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October 29 - 31, 2010
College Station, TX


Schedule of Events

*Friday, October 29
*Friday evening - Parking is available in the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center parking lot or across the street in the Kyle Field lots. Vehicles must be removed by 1:00 a.m. in both lots.
Morning / Afternoon	Reconnect with Classmates/friends on your own
10:30 a.m.	Change in location for golf outing - Moved from Pebble Creek Country Club to Traditions Check In begins at Traditions Country Club
11:00 a.m.	Golf Outing begins - Traditions Country Club 3249 Founders Drive Bryan, TX 778707
3:00 - 5:30 p.m.	Reunion Registration & Check In Begins - Best Western
4:00 - 6:00 p.m.	Hospitality Room opens - Best Western
6:00 p.m.	Reunion Registration & Check In Continues - Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center
6:00 - 7:30 p.m.	Photographer on site in the Haynes Ring Plaza for couples, group and individual pictures in the Aggie Ring Replica.
6:30 - 7:30 p.m.	Cocktail reception (cash bar) at the Alumni Center
7:30 - 9:00 p.m.	Buffet and visiting at the Alumni Center
9:15 - 11:15 p.m.	Dance
	Hospitality Room opens after event at Alumni Center - Best Western
Saturday, October 30
9:00 a.m.	Reunion Registration & Check In Continues - Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center
9:30 a.m.	Class Business Meeting - Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.	Class Barbecue Buffet available for those you pre-registered for the meal.  If you didn't pre-register food is available through the onsite game day vendor.
2:30 p.m.	Texas A&M vs Texas Tech - Kyle Field
Post game and event	Hospitality room gathering - Best Western
Sunday, October 31
	Depart at your leisure

Howdy

It’s here!  Time to register for our 30 Year Class Reunion!  We can’t believe it either–we’ve known each other for at least 34 years if we met at Fish Camp or as we arrived on campus!  How did we get to this stage in life so fast!  Well...come join us on the weekend of October 29 to 31 and we’ll try to figure it out!

The Reunion schedule is enclosed and designed with you in mind.  We’ve focused on your priorities–time to hang out and visit with friends and Classmates, time to participate in the full array of game day activities, casual and affordable events, and time to tour campus and do things on your own schedule.

Based on the hotel and ticket block reservations to date, we are going to have a great crowd.  However, it won’t be complete without you!  Please make your plans to join us.  The Who’s Attending link will be updated at on this page as people register for the weekend.  So if you don’t see someone that you want to catch up with, be sure and reach out to them to let them know you’re coming.  If you’ve never attended one of our Class Reunions, there’s no better time to start than now.  We’re looking for volunteers to be ambassadors to encourage Classmates from their outfit, dorm, student organization, intramural team, or any other collection of friends to attend.  Let Sara know if you are interested in serving as an ambassador or want to help in other ways with the Reunion activities.

We recognize game day weekends can be expensive.  If cost is a concern, please consider these options as part of your planning before dismissing the weekend as out of reach:

•We have Classmates in the B/CS area that have offered to host people in their homes.  Let us know if this is something you want to pursue and we’ll put you in touch with them. If you live in the BCS area and want to add your name to the list of available rooms, please contact Sara.

•There are other hotels/motels in the the B/CS and the greater Brazos Valley area (e.g., Navasota) that have lower rates than the Best Western.  However, most of these still have a 2-night minimum for a game day weekend.

•There are hotels on the NW side of Houston and Conroe that will have normal weekend rates without a 2-night minimum stay.  With the completion of the most recent building projects on Highway 290 and 6, you can reach Aggieland within 65 to 75 minutes depending on traffic (and your willingness to push the speed limits).

•The game will be shown on the new Huddleston Video Wall in the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center, whether it is picked up for tv or not, because The Association receives the closed circut feed from Kyle Field for non-televised games.    
The best part of any Reunion weekend is the chance to reconnect with friends, and possibly make some new ones.  So please consider joining us for all or part of the weekend.

To help make sure you’ve got plenty of time to catch up with folks, we’re planning a new tradition for this Reunion–the Class of ’80 Hospitality Room.  Your Class Agents have made the initial contributions of $80 each to the Class of ’80 Reunion Fund.  Our goal is to stock the Hospitality Room at the Best Western with beverages and snacks for Friday afternoon/early evening before and again after our Friday night event at the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center building.  We’ll also plan on having it available again on Saturday after the game.  If we receive enough in donations, we can keep the Hospitality Room supplied with beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and snacks such that you will not have to pay the hotel prices from the bar to enjoy a drink with your friends.  We’ll accept donations of all sizes to provide a fun and relaxing setting for visiting and catching up with friends.  Information on how to donate to the fund can be found on page five.

