Monthly Archives: July 2018

Input Needed for Class Event on Friday

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Email sent 26 July 2018

Hawaii Travelers,

I think I have found the perfect event for us for Friday evening the 31st. The Marriott Waikiki is a little disappointing on the space they are offering to us without paying some crazy expensive banquet fee. After a lengthy search, I found the rooftop bar at the Tommy Bahama’s Restaurant. An open air terrace area (Check out Trip Advisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60982-d8805974-Reviews-Tommy_Bahama_Restaurant_Bar_Store-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html). I have attached a group event menu and really like the MAKAHA Dinner menu for $65 per person, plus gratuity, tax and service fee. They can do a happy hour, cash bar, prior to the dinner for us on this beautiful open air top floor patio you see in the pictures on Trip Advisor. So, I want to pull the trigger on this event and I assume those of you who came to Hawaii for this game are looking for a classy event something like this for our Friday night Class party. So, feedback appreciated and if you cannot make it, please let me know because I will eventually have to give them a firm number. My guess is you will spend $100 per person if you have a few drinks and dinner, but it’s Waikiki and that is not hard to do at a decent restaurant. Thanks and I will look forward to feedback from our group…. OR suggestions of anyone has one. I have spent a few days talking to different restaurants who could handle 80 or so people for a group event in a nice setting and I keep coming back to this place. PLUS…. well reviewed on Trip Advisor and Yelp and a few locals I know who gave me recommendations.
Okay ’85, let me know.
Thanks.  Bob

WhatsApp Link and More Hawaii Info

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Email sent 24 July 2018

Hello Hawaii Travelers,     If you can open this link from your phones, you will get an invite to the ’85 group on whatsapp so you can be part of the group texts going forward.

https://chat.whatsapp.com/ 4QRIRB5IZZx71ivHbd6n7w

Here is where we are with everything as of today:

Current head count:
Total Weekend Adults 91
Total Weekend Child 2
Total Happy Hour 82
Total Tailgate Adults 91
Total tailgate Child 4
Total Bus Trans 61
Total Footbal Tix 95
(30 for Barge tour Thursday (Full) and full on the Friday morning Rich Tilghman tour, numbers building for Sunday victory party at Kailua Beach)

I do not have the numbers for the Luau, but I know we are getting close to 50 seats we had reserved plus an additional 20 from the Winkler group. The Admiral Barge tour is full at 30. I am still working the Friday night Happy Hour/Dinner event. I am actively looking at places we can have a happy hour and dinner all together and there are some interesting options I am exploring. I will put that information out once I have a firm agreement in place. For example, however: Tommy Bahama’s Rooftop restaurant, The Eating House, The Yard House, Bill’s Steakhouse just to mention a few. The Saturday Tailgate will be a $50 per head fee to cover catered food, beer and wine for 3 hours prior to the game. I will publish the menu, but there will be grilled foods, sides and other appetizers (sounds yummy). The transportation to and from the game will be provided at the cost of $25 per person and get us there for at least 3 full hours of tailgating (this will leave a little extra for driver gratuity). Game tickets are $40 each and we will be sitting as a group as best they can accommodate a group our size (Lower level end zone). These are better seats then the Navy Ticket office could sell us since I am dealing with the local ticket office in Hawaii direclty. So, I will need to collect for the game tickets, the tailgate and the bus transport in advance. For those of you attending the Rich Tilghman event, transportion will also be $25 per person round trip from the hotels.
So, here is how we will do this: I have a Paypal Account at: md11driver85@gmail.com. I would REALLY prefer you send me your payments via PayPal and send it to “Friends and Family”so that a service fee is not charged. In the notes, indicate what your paying me for. For example: 2 Tailgate, 2 Football and 2 Bus (that would be $230). Add up what you owe for the events you are attending and send that amount. If…. you cannot or do not want to use PayPal, send me a personal check to:

