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It is with a heavy heart that I inform you on the passing of shipmate James Kees on Monday 26 September, 2011 This is the link for his obituary. His specific link is on the right of the page. http://www.riserfuneralhomes.com/fh/home/home.cfm?fh_id=11543 There are many things happening at the USS Manatee Association and website that everyone should be aware of. To insure we continue getting the word out to our family of friends and shipmates the publishing of the USS Manatee Newsletter has been moved to this page on our website. We will be mailing and emailing to get the word to everyone we can. A couple of real changes will occur in the near future regarding the distribution of this letter and those of us involved in the day to day progression of this endeavor hope the changes are very positive. I am in the process of finalizing the details for the cruise in April and will be contacting everyone that has expressed a desire to attend very shortly.
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Photo is from the 2010 reunion in San Antonio, Texas We have recently attended another wonderful reunion of shipmates and friends in the beautiful city of Phoenix, Arizona. The hosts there were Dan Mehner and Jim Osenton along with Dave and Ann Perrigoue. The facilities at the Holiday Inn Airport were very nice and the rates were reasonable. We were allowed to have a hospitality room that our hosts had amply stocked with food and drink. There were a few shipmates attending their first reunion and a complete list along with photos will be included in newsletter updates. We also enjoyed tours of the city of Phoenix and a longer trip to Sedona, AZ that were available at very reasonable costs. After the dinner and the auction we normally vote on our next city for a reunion but this year a unique and exciting alternative was suggested. Those present have suggested we explore the feasibility of a sea cruise for our next reunion. The time period will be about the same and we will investigate a Florida or east coast departure port with an airport near. I brought up Galveston but as they only visit Mexico there was not a lot of support which I believe is due to the political climate. I will encourage input from all in regards to a cruise. We have no solid figures on costs associated with a cruise but believe those costs would be similar to those we now experience with our reunions when you figure in lodging and meals costs. Either way we will need to have the support of everyone involved with USS Manatee to make this a success. I encourage everyone to make their wishes known and email me at rick.bari@gmail.com . I am also asking everyone that took photos at reunions to send some select ones for publishing on this site. Please identify those in the photos and the reunion at which the photos are from. |
