U.S.M.C.        

                   3D 155s MIKE 4/12

       REUNION 2K4 NEWSLETTER # 1

1 FEBRUARY 2004

GREETINGS TO ALL MEMBERS AND WANNABEES!  I hope all have had a blessed Christmas and New Year's as we look forward to our 4th annual reunion this fall.  By all accounts, I believe we can consider Reunion 2K3 a resounding success. Props to those whose hard work and dedication made our first stay at the Four Queens a memorable event.  PAUL CHRISTENSEN, whose leadership, poise and administration acumen - along with his ability to putout fires - directly resulted in a well-schemed and a cordial soiree.  The lovely ALICE CHRISTENSEN, who, although painfully injured for most of the year, put up with Paul and his assistants when a lesser soul might have demanded more personal attention; RICHARD RODRIGUEZ and his lovely wife CINDY, for their myriad contributions to "the cause" as the Founding Father and First Lady of the Artillary Association; TED BAHRY for his excellence as Master of Ceremonies, his generous donation to the banquet bar tab, his valued input, and his key logistical support; JACK MARSTON, whose many contributions ranged from his work with the raffle/auction to his very generous donations of sales items with all profits turned over to the general operating fund of the Association; RANDY and the lovely DULCE MARIA SNOWMAN, for their concerted effort to ensurethe success of the raffle/auction and for providing a sense of tranquillity to all the chaos; DON E. FOSTER, for his help with the raffle and hospitality suite maintenance (not to mention the booze he donated with numerousothers) and, last but certainly not least, DOC and the lovely ADRIENNE BISHOP, for their continued commitment to "The Corps". 

    Oldtimers whose presence also lit up the reunion included ED and the lovely LORRAINE DARMETKO, TED FINLEY, JERRY VICE, OWEN and the lovely AUDREY GILLICK, TOM LOCH, MIKE MOYA, DON ROURKE and - in her debut - the lovely CAROL WACHA and STANLEY ZANN.

    Also attending Reunion 2K3 were first-timers JIM and the lovely JO DRISKELL, MATT and the lovely JANICE GRISSOM, ALEX and the lovely CHARLENE JABLONOWSKI, ODIS and the lovely JODI McCLELLAN, BILL and the lovely PATRICIA OLIVER, JOHN and the lovely SHIRLEY PERDUE, LARRY FRIEDRICH and MIKE SHAVOR (of The EMRELLS).  A Meritorious ATTA BOY and ATTA GIRL goes to oldtimers DONALD D. (RED DOG) and LUREEN FOSTER, proprietors of The Sportsman's Club in Sumner, MO. for gratiously serving as the Host/Hostess for the hospitality suite.  Suffice to say that these two (whose charisma is unlimited) know how to run a saloon!  They even extended "closing time" in the hospitality suite to O-dark-thirty and beyond.!!!  Kudos and sincere thanks to KENT STEEN, whose comments as Guest Speaker both entertained and enlightened all, while providing a trip back in time for the majority.  Additionally, the Association owes a huge debt of graditude to our Guest Speaker for his generous, anonymous cash grant to the general operating fund.  The overall success of the raffle/auction and the mellow social atmosphere wihtin the hospitality suite were made possible by donations of cash, gifts to be auctioned/raffled and liquid imbibements from virtually all attendees.  All together now:  GREAT WORK Y'ALL!!

    REUNION 2K4 will be held at The FOUR QUEENS Hotel and Casino, located at 202 E. Fremont Street in Las Vegas, NV. from September 20 to September 23, 2004.  Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-634-6045 or FAX  1-702-387-5185.  The cost of each room is $41, plus room tax, per night Sunday (Sept 19) thru Thur (Sept 23).  This special room rate is alsoguaranteed for early arrivals (Sun) and late-stayers (Thur).  If you desire to arrive a day early (Sept 19), please inform me by indicating your desire on the attached APPLICATION FORM since we have only 12 rooms reserved for early arrivals.  I can negotiate for extra rooms provide I do so at an early date.  When making your room reservations, you ned to inform theclerk that you are part of the M-4-12 Marine Reunion; otherwise, you will be charged $65 for your room.  During the reunion, we will have several events including a hosted breakfast and hors d'ouvres, a barbeque at the LEATHERNECK CLUB, a banquet dinner and live entertainment.  To help defray the cost to the association for these planned events, the cost to attend REUNION 2K4 will be $75 per individual.  Checks should be endorsed to:  JOEL N. SCHUTTE.  I would appreciateyour prompt response because our barganing power with the hotel depends upon our ability to indentify, in a timely fashion, the number of committed attendees as well as the number of rooms reserved.  MEMBERS are encouraged to review the attached APPLICATION FORM; complete it and return it to me in the enclosed, self-addressed envelope.  If you have any questions relative to the Association, membership, the reunion, etc., you may e-mail me at the following address:  burntorangejoel@aol.com.  I look forward to hearing from each of you in the coming weeks.

SEMPER FI,

JOEL