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Departure
September 1st
Sunday
1st (Arrival) Day
August 29th
Thursday
AFVN 2019 Reunion
August 29 to September 1, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Don't say "maybe some day." Come and join us this year.
Introduction
You may not be all excited about seeing us, but we sure as hell are excited at the prospect of seeing you again. Let’s face it, some of our tales and memories don’t kick in until we hear a familiar voice from 40 years ago or get caught off guard by someone else's version of a story you’ve always seen differently. Bring a significant other. Bring the family. Bring your pen and pocket notebook, because there will be lots of stuff you will want to follow up on. There’s no class distinction, no layered degrees of importance. If you were a janitor who did nothing more than sweep the halls and keep our ashtrays empty, you were part of the mission and you deserve to be there for the goodies and camaraderie. If Pat or Adrian or Roger walk through the door, they aren’t there as celebrities. They are there as alumni of a very, very special group that once brought a touch of home to those 58,000-plus people whose names stretch through the years on that damned dark wall in Washington. Last time we had folks show up who thought they didn’t belong because they weren’t talent, or because they weren’t officers, or because they only played “a small role” for AFVN. Listen up, folks. No one played a “small role.” Every one of us, from the Conex dwelling supply moles to the “extras” who brought us voices from the Red Cross or the Big Red One or MACV or from Oz or from the land of Kiwis -- every one of us was simultaneously completely replaceable and incredibly indispensable. We may begin making reservations on November 1st, 2013. I will begin peppering the site with information and updates as we get closer to the end of this month. Remember, friends, that we have reached that part of our lives where we attend more funerals than weddings. Whosoever will may come.
Ken Kalish, 2012
Dates
August 29 through September 1, 2019.
Activities Schedule
(To the best of the Webmaster's knowledge as of March 26, 2019.)
Note: Rooms can be reserved for up to three days prior and three days after at the same rate.
Hospitality Room
Calhoun Room
From 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 or
even until midnight
depending upon use.
AM
Free Tour and Open House of the Pavek (Broadcasting) Museum from 10:00 to 11:00. Bus departs at 09:30.
(20 minute or so bus ride.)
PM
Free Time
Evening
Dress is informal.
18:00 – Social Hour
with optional "Cakewalk."
(Move to Cedar Room)
19:00 – Dinner & Desert
Cocktails can be purchased individually at the nearby Bistro 79 and brought to the dinner.
(Move back to the
Calhoun Room)
Silent Auction or Raffle of donated items
Light popular music after the auction.
2nd Day
August 30th
Friday
AM
Good-bye and
see you next time.
Please check-out of the
hotel by 1100 a.m.
All personal Items must
be removed from the Calhoun Room
before it is closed on Saturday.
Attendees
Click Here
Tips for the Elderly when Traveling by Air
Posted because more and more of us are getting there--i.e., elderly if not downright ANCIENT!
[Received from John Kafka in May 2019.]
Minneapolis Airport Marriott
2020 American Boulevard East
Bloomington, Minnesota 55425
Reservations may be made any of the following ways:
Tel: (952) 854-7441 (in Minneapolis)
1-888-236-2427 (Central Reservation Office)
Fax: (952) 851-4762
Go to this link.
In all of these cases, while the hotel has rooms with double beds or king size beds,
you will have to wait to designate one or the other until a date closer to the date of the
reunion or when you sign in. [Don't ask the Webmaster why!]
Rooms for the AFVN Conference are for August 29th through August 31st.
However, you may reserve rooms between August 26th and September 3rd at the same rate.
When calling for a reservation, mention that you are attending the AFVN
(American Forces Vietnam Network) reunion.
Reservations, to include an advance deposit or credit card guarantee for the 1st night's room and tax, must be received on or before Tuesday, July 30th, 2019. At this time, the hotel will release the unreserved rooms for general sale, and any requests received on or after July 30th, 2019 will be provided on a space available basis.
If the Group Rate is not available after the cutoff date, the prevailing rack rates will apply for reservations confirmed.
