Chris Branagan wrote: > Greetings to all! At last, interest in the Reunion again! > > The plans for the Whitney Research Group Reunion are very much > alive and well. Lynn Legere and I have been working since > early in February. Allan Greene and Jeanne Muse have agreed to act > as advisors for us, although we haven't had much for them to do > yet. Jim Whitney has offered to guide us if we need legal > help. Other volunteers are encouraged to be part of the Organizing > Committee. Let us know how you want to help. > > Plans so far are sketchy, as they should be this early in the > process. We are proceeding slowly, attempting to get as much > feedback as possible through use of the polls on the Whitney clan My > Family. com site. We are still early in the game, and there is time > to shape the WRG Reunion 2002 so that it will meet as many needs > as possible. We know we will not be able to please everyone. > > So far the WRG Reunion 2002 looks like this: > > PURPOSE: The purpose of the Whitney Research Group Reunion 2002 > will be to allow for sharing of the scholarly work done on the > Whitney family including information gathered on John and Elinor, > Henry, the Southern Whitneys and the Canadian Whitneys. In > addition, the Reunion will provide an opportunity for members of > the WRG to get to know one another better. > > PLACE: The WRG Reunion 2002 will be held somewhere in the > Boston/Cambridge/Watertown area. This decision was made from > responses to the polls on the Whitney clan My Family. com site. This > part of Massachusetts is rich in opportunity for history buffs of > all kinds . In addition John and Elinor Whitney settled in > Watertown, Mass in 1635. We are looking for a hotel that will > agree to give us free use of conference rooms in exchange for > the rooms and meals business generated by the Reunion . So far we > have not found one. We are assuming most of the attendees will > stay in the host hotel, but we plan to inform the membership of > different options for housing including camp grounds and lower > cost motels. > > TIME: The WRG Reunion will be held during the summer of 2002. This > decision was made after viewing the poll results on the Whitney Clan > MyFamily.com site. The results were 53% for summer, 30% for fall > and 16% for spring. We realize 53% is not overwhelming, however > compared to the other percentages we felt it was the best choice. > It will take place over a 3 day weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. > There is currently a poll running of the Whitney clan > MyFamily.com site for choice of which weekend. > > WHAT WILL WE DO? The Schedule of Events is very sketchy at > this point, but we are planning : > Friday: afternoon check in the hotel > social time in the afternoon, perhaps a reception > dinner together followed by a program. > (Allan suggested a debate between him and Robert Ward on aspects > > of the origins of John Whitney) > Saturday: breakfast > 3 different seminars running throughout the > morning ( topics yet to be decided) > lunch > field trips(some possibilities are the the > museums in Boston, Lexington and Concord, Freedom Trail, Whitney > Hill in Watertown, others to be decided) > more seminars could be offered in the > afternoon if there is interest > dinner followed by a keynote address > Sunday: church > brunch > noontime lecture (on progress so far > regarding the Canadian Whitneys? Ken Whitney?) > exchange of written genealogies > possibly more field trips > good byes > > Our aim is to involve as many WRG members as possible. From the > responses we have gotten so far we are expecting less than 100 > people to attend, perhaps only 30-40. Of course we have NO > budget for Reunion 2002 and don't want one. The downside of > that is we can't make a commitment to any places. We can only > inform the membership of what we have discovered, make plans and > hope for a good turnout! > > Please cast your vote on the Whitneyclan MyFamily.com site to > give us an idea of which weekend in summer 2002 would work > best for you. Then we will be able to proceed in looking at > places to stay. > > Organizing this WRG Reunion is turning out to be a lot of > work, but Lynn and I agreed in the beginning that if we were > going to be involved, we were going to do a good job. Lynn is a > great partner in this project, and I have enjoyed working with > her . She and I have a long way to go on this. Our objective is > to end up with a fun filled weekend that is full of > opportunities for every member to learn more about our family > genealogy. Please participate in the polls, because many of our > decisions will be made based on those results. > > Let us know what you think of the plans. > from, Carolyn Whitney Branagan. > > Jeanne Muse wrote: > >> Dear Chris: I thought you'd like to respond to the below message. >> :) Jeanne >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: <margaret@colossalevents.com> <mailto:margaret@colossalevents.com> >> To: <jwmuse@compuserve.com> <mailto:jwmuse@compuserve.com> >> Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2001 9:47 PM >> Subject: MyFamily Site Listings Contact >> >> MyFamily.com is forwarding the following message to you as administrator >> of the site: Whitney clan >> >> Do we have any news regarding the reunion, such as where, when, etc.? >> Just this week I have found that my ancestor is in the Benjamin Whitney >> line - I am so excited!!! >> My husband, mom and I are anxiously awaiting info about the reunion. My >> husband& I produce special events - would be happy to help with >> arrangements - our contribution to the clan. Thanks! >> >> Senders E-mail Address: margaret@colossalevents.com <mailto:margaret@colossalevents.com> >> >> >> >> >> >> >