for the 2005 reunion are now being taken. Even better, registrants who register online will be entered for a prize drawing to be awarded at the reunion. Experienced reunion goers will notice a few changes in the process this year. We've eliminated that pesky, confusing Reunion Survey step and using the online registration form let's you completely avoid doing your own math. The new form includes clickable links that lead directly to more information about various aspects of the reunion such as why XXL t-shirts cost more and details on the sports competition facilities. Registrants will still need to mail in a check to cover the biennial AdBak and their registration fee as calculated with the online form. To use this exciting new feature, just go to <http://www.aramco-brats.com>, click on the Reunion button in the toolbar, and then click Reunion Registration in the menu on the left. Follow the directions on the form, mail your check and then get yourself to Houston in May. 3. REUNION QUESTIONS If you have any reunion questions, please post a message to the Houston 2005 at reunion2005@aramco-brats.com. They are in the best position to answer your questions. You can also post questions and comments on BratBoard (<http://www.aramco-brats.com/BratBoard/>), which has forums specifically created for reunion-related questions and answers. Wishing you and your family Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Diana Ryrholm-Geerdes RT 1962 for the ABI Board of Directors --------------------------------------------------------------- This is the ABI Announcement List, a low-traffic list reserved for official ABI business. To unsubscribe, send an email with your name and class to opt-out@aramco-brats.com. Email webmaster@aramco-brats.com if you have any questions. ---------------------------------------------------------------
1. Reunion Tennis Help 2. Planning a Road Trip 3. ABI Suq 4. BratBoard 5. Class Rep Vacancies 1. REUNION TENNIS HELP The Houston Reunion Committee 2005 needs your help !!!!! The Reunion Committee would like to have the Tennis Tournament at the University Club at the Galleria (indoor courts), just down the street from the DoubleTree Hotel. It is a private club, and they would like to know if any Houston Brats are members, and if so, would they allow us to use their membership for the tournament. The Committee could also use the Houstonian (a bit further away) if anyone is a member of that club. Please respond to AndrewBobb@aol.com. 2. PLANNING A ROAD TRIP? ABI has several boxes of treasures that need to get from San Diego to Houston and/or Oakland to San Diego before the reunion in May. If you are planning a road trip and have extra trunk space, please contact diana@aramco-brats.com. 3. ABI SUQ It is never too early to start planning what you are going to pack to take to the Houston 2005 Reunion. Check out the ABI Suq to purchase T-Shirts, sports towels, 6-pack coolers, beach towels, and Brat window stickers. To access the ABI Suq, point a browser at the ABI home page (http://www.aramco-brats.com/), click the 'ABI' button in the toolbar, and click 'ABI Suq' when the menu appears on the left side of the window. 4. BRATBOARD The ABI BratBoard (http://www.aramco-brats.com/BratBoard/) is our new innovative way to communicate with fellow Brats. Keep up on the latest ABI and reunion news; join a discussion regarding food, recipes, culture, politics; communicate with your classmates; or initiate a new topic for discussion. You just need to register for a free membership if you want to post messages, but you can read messages even if you are not yet a member. 5. CLASS REP VACANCIES If you are interested in being a class rep, but wonder what the job entails? Visit http://www.aramco-brats.com/classes/cr_faq.htm. We are looking for reps for: AB57, DH57, RT57 AB63 & DH64 DH74, RT74, AB75, DH75, RT75, AB78, DH78 DH80, RT80, UD80, UD81, RT82, UD82, UD83, RT86, UD86, UD87, AB88, AB89, UD89 AB90, RT90, UD90, AB91, RT91, UD91, AB92, RT92, UD92, AB93, DH93, UD93, AB94, DH94, UD94, AB95, RT95, UD95, AB96, RT96, UD96, AB97, AB98, DH98, RT98, UD98, AB99, RT99, UD99 We also need class reps for all classes, all districts, 2000 to present. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about how the ABI is doing. Happy Fall, Diana Ryrholm-Geerdes RT 1962 for the ABI Board of Directors --------------------------------------------------------------- This is the ABI Announcement List, a low-traffic list reserved for official ABI business. To unsubscribe, send an email with your name and class to opt-out@aramco-brats.com. Email webmaster@aramco-brats.com if you have any questions. ---------------------------------------------------------------
The following was mailed to all AramcoBrats for whom we had an email address on August 12, 2004.