Hotel Room Charges
Single or Double: $109.00 + tax and fees or $124.56/night
For those who arrive early or wish to stay after the reunion,
this rate is good for three nights before and for three nights after the reunion.
Cancellation Policy
If you must cancel, please notify the hotel as well as the AFNVETS.net Webmaster as soon as possible.
Hotel cancellations will be accepted up to 48 hours prior to the start of the reservation.
Hotel Transportation to the Airport
The hotel provides complimentary Shuttle Service to/from the MSP Airport (5-minute drive).
Upon airport arrival, call the hotel at one of the above numbers after you have collected your baggage and
then go to the designated pick-up point. Coordinate your departure with the Front Desk.
Taxis are also available for approximately $15.00 one way.)
Hotel Transportation to the Mall of America
The hotel also provides regularly scheduled buses to and from the Mall of America.
Again, check with the Front Desk for more information.
Bristro 79 Bar & Restaurant -- A Small Advertisement
Pleasing even the pickiest of palates, our Minneapolis Marriott hotel's restaurant and bar offers delicious
dining options ranging from burgers and sandwiches to soups and salads. Pair your meal with one of our signature cocktails in a sophisticated atmosphere.
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner Phone: +1 952-854-7441
Use of the Calhoun Room -- Personal Drinks and Snacks
We will have the Calhoun Room from August 29th through 31st. It has chairs and tables and, when it is not
being used for specific events it will be available as a gathering place and/or a place for meeting others, etc.
It will have tables for any AFVN items you may bring as well as for displaying the items for the silent auction.
During our reunion, we may bring drinks and/or snacks into the Calhoun Room for our own consumption.
The room will be either manned or locked at all times in order to protect anything you leave in the room.
Except for the dinner on the 31st, Complimentary parking will be provided.
Reunion Registration Form and Payment
The registration form is available here as a PDF file.
You should be able to print the form by doing a right click.
The registration fee is $50.00 per group or veteran, while the cost of the dinner is $45.00 per person.
Please fill out the registration form and mail it as follows along with your check, so as to arrive by July 30th, 2016.
Payable to Jerry Nelson, AFVN Reunion
2710 Whitehouse Drive
Kokomo, Indiana 46902
Other Activities
Reunion Silent Auction/Raffle
As we have done for the past several reunions, we will have a silent auction/raffle following the dinner on August 31.
Please try to bring something which you think someone else might be interested in. It may be related to AFVN or something more general. When you get to the reunion, please place whatever you have brought on one of the tables arranged around the room. Place a paper cup beside it for those who are interested in the item so they can "bid" by putting or more tickets in the cup. Tickets will be available for $1.00 each. Buy the tickets in pairs and put one or more of each in the cup or cups and keep the others as proof of your bid. The more tickets you put into any one cup, the "higher your bid" and therefore the better chance you have of winning.
VA Benefits Update/Forum
In the Calhoun Room,on Friday, August 30th, 2019, from 10:30 to noon, Mr. Jon Gohn, VFW Service Officer/Claims
Director, Dept. of Minnesota, will present a VA Benefits Update/Forum. He will talk on topics of both general interest
as well as on Agent Orange, to include an update on Presumptive Diseases; open discussion throughout.
Free Tour of the Pavek Museum (of Broadcasting)
From 10:00 to 11:00, the morning of August 31st, we will have a free tour and open house of the Pavek Museum
(of Broadcasting). It is presently being renovated and will re-open just before our reunion.
The bus for the museum leaves at 09:30 sharp.
The Mission of the Pavek Museum is:
To bring to the community at large a broader knowledge of how pioneers in electronic
communications created an enormous impact on the evolution of society,
To stimulate in young people a new recognition of the practical and real contributions
to our quality of life that exploring science and the communication arts can bring, and
To provide a permanent and living repository for the preservation of historically
significant apparatus, material, and documents relating to the rich mosaic of
the development of electronic communications.
Questions, Special Needs, etc.
Please direct all questions, and information on special needs, etc. to
Chuck Ingle, chuck@roscoevfw.com or Jerry Nelson,Webmaster2.
Special needs include both physical and dietary problems.