In addition to the Hospitality Room, see the schedule for the planned activities for the weekend.  If you are not golfing, there is time for you to head onto campus and see all the changes and new buildings as well as the Bonfire Memorial.  As noted elsewhere, our schedule is still subject to change based on the whims of the television schedulers — look for a final confirmed schedule for the tailgate party and business meeting around October 15th.  We’ve also included a few more details about the various events.

Gig’em,
Sara, Michael, Russ & Steve


Reunion Registration & Check In

Please register online by clicking the link at the top of the page or return this Reunion Registration Form by mail to The Association of Former Students, 505 George Bush Dr., College Station, TX 77840, ATTN: Class of ’80 Reunion or by FAX 979-845-9263.

If you have questions, contact the Class Programs department at The Association of Former Students at (800)633-7514 or e-mail one of your Class Agents.

Your nametags, schedule of events and a list of Classmates that pre-registered will be waiting for you at the Reunion Check-In desk, which will begin at the Best Western, and will continue all weekend with a table set up at each event. A “Who’s Attending” link is provided at the top of this page and will be updated daily during the registration period.

Walk up registrations will be accommodated based on availability. Registering before the due date will ensure there is food and fun awaiting you at each event. All registrations received after October 15, 2010 will incur a $10 late fee.


Donate to the Cause: The Class of 1980 Hospitality Suite

Our goal is to totally fund this hospitality room, so that everyone can relax and visit at the hotel and not worry about having to drive or pay hotel prices for drinks. All amounts are appreciated. Information on how to donate can be found below.  If you have an Aggie student that would like to help with set-up, re-stocking and clean-up, please have them contact Michael Cutbirth at michaelcut@yahoo.com. If we are able to collect enough donations, we will compensate them for taking on this responsibility.

Please send in your contribution to our Class of ’80 “It Will Never Close” Hospitality Fund.  We will use the funds to keep the Hospitality Room supplied with refreshing adult beverages and groceries, and funds
permitting, to defray the cost for our Classmates.

Make checks payable to: Class of ’80
Reunion Fund

Send to: Michael Cutbirth
7019 Renfro Drive
Richmond, TX 77469-5929

Reunion Accommodations

A Block of rooms is available on a first-come, first-served-basis, for your Class of 1980 30 Year Reunion at the Best Western at Old Town Center. Make your reservations by calling the hotel directly and mentioning the appropriate group code. The Convention and Visitors Bureau receives weekly updates from hotels regarding room availability.  They don't make reservations, but they can point you to the hotels likely to have rooms available.  Please call 979-260-9999 to receive those updates.   To reserve rooms you can also go to http://www.visitaggieland.com/ and scroll down to the reservation calendar to find all available room(s).

*Best Western - Reunion Headquarter Hotel

1920 Austin's Colony Pkwy — (979) 731-5300
$180/night, plus tax
Group Name: TAMU Class of '80, 30th Reunion
Group Code: CL80
Hotel Reservation Deadline: October 8, 2010
Check-in time: 4:00 p.m.
Check-out time: Noon

*On Highway 6 Bypass next just north of Tom Light Chevrolet Dealership.


Reunion Block Football Tickets

If you did not order tickets in our Reunion block prior to July 16, you may still order tickets online at   http://www.12thmanfoundation.com or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE.  Tell the ticket office that you are attending the game as part of of the 1980 30 Year Reunion against Texas Tech and they will work with you to get you as close to the block as possible depending on ticket availability.


Attire

Your Reunion is going to be a fun, casual affair. The attire for each event follows the event description. All Classmates are encouraged to wear maroon to the football game.  As far as the weather, it could be hot or cold, dry or rainy—remember, it’s late October in Aggieland!  So check the Weather Channel before you leave home, pack accordingly, and then still consider bringing the opposite of what they predicted!


Other Information

We’ve designed the weekend to be family friendly.  Many of you have Aggies on campus–please feel free to include them in as much of the weekend as their time allows.  The same goes for the rest of your family.


Golf Outing

Russ Kellen has arranged for us to play at Pebble Creek Golf Club (http://www.pebblecreek.org/golf) on Friday morning, October 29th.  Tee times are tentatively scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m., so plan on arriving by 10:30 a.m. for final foursome assignments.  Cost is $75/person and covers your green fees, cart and box lunch.  Water and other beverages will be brought from the Hospitality Room, but once they are gone, the club will sell beverages there.  Clubs are available for rent ($25--reserve early).  Collared shirts are required, and denim is prohibited.  Golf shoes or tennis shoes are permitted, but no metal spikes are allowed.  Russ will contact you with final information on the golf outing by October 22nd.