To improve our service to the Brat community, we have set up an ABI email announcement list, which will be reserved for official ABI business. We don't expect the list to receive more than one or two messages a month. We recognize that some folks might find even this low level of email traffic to be intrusive. If you'd prefer not to receive an occasional ABI announcement, you can just reply to this message (or send an email to opt-out@aramco-brats.com)and we'll remove your address from the announcement list. If you unsubscribe from the announcement list, you're welcome to rejoin later. 1. Calling All AdBaks 2. Houston 2005 Reunion Hotel Reservations 3. Help Wanted - Reunion Class Party Night 4. Help Wanted - Reunion Tennis and Golf Tournaments 5. From the ABI Test Kitchens 6. Newsletter/Address Verification 1. CALLING ALL ADBAKS!!! As you know, the ABI runs on donations from Brats - we call these donations AdBaks (Administrative Baksheesh). The recommended AdBak amount is $18 if you live in the U.S. or $23 if you live overseas. (Feel free to donate beyond that...we won't mind!) It would be of great help to our planning if we had an idea how much money we have to work with for this term. If you have not yet paid your 2003-2005 AdBak, please use the form in the newsletter or on the website to do so. Questions? Contact our Treasurer, Cathie McCoy at cathie@aramco-brats.com. 2. HOUSTON 2005 REUNION HOTEL RESERVATIONS We are pleased to report that, after a brief delay to sort out some technical issues, the Hilton (2005 reunion hotel) webpage customized for reunion reservations is now online and ready for use. To make your reservations, point a browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator only) at <http://www.hilton.com/en/dt/groups/private_groups/iahws_abt/index.jhtml> and click the "Book a Room" button below the hotel picture. The ABI has negotiated a special room rate of $79/night for rooms, so make sure you tell the reservation clerk you're an AramcoBrat if you call for your reservation. The reunion dates are Thursday, May 26 through Monday, May 30. The banquet is in the evening on Sunday, May 29. The special $79 rate is available to Brats three days prior and three days after the reunion. There are no suites available at this time. We expect a limited number of Junior, One Bedroom and Two Bedroom suites to become available no later than December 2004. If you would like to be placed on a wait list for a suite, please contact Diana Ryrholm-Geerdes at diana@aramco-brats.com. In order to assure that you have accommodations at the reunion, you should reserve regular room(s) now, which you can cancel if a suite becomes available. 3. HELP WANTED - REUNION CLASS PARTY NIGHT Saturday night at the reunion is designated as class party night. We are looking for one person from each class to organize the gathering for their class. You can plan to get together to look at old photos and yearbooks, go out to dinner, have a hotel-catered event in one of the meeting rooms, or whatever else you might like to do with your class. If you're interested in helping with your class event, please contact Gretchen Connally (ABI Class Rep Coordinator) and Penny Dougharty-Mahers (Houston Reunion Committee) at class-parties@aramco-brats.com. 4. HELP WANTED - REUNION TENNIS AND GOLF TOURNAMENTS The 2005 Houston Reunion Committee is looking for a couple of volunteers to assist in organizing the tennis and golf tournaments (they already have a volunteer for the bowling tournament) to be held during the reunion. They would prefer someone who lives in the Houston area and plays the sport. If you are interested, please contact Penny Dougharty-Mahers at penny@aramco-brats.com. 5. FROM THE ABI TEST KITCHENS We are very excited to announce our plans to put together an AramcoBrats, Inc. Community Cookbook. Remember those great Dhahran Women's Group cookbooks that our moms had?? Let's aim for something of similar greatness! If there is sufficient interest, our plan is to put together a great cookbook that has traditional family favorites, as well as all of those great Middle Eastern recipes that our families collected during our years in the Kingdom. Please submit your favorite recipes as soon as possible to Gretchen Connally. You can email gretchen@aramco-brats.com or send them in the mail to 116 Sapphire Lake Drive, Kyle, TX 78640. If you have any questions about the project, please feel free to email Gretchen. 6. NEWSLETTER/ADDRESS VERIFICATION The Spring 2004 issue of the ABI newsletter was mailed out last month. If you have not received yours yet, please contact our Database Director, Sherri Dent-Moxley (sherri@aramco-brats.com) to confirm that we have your correct current mailing information. You can complete the online address change form (http://www.aramco-brats.com/address_change_form.htm) to update our mailing and email information for you. If you didn't receive your newsletter, you can view it online as an Adobe Acrobat file at <http://www.aramco-brats.com/newsletter/BratnewsS2004.pdf>. To contain ABI costs, we are no longer remailing newsletters that are returned to us. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about how the ABI is doing. Hope you are having an enjoyable summer, Diana Ryrholm-Geerdes RT 1962 for the ABI Board of Directors --------------------------------------------------------------- This is the ABI Announcement List, a low-traffic list reserved for official ABI business. To unsubscribe, send an email with your name and class to opt-out@aramco-brats.com. Email webmaster@aramco-brats.com if you have any questions. ---------------------------------------------------------------