776 S. Angola Road
Coldwater, MI 49036

PLEASE indicate on your envelope: Hawaii Trip and inside add a note about what events you are paying me for. I would appreciate all checks NLT August 10th as payments are due to vendors by the 15th. When we get the dinner plan into place for Friday in the next week or so, expect that news. I am planning for a nice event with drinks, dinner in a nice atmosphere so expect to spend $50 at least per person or more for a nice evening out with classmates. Dress code will be “tropical” nice casual. For me, golf shorts and a Hawaiian or golf shirt and a sun dress for my lovely wife in case you need to know. (you are welcome wives!). Refunds?? In case you need to cancel, I can do refunds up until August 16th, after that, we are locked into firm numbers.
I can remember looking at this game at our last USNA ’85 Reunion and saying: “What if?”….. Well, just like Dublin and Jacksonville and San Diego later this season, “What if” has become: WOW, Look at us!! Get yourself onto the Whatsapp Chat if you want real time updates (this becomes important as we get closer to the weekend or while we are in Oahu trust me!) Send me your money for events and start practicing your Hulu dancing. (And for Charlie Giles, get your Speedo collection to the dry cleaners, light starch). You know where to find me if you need me. Looking forward to an AMAZING weekend in the Big 50! I never thought we could top Dublin, BUT….. I am getting a feeling that we just might do that here. Go Navy as always!! Bob Smith ‘85

Robert Smith
robertsmith5@att.net
C: (502) 432-6185

************************

PS – And BRACE UP if you miss this amazing opportunity. Note, we have a group of 20 Classmates/friends from Atlanta with the Winklers who are in addition to the current group of 43…. GREAT turnout. 

“Menu for Evening Meal: Roast Pig on a spit, lots of rum drinks…. Yummy Side dishes and perhaps Lyonaise potatoes.” 

 

Hawaii Trip Group Info

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Email sent 22 July 2018
Dear Fellow Hawaii travelers,
       I am proud to say this because up until a few days ago, I was organizing this trip without being able to attend it. Good luck and some creative scheduling by my wife and I have allowed for us to make the trip over to Honolulu for the game, get some beach time and join everyone for a few days of socializing and a Navy win against Hawaii. I have to admit, I was slightly jealous and now I am just excited to able to enjoy this time with all of you. First off, let me thank Rich Tilghman and Ashley Yetman again for the work they have put into helping me arrange for events and offering their time (a precious commodity). And Rich for offering up his home and pool for a party at the victory celebration the day after the game. This all being said, here is where we stand with events:
1) Thursday August 30 at 0845 the tour of Pearl Harbor on the Admiral’s Barge (not sure which Admiral, but nice to loan us his barge). This is courtesy of Ashley Yetman and if you want to sign up contact her. Also, there is a dress code, I am guessing some sort of business casual attire. Ashley’s email is: apyl@comcast.net to sign up for this. As it gets closer, I will have a proper schedule of events, but for now, I need to get the word out for some of these sign ups.
2) Luau at the Hale Koa on Thursday evening. If you want to go, we only have 50 seats reserved and only about 18 spots left the last time I checked. Call the Hale Koa directly at: 808-955-0555 and prompt #2 for Events, tell them you want to reserve your number of seats with the “Navy 85” group. Cost is $64.95 per person. We will meet at the Beach Bar at the Hale Koa at 1730 and the Luaa begins at 1830. Fireworks after  the Luau next to the Hale Koa courtesy of the Hilton resort. The Hale Koa is a short Uber/Taxi ride from the Marriott Waikiki, we will not have group transport for this event. 
 
NOTE:  PLEASE RESERVE BY JULY 25th TO BE IN OUR BLOCK!
 
3) Friday Morning we are still putting together an Island Tour hosted by Rich and will keep updating that. Email him directly for info and to sign up at:richardwtilghman@gmail.com or message him on Facebook (best method) . Sounds fun and casual and great for anyone new to Oahu. Friday evening, I am working on our Class of ’85 Happy Hour to fire us up for the game on Saturday and to welcome those who are arriving that day. I have a couple options in the works and will email the group soon with the final plan. This would be from around 1700-1900 with dinner in small groups that evening at any of the local restaurants. (Get on Trip Advisor now get your research done, I will publish my list soon of places I have eaten at in Waikiki and enjoyed). If we get a large group, I can try and make a reservation or the event we end up doing may be dinner and drinks all in one. Stay tuned…..
 
4) Saturday Tailgate and Game. We are partnering with the local USNA Alumni Chapter for a full blown tailgate starting around 1300 with the game kickoff at 1700. Food and beverages included for $50 per person. I am working directly with the U of Hawaii ticket office on a seating block and now that we are growing to about 100 or more, I surprised them with our success. I think they can still keep us all generally together in a lower level end zone area. The tickets will be $40 per person and will be distributed at the various events or tailgate. The local Chapter President works for a tour company and can provide us with all our transport needs and I will soon have a breakdown of costs associated for all our events. The big transport will be to and from the tailgate/game from the Marriott Hotel and the Hale Koa and one other hotel if needed. Other events will include the Friday Island tour and the pool/beach party at Rich’s house in Kailua Beach area on Sunday, departing around 12:00 from the hotels. 
 
