Reunion 2025

Kansas City, Kansas

October 6-10 2025

Welcome to the new year!  After our 2024 reunion, a vote was electronically taken and Kansas City was selected as the destination for 2025.  Over the last couple of months, we have been working on scheduling the event.  It will be a bit different this year—free time for you to seek out sights and sounds that you may want to see on your own.  Even though you are coming into a “flyover state”, Kansas City and the surrounding area have a great deal to offer—more than you can do or see in a weeks’ time frame.

Reunion Dates: October 6th through the 10th.  (Tentative agenda below)

Hotel:  Residence Inn Kansas City at the Legends—Marriott Hotel. https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/mcisp-residence-inn-kansas-city-at-the-legends/overview/   My wife and I visited the hotel, viewed selected rooms (all are suites) along with the breakfast/hospitality area—very nice.  All rooms come with a full kitchen-minus an oven.   FREE buffet breakfast—two meats/eggs/ muffins/ etc.  We have already booked our room @ $137 per night (not including fees and taxes). 

NOTE: We chose not to reserve a block of rooms this year—we are held accountable for lost revenue if we fail to meet a percentage of nights booked. It becomes a task in “herding cats” in ensure we don’t lose money.  It is easy to book your room via the webpage link provided and select a room that meets your needs.  Recommend if you are even thinking about attending, reserve a room NOW.  Rates and availability may change in the future.  Of all things that you do to make this reunion a success will be to sign up early.  Board members are still working on the CGM Design and Ceremony all of which take an inordinate amount of time.  We don’t have time to chase everyone down trying to get them to reserve a room or respond to any questions we have.

You can use Google Earth or Maps App to see where the hotel is located and what is around it.  Walking 0.1 mile out of the hotel entrance and you will be in the Legends Shopping Center.  There is just about every restaurant you can imagine in the local area, some within very easy walking distance. (https://legendsshopping.com/food/)

For those with RVs, there is a KOA located about 2 miles south near the Raceway complex that you might consider (telephone 913-328-3300)

Airport:  Kansas City International Airport (MCI) (https://flykc.com/)    Brand new terminals—awesome and easy to navigate!  Rental Cars are off site.  Our Hotel is located 24 miles south of the airport using I-29N towards Platte City then I-435 South.  Exit 14B at the Legends complex your primary exit.   One exit off of I-70 W at the Kansas Raceway.  You can try UBER to see if they operate that far south.  There are a ton of them in the cell phone waiting lot but they tend to service airport areas and KC Missouri predominantly.

Weather:  Average temperature will in the mid 60’s, rain is possible.  It’s our weather transition period which tends to produce the nicest weather for us.  But remember, it’s Kansas and the temps could be just as easily in the 40’s.

Agenda:

Monday--arrive/check-in/meeting room open/dinner on your own.  Legends ((https://legendsshopping.com) if you arrive early enough.

Tuesday—Breakfast at hotel:  We will have a business meeting and update from 0900 to 1200.  Conference room is small--wives may want to consider lounging outside in the BBQ area, have some coffee and and enjoy each other's company.  Wives may attend the business meeting if they desire. We will travel by bus to the Arabia Museum  (https//www.1856.com/);   Allocating 2hrs and 30 mins for the self guided tour and any shopping folks would like to do in the surrounding stores.  A quick jaunt by bus for an Early Evening dinner (4:30 PM) at Jacks Stacks BBQ Dinner Freight House Square ( https://ship.jackstackbbq.com/freight-house/)  Click on the private menu link—under the buffet we are looking at the “most popular” the Feast.  Our per person rate is $45.75 includes tax and gratuity.  For those non-meat eaters or special diet folks, you can order off a plated menu and skip the buffet.   Travel by Bus!  Parking at the Arabia Museum is pay by the hour.  Parking at the Freight House Square is free.

Wednesday--Personal time:  Good day to play golf at http://www.sunflowerhillsgolfcourse.com/ which is just a few minutes to our west. Crown Center (https://www.crowncenter.com/) and Union Station (https://unionstation.org/) are tourist attractions.

Thursday--At 0900 there will be a presentation by one of the wives on what happens after the service member passes away before the wife.  It's a wives meeting but the conference room is small.  WWI Museum (https://www.theworldwar.org/).  We will then head back to the Legends area near our hotel to the Granite City Brewery for an Association Sponsored Dinner.  We opted not to move forward with the 'steak cookout' because of logistics and the fact that we wouldn't be able to satisfy each person's preference on how their steak is cooked.  We have reserved an area at Granite City and the process is this:  We will allocate $40 per person for their dinner.  Your server will run a separate tab for bar drinks and cost over run.  They will in turn bill the association for your meal within the $40 allocated.  The bus will then take us back to the hotel.  Dinner reservations are set for 4:30PM

Friday--checkout and depart—or stay a couple of days longer.