Dear AramcoBrat,
Even if you are sure you are not interested in the reunion, READ THIS MESSAGE! (Especially number 3) __________________________________________________ In this e-mail: 1- Reunion Update -- Status Report 2- Reunion Goodies -- What to Expect 3- New Simplified Reunion Registration Process!!! __________________________________________________ 1-Reunion Update Only six short weeks to go! As things currently stand, 419 people have completed their registrations and mailed them back. This is shaping up to be as fine a reunion as we have ever had. The good news is that there is plenty of room for all the procrastinators and undecideds to get in on the reunion action this coming Memorial Day Weekend. Contrary to early reports -- blame it on erroneous communications from the main hotel -- *nothing* is sold out. Rooms are available for all nights at the El Conquistador, so make a reservation now to ensure you don't miss a thing throughout the reunion. (Reunion Hint: Some of the best and most memorable reunion experiences happen between midnight and sunrise. If you're asleep at another hotel or a friend's place, you are just flat out going to miss those altogether.) So pick up the phone and call 1-800-864-1284 to make your room reservation. Do it now. If the reunion registration process just seems too complex and that's holding you back, jump down to number 3 below for some great news. __________________________________________________ 2-Reunion Goodies -- What You Will be Missing if You Don't Go to the Reunion The reunion committee and the ABI have planned another fantastic weekend which includes live music each night, special drink prices, discounted room rates, an abundance of door prizes, the ever popular raffle/auction, the Sunday night banquet, the live auction, pinatas, bowling, golf, tennis, group and class photos, class party night, the opportunity to relive your childhood, visit with old classmates, meet new Brats, reminisce, have fun, and much more. But then, all of that just goes without saying. What you probably don't know is that, thanks to a generous cash contribution from Aramco Services Company, the reunion committee has personal shoppers scouring the streets of Al Khobar even as you are reading this. The resulting hoard of baubles and treasures from our shared past will be shipped to the reunion to be used as prizes, gifts and door prizes throughout the weekend. The only sure thing is that if you aren't there, you won't be able to share in this incredible bounty. Are you someone who remembers hours playing Spades, Hearts or Backgammon with friends as a primary form of social interaction. Does the reunion committee have a deal for you! Come to the reunion and check out Auntie Di's Perfectly Fabulous Game Room. Grab an old friend and challenge them to a rematch of that game you lost so long ago in the land of our youth. Now, this is just a rumor, but there may be some olfactory stimulation to be had at the reunion this time as well. Sources report the heady aroma of warm pita bread, slow-roasting meat and rich tahini sauce might be found emanating from one or two small stands around the pool throughout the weekend. Wink, wink. If this is something that matters to you, you know what we're talking about. There is so much more, but time is short. The only way to experience it all is to reserve a room and register today. Which conveniently leads us right into the third topic of this announcement. __________________________________________________ 3- Registration Made Easy -- A New Simplified Reunion Registration Process Time is short. Decisions need to be made very soon on the number of t-shirts and other goodies to order. The sooner you register the more accurately the reunion committee can estimate what needs to be ordered. If you have not received your registration packet yet, it is most likely because you haven't paid your AdBak and/or filled out the reunion survey. In the interest of streamlining and making it easier for you to register, we have decided to eliminate these steps between now and the reunion. If you want a registration packet mailed to you, please e-mail Erica at ericamel@comcast.net or call at *82-1-520-529-2164 (*82 unblocks your phone number to ensure your call goes through). She will need your full name (first, maiden and last), your correct address, and your District and Year. You can pay the required AdBak, registration fee, and late registration fee in one shot and mail it all back with your completed reunion registration. We'll sort it all out for you and you'll be all set in one easy step! Even more important though is for you to call and reserve a room at the El Conquistador immediately! Don't wait for your registration package to arrive. Do it now. It will become more difficult to secure a room at our reduced rate (if at all) after April 30. Call the El Con for reservations at 1-800-864-1284. Make sure you say you are with the AramcoBrats. BONUS MESSAGE -- If you've read this far, you really are someone who should be at the reunion. The bottom line is this: These things are magic. They renew, revive and rejuvenate us like nothing else can. Come home. Spend the weekend with a few hundred friends who know you like nobody else can. ============ This is the ABI Announcement List, a low-traffic list reserved for official ABI business. To unsubscribe, send an email with your name and class to opt-out@aramco-brats.com. Email webmaster@aramco-brats.com if you have any questions.