5) Sunday Pool and Beach Party at Rich Tilghman’s. This will be transportation and a donation to Rich to cover food/beverages and possible entertainment. Once again, more to follow on this.
 
So, as you can see, quite a bit going on and quite a bit of it TBA. Plan on me collecting money in advance for the tailgate, game tickets and transportation via my paypal account or a personal check mailed to me (although I much prefer paypal). When I finalize these events and costs, I will reach out to you and start collecting money in advance for this. Worst case, I can collect from you in person in Hawaii. My commitment was quality events for those of you traveling this long distance and with the help of Ashley and Rich and the local USNA Alumni Chapter, I am pretty sure we will live up to the ’85 standard!! 
 
Please now contact me directly with questions or comments about this trip via email, texts or phone calls to the number on this email. I will help me make sure everyone has what they need. Here is a list of those classmates attending:
 
Angela Orlando
Ashley Yetman
Christy Sahler
Brad More
Mark & Beth Brownell
Jeff Bernardi
Chuck Merritt
David Oliver
Dan Holzrichter
Steve Powers
Nancy & Eric Isaminger`
Eric Bowman
Brian Norris
Frank Gunsallus
Greg & Sue Morrow
Jeff Rocha
Charlie & Jennifer Giles
Jeff Belt
Jeffrey Hull
Jim Evans
John Winkler
Kevin Clinch
Kathy McCartan
Steve & Monica Rauch
Mark Henderson and Pamela Righter
Mike Fazzio
Michael Tranchina
Mike Prosperi
Marcus Flagg
Pat Redmon
Richard Tilghman
Greg Morrow
Ray Alfaro
Bob Smith
THOMAS L ADAMS III
Mark & Kim Waterman
Jim Winkler
Susan Wells
Steve & Theresa Kelly
 
For those with Whatsapp, I have started a group chat for those attending, message me on the App and I will add the our private group I created for this event. For those of you not using Whatsapp, give it a try and I can add you to the group. It’s a great way to communicate and not clog up your personal text message space and it’s very secure. Otherwise, we will use this email group and the USNA ’85 Facebook to communicate with each other.  We also plan on collecting pictures from the various events and informal get togethers and post them to Facebook, the class website, and possibly Flickr/Shutterfly.  If you haven’t subscribed to the class website, please do to keep appraised of the activities for this trip and future ones. 
 
Thanks for signing up for the trip and being patient as we build this great event! Stay tuned…. 
 
Go Navy and Beat Hawaii!  
Bob Smith  ’85  

USNA ’85 Hawaii Trip update and more

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Email sent 17 July 2018

Greetings Classmates,

As we all enjoy our summer and summer vacations, it’s time start the final phase planning of the Class of ’85 trip to Hawii in late August on your near term calendar, as well as the late October San Diego trip next on your radar scopes. We have about 90 Classmates and family members attending the Hawii Trip which is awesome and once again makes us the “Class with Class” as no other class will have half this number. Here is where we stand and I am still finalizing a few things, but need to get the word to everyone now as the final pieces come into place. Here is what I have in chronological order:

1) Thursday morning at 0845 we have a tour of the the Pearl Harbor area on the Admiral’s Barge. Please contact Ashley Yetman ASAP if you are interested as there are limited spots. Her contact info is: apy@comcast.net. Ashley has also posted this event on our Class Facebook post and you can messenger her there.

2) Thursday evening, classmate Rich Tilghman has arranged for those interested to attend the Hale Koa Luaa, Thursday, August 30th. Meet for drinks at 5:30 at the Barefoot bar for the 6:30pm dinner and show.  “Navy 85” 808-955-0555 Aug 30th. You have contact the Hale Koa directly to attend, 808-955-0555 and tell them you are with the Navy 85 group. The deadline is July 24th at 2300 EST to do reserve. Remember, tell them you are booking as part of “Navy ’85”. There are fireworks next door at the Hilton that go off right after the Luaa ends. Rich says it is an amazing show and fireworks so don’t miss it. Contact Rich at richardwtilghman@gmail.com or he in the class Facebook group and always answers messages promptly with questions.

3) Friday, Rich has also volunteered to do a half day Island Tour for anyone interested. The dynamics of the tour will depend on the level of interest. Please contact Rich on Facebook or at the above email address to attend a tour he that is still in the making.

