The Grand Plaza Hotel was well suited for our needs.  Dave and Elana Noris deserve applause for choosing a great location. The excellent food, clean rooms and outstanding hotel service definitely enhanced our stay.   And the three rooms set aside for our reunion needs were ideal, especially the hospitality and private auction roomsneeds.   Both were near the first floor entrance allowing easy access to the outside.

Our welcoming breakfast on Monday began with an opening prayer from Merlin Carr along with the Pledge of elegance.   Dave gave us a run down of upcoming events, welcomed all first time visitors, and pointed out locations of the hospitality room and the room set aside for the silent auction.   Bob Hunter then spoke a few moments on the Silent Auction and explained the setup and location.   The remainder of Monday morning and afternoon were set aside for folks to get together, share old sea tales and enjoy the local community.   Many of the ladies took advantage of the two shopping malls, both located nearby almost within walking distance of the hotel.

Nearly 40 of us took in the Presley Country Jubilee that evening.  The show featured four generations of the multi-talented Presley family performing country, blue grass and gospel Music.  The comedy skits by Herkimer and Cecil had the audience rolling in laughter. If you enjoy excellent entertainment and lots of laughs, the Presley Country Jubilee is highly recommended.

Tuesday was our day for a tour of the Branson Lakes Region.  One group headed out in the morning and another in the afternoon.   Not knowing fully what to expect, the drive through Branson and the countryside turned out better than many of us expected.   We drove past a number of the local theaters and attractions and was given some interesting tidbits of informaiton on some of the entertainment personalities in the area, either there now or that have been there in the past.  

The bus tour included a ride through historic downtown and past the beautiful new river front area (definitely the place to visit if you head to Branson).   We then headed to Table Rock Lake and Dam for a look see then up into the countryside for a stop at the Country Barn Gift & Craft Store where more of our group came out with bags of this and that.

Our stop at "Hard Rock U" (College of the Ozarks) in Point Lookout, Missouri, was a major highlight.   This is a self-supporting university totally independent of federal and state government loan programs.   It's also home of the annual Men's NAIA Division II Basketball Championship.   But for all of us Spangler folk, the stop on campus gave us an opportunity to visit Edward's Mill, a fully functional mill operated by students.   Fascinating place with great jams, preserves and whole-grain meal and flour!

The Silent Auction Wednesday afternoon proved once again to be a major success, bringing in well over $900.   Several of the folks donated from their pockets in lieu of or, in addition to, bidding on an item and appreciation is extended to them for their contribution.   The windup of the bidding was handled slightly differently this year.   Instead of identifying winning bids, item by item, and announcing the winners, each winner simply picked up their items and brought them forward for payment.   Clearly this made for a much smoother operation, but may have lacked some of the humor of associated with earlier auctions.   Many of us, as example, left without discovering the high bidder on the hilarious toy "Old Man Sitting On The Kamode, " and getting the big laugh that deserved.

The evening banquet on Wednesday opened with a few words from Dave Norris, followed by a prayer from Gene Workman, a few words on the Silent Auction from Bob Hunter and an overview of the upcoming reunion in Annapolis next September from Jackie Biess.   Dave took a few moments to single out and express thanks to Lila Sims for the wonderful sweets she bought to the reunion.

Merlin Carr served as the banquet speaker and gave an in depth and inspiring presentation on "Greatest Navy Battle - Oct. 1944." His focus was on the tremendous role destroyer escorts ("Little Boys") played in the sinking of Japanese submarines near the Admiralty Island, near the Philippines, and, along with destroyers and land-based aircraft, in turning back a Japanese fleet in the Battle of Layette Gulf.   Dave followed up with an award of appreciation to Merlin in recognition as "Our Esteemed Naval Historian" and to say thank you for all the hard work Merlin put into for the the presentation.