The following was mailed to all AramcoBrats for whom we had an email address on January 27, 2003.
1. Officer Nominations 2. El Con Change of Ownership 3. Overflow Hotel Information 4. Survey/AdBak Reminder 5. Reunion notes :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Officer Nominations Nominations are open for the four elected ABI Board positions (President, Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer). If you are interested in placing your name in nomination for one of these positions, or if you are interested in knowing more about what these officers do, please contact Gary Barnes (gbarnes@ne.rr.com). Officer nominations will close on February 15, 2002, and ABI ballots will be mailed on or about March 1, 2002. Gary Barnes had received an inquiry from someone regarding the Secretary and/or Treasurer position. Unfortunately, his computer died and he lost this person's contact information. If you were that person (or if you know who the person is), please contact Gary. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: El Con Change of Ownership The El Conquistador has been purchased by CNL Hospitality Group and Hilton Hotels. The resort's new name is Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf and Tennis Resort. This purchase does not affect our reunion. Our El Con contacts have assured us that Hilton has "some good things" in store for the hotel, and they are confident that it will all be very positive. The guest rooms in the main buildings have all been renovated in the last year, and the pool area is being remodeled. The El Con staff is still in the process of converting from the Sheraton to the Hilton system. They have only entered reservations through mid-March. This means that we cannot receive an accurate printout until all transfers have been made. Please be assured that everyone's reservations are in place and nothing will be lost. IF YOU DO HAVE A RESERVATION AT THE EL CON.... (especially those holding multiple rooms for friends, siblings, parents, etc.) Please take a moment to think if you do require all the rooms you have reserved. Call and make sure that those you are holding rooms for are not doing the same thing for you. Please release any unneeded rooms as soon as possible! El Con Cancellation Policy: If a guest should cancel a reservation, the deposit is refundable if notice is received at least 7 days prior to arrival and a cancellation number is obtained. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Overflow Hotel Information Our overflow hotel for the 2003 reunion is the Holiday Inn Express (of Oro Valley). This is an all suite hotel that sits at the foot of El Conquistador Drive. The Holiday Inn Express can be reached at 520-202-4000. You must tell them you are an AramcoBrat to get the special rate of $72.95 (this rate is for one or two people; it is $82.95 for triple or quad occupancy). This price includes the deluxe breakfast buffet -- if you can manage to be out of bed that early after all the fun you'll be having the night before! The cut-off date for this room block is May 10, 2003. All rooms that remain in the block after that date are automatically turned back to Holiday Inn Express. Reservations received after the cut-off date shall be available by request only, on a space available basis. Once you have made your reservation with the Holiday Inn Express, please e-mail Diana Ryrholm-Geerdes (drgeerdes@cox.net) and the Hilton El Conquisador (zuraida_lewis@hilton.com) and request to be on the wait list for a regular room at the El Con. You must give us your arrival and departure dates, as well as your contact information (e-mail address, telephone number, and snail mail address). Please make sure you have AramcoBrats in your heading. All of this will ensure that we have an accurate list. Room transfers will be made on a first come, first served basis. There will be cancellations between now and the end of May as people firm up their plans and release rooms. If you have placed your name on the wait list and are notified that you have a room at the El Con, it will be your responsibility to call the Holiday Inn Express at 520-202-4000 to cancel your reservation (no penalty if canceled more than 24 hours before scheduled arrival date). Please e-mail Diana Ryrholm-Geerdes (drgeerdes@cox.net) if you have any questions or concerns or are just plain confused! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Survey/AdBak Reminder If you want to receive the Reunion registration packet, you must send in your reunion survey and pay your Administrative Baksheesh. You can complete the reunion survey online by pointing a browser at http://www.aramco-brats.com/re_pre_bsurv.htm. To pay your Administrative Baksheesh, send a check for $18 (if you live in the U.S.) or $23 (if you live outside the U.S.) to Kathy Montgomery, Treasurer AramcoBrats, Inc. P. O. Box 2036 Pismo Beach, CA 93448 You can find the AdBak form on the ABI website at http://www.aramco-brats.com/adbak2.htm. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Reunion Notes
The following was mailed to all AramcoBrats for whom we had an email address on December 13, 2002.
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