4) Friday evening, we will have a 1600-1800 Happy Hour at the Marriott Waikiki Beach, which is the class hotel. This will be an event designed to allow for classmates to then go off and enjoy a nice dinner at one of the many local restaurants. I will reach out directly to those who have signed up on the class website to share a list of who is going so people can look network with each other on dinner plans. I have request a cash bar type event and am still working with Marriott staff on this and will post final details when I have them.

5) Pre and post game tailgate for the football game against Hawaii on Saturday, September 1st; we will be teaming up with the local USNA Alumni Chapter for a fun tailgate event. This will include bus transport to and from the Hale Koa and Marriott hotels and game tickets in our class block. Once again, you need to sign up on the class website: http://1985.usnaclasses.net so I have an accurate head count and can set up payment options. Game tickets will be lower level endzone seats I arranged directly through the U of Hawaii football ticket office and will cost $40. Soon, I will start collecting money for tickets, tailgate and bus transport directly to my paypal account so I can pay for this stuff ahead of time.

6) Sunday, September 2nd, Rich Tighlman and his chihuahua will be hosting a party at his house and a beach trip for the day. He lives 1/2 block from one of the nicest beaches in the world: Kailua Beach. It will be a meet at 1200 from hotels for transport to his house where he has a nice pool area and it will be a full day of fun at his beachside bungalo and the beach. Once again, please contact Rich and his chihuahua to RSVP so that we can get a count regarding transportation, food, drinks, speedos (Charlie Giles?), etc. Once again, transport leaving from the Hale Koa and Marriott Waikiki Hotels and returning when the fun runs out.

We have a GREAT turnout for this event so far away and I appreciate this and think we have done a good job of putting a full schedule of events together for those making this trip. I want to thank Ashley and Rich for all their help and support in putting this weekend in place and please sign up on the class website and/or contact me with any questions. The Navy/Notre Dame weekend is coming into view and I will soon be coming out with more specifics on this weekend, but we will have a full schedule of events for those coming to San Diego for that weekend as well. Sign ups are on the class website as well and it helps me to have you sign up in advance. If you are going to Hawaii, PLEASE sign up for our events ASAP so we can do proper planning. I will soon have the tailgate info and will reach out to collect money for the transport, game tickets and tailgate events; so stay tuned.

Outside of all of the travel events, we are gearing up for another great season of home Navy Football games as well as events for the Army/Navy game in Philadelphia and will keep putting out info on these events as the plans come together. If anyone lives in or near a city where there is a home game and wants to help us sponsor a tailgate event or class party, PLEASE let me know and I can help you support it. So, keep enjoying your summer as I am and focus on these upcoming events if you plan to attend. Go Navy and Beat Everyone this season…. MOST OF ALL: ARMY!!

Regards,

Bob Smith ’85

 

Hawaii Trip Info – Tentative Schedule

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As the Hawaii trip schedule of events gets formalized via our class president, Bob Smith, here is the tentative schedule as posted on Facebook by Rich Tilghman:

Thursday, 30 AUG 2018
AM:  VIP Pearl Harbor boat tour through COMPACFLT- FIRM
PM:  Luau- dinner+/show , Hale Koa Hotel –  FIRM
NOTE:  *** 50 seats together blocked for us- UNTIL 5 PM, Hawaii time, JULY 25- purchase ASAP BY
ACTUAL PHONE CALL, only, 1-808-955-0555, option “2” between 0900-1630 Hawaii time to book AND pay. Specify “Navy 85” tables.

Friday 31AUG 2018
AM: 1/2 day or so island tour on A/C coach…. swim, lunch, sightseeing, narrated by Rich
PM:  Dinner/drinks TBD Waikiki

Saturday 01 SEP 2018
AM:  Pickup for tailgater with Hawaii USNA grads
PM:  Hawaii/UH game (tix info coming)

Sunday 02 SEP 2018
PM:  Pool/beach party, Rich’s place, Kailua

Important Information:

  • Through our class Facebook group, please reply soon WITH interest in EACH event (or NOT)
  • Purchase YOUR luau tix ASAP (64.95 each) by Phone only!!!
  • Facebook PM Ashley Yetman with interest on VIP Pearl Harbor tour ASAP

If anyone has any questions or is interested in the list of attendees, please feel free to reach out via email to Bob Smith or Angela Orlando or reach out to our own Hawaii tour guide, Rich Tilghman, via Facebook.

Finalized schedule