Friday Evening Get Together

After golf or touring campus on Friday afternoon, plan to stop by the Hospitality Room at our Reunion Headquarters Hotel, Best Western at 1920 Austin’s Colony Parkway, Bryan,  You can check in for our Reunion Activities there between 4:00 - 6:00 p.m., or you can check in at The Association of Former Students Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center beginning at 6:30 p.m.

At the Alumni Center, we’ve got a fun, casual evening planned.  We’ll have a cash bar and buffet dinner, and following dinner, our very own DJ, Russ Kellen will be spinning hits from the ’70s and ’80s so that you can dance the night away.  For those who have not yet had an opportunity to have your picture taken in the Haynes Ring Plaza, we’ve booked a photographer to take a picture of you and your spouse/date and/or family together.

Things will wind down in time for Midnight Yell, and the Hospitality Room at the Best Western will reopen and stay open until 2:00 a.m.


Game Day Meal & Business Meeting

Barbecue and Class Business Meeting–Either Saturday Morning or Afternoon

Yes, there will be some Class business to attend to either before or after the game on Saturday.  We will gather at the Alumni Center for a brief program and barbecue meal.  If the game is in a morning TV slot, we’ll have our meeting after the game.  If the game is in the mid-afternoon or evening slot, we’ll meet approximately four hours prior to the game so that we are finished in time for you to take advantage of all of the game day activities.  We’ll have a brief program including discussion of our Class Gift, a speaker from the University, Class Agent election discussion, and a roll call for the Classmates we’ve lost since our last Reunion.  To ensure that there is enough food, please be sure and pre-register for the barbecue.  Walk-ups will be honored as soon as all of those who pre-registered have been served.  If you have not pre-registered, there will also be food available from the vendors serving other game day visitors at the Alumni Center.

Somewhere in there, we’ll see an Aggie victory over Tech!

After the game and the business meeting, we’ll move back to the Best Western and reopen the Hospitality Room.


Sunday

We’ve left Sunday open for you to make your own plans for brunch, church, further visiting, or just sleeping in before you head back home after a great weekend and Aggie victory over Tech.  We hope that you will have had a great time and can’t wait until the next opportunity to renew acquaintances again.


Volunteers

We have opportunities for volunteers to help with various activities during the weekend.  If you would like to participate in making this a more memorable weekend for everyone, please let one of us know.


Transportation/Maps/Parking

Transportation to all events is on your own. Things may have changed on campus since your last visit.  For parking and/or campus maps visit the Transportation Services website at http://transport.tamu.edu/parking/visitor.aspx.  Game day parking is available at the West Campus Parking Garage next to the Rec Center.   There is a $20 fee per vehicle to park in the West Campus Parking Garage on game days, but arrive early.  Other garage spots and spaces may be available on campus. Be sure to check with Transportation Services for more information.

Transportation Services provides a FREE “Get to the Grid” game-day express shuttle from Post Oak Mall to Kyle Field. Beginning 2-1/2 hours prior to kick-off leaving from the Post Oak Mall-Sears Parking Lot and running for 1 hour after the game ends from Throckmorton St. on campus.



Class Agents

Class Agents serve as a liaison between their Class and The Association. This is the perfect opportunity to get involved as a former student, stay connected to the university and help lead your Class supporting A&M. Elections are held in conjunction with your Reunions, so now is your chance!

Teams consist of three to four members of your Class and serve a five-year term. As a Class Agent you will serve on The Association of Former Students’ Leadership Council, which meets twice a year. The Association of Former Students provides orientation and resources to aid you in this role. Class Agents are responsible for keeping the Class informed through newsletters, web sites and emails, planning Class events and providing annual fund information to former students.

For more information please contact the Class Programs office at 979-845-7514 or class@aggienetwork.com.  Class Agent teams and nominations must be submitted at least 14 days prior to your Reunion to get your name(s) on the ballot!


Century Club Supports Reunions

Class Reunions and numerous other programs for former and current students are supported by donations to The Association of Former Students’ Century Club. Donors also receive special benefits. Join the Century Club and help make an impact on another Aggies’ life. If you wish to donate to the annual fund please click here and you will be directed to The Association's making a gift page.

Levels of annual support include: Bronze - $100; Silver - $250; Gold - $500; Diamond - $1,000; Double Diamond - $2,000; Platinum - $5,000; Double Platinum - $10,000


Cancellation Policy

The Association of Former Students has a flexible cancellation policy. If you cannot attend your Reunion or an event for which you have registered, please call the Class Programs office 800-633-7514 at least 72 business hours prior to the start of the Reunion.