Minneapolis VA Hospital
The Minneapolis VA Hospital switchboard phone number is (866) 414-5058 toll-free and (612) 725-2000 in the metro area.
If one needs prescription medications for whatever reason, the walk-in wait while having records retrieved is about half an hour. The Minneapolis VA pharmacy toll-free number is (855) 560-1721. The drive to the VA from the hotel is ten minutes.
If it is necessary to call 911, ask to be taken to the VA ER. If that isn’t possible and you are taken away via ambulance to a non-VA ER, be sure to tell the non-VA Emergency Room and hospital staff that you are a Veteran. You must report your non-VA inpatient admissions and/or emergency room visits within 72 hours to the Business Office at the Minneapolis VAHCS at 612-467-2019. You are required to sign a Release of Information form at the non-VA facility to allow them to release your medical records to the VA. The VA cannot pay without those records. You or your family must then request that your VA medical records also be sent to the Minneapolis VA.
Assistance Fund
Again, as done for the past three reunions, an assistance fund will be established. Anyone wishing to donate may do so. Both donors and recipients will be anonymous, and donors wishing an accounting will be given one without any designation as to whom payments were made. There was some negative feedback during the 2016 Reunion, but an audit of the fund can be arranged if the donors wish. If you want to donate but are uncomfortable with this method, please look at the group pictures of the past three reunions. There are several individuals in every picture who would not have been able to join us without a bit of help. Imagine what those photos and the other pictures would have looked like with half a dozen or so faces missing. If you're still uneasy after that, please don't donate.
Donations to the Assistance Fund should be made by US$ check payable to AFVN 2019 as follows;
First National Bank of Hutchinson
Attn: Jeanette Hoffman
PO Box 913
Hutchinson, KS 67504-0913
You should receive an acknowledgment and/or receipt by email within 48 to 72 hours.
Any and all amounts, large or small, will help your fellow AFVN Veterans.
If you need assistance, please contact Jim White at jimw@gol.com (his personal email address to help maintain confidentially).
Reunion Committee
Coordinator & AFVNVETS.net Webmaster: Jim White (Webmaster@AFVNVets.net)
Treasurer and Registration: Jerry Nelson (Webmaster2@AFVNVets.net)
Assistance Fund: Jim White (jimw@gol.com)
Local Coordinator (Details): Chuck Ingle (chuck@roscoevfw.com)
Ass't Local Coordinator: Ken Kalish (Ken@carmabiz.com)
Ass't Local Coordinator: Mike Sullivan (Sully@NarrationServices.com)
Remember, everyone, "Whomsoever will come, may come."
3rd Day
August 31st
Saturday
Hospitality Room
Calhoun Room
From 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 or
even until midnight
depending upon use.
AM
Talk by Jon Gohn, VFW Service Officer/Claims Director, Dept. of Minnesota.
From 10:30 am to 12:00 noon.
Vietnam Veteran
Commemorative Presentation.
This will be followed by a free luncheon and entertainment at the Bloomington VFW Post. All AFVN members and their guest are invited.
Afterwards
Visit the Mall of America, the Jimmy Jam Studio, the Prince Studio advance individual tickets required (Link), take a paddle boat ride on the Mississippi, visit the Science Museum of Minnesota, etc.
The Minnesota State Fair (in St. Paul) will be running during our reunion. There are shuttle buses from the Mall of America to the Fair.
Hospitality Room
Calhoun Room
From 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 or
even until midnight
depending upon use.
( Reunion Registration.)
Please come to the Calhoun Room to locate friends or friends-in-becoming,
leave your bags until you
can check in, or
"do your own thing."
Evening
The Uptown VFW has a free Burlesque Night this evening.
If interested, please mark it on the registration sheet so we can get a head account in order to secure preferred seating. Plan to leave the hotel by 19:30 (moved up to insure better seating). Car pooling is encouraged. You’ll want to
see this large and beautiful VFW Post! All those registered for the reunion are welcome.
Hotel Check-In
Check-in is from 4 p.m. but you may come to the Calhoun Room anytime from 8:00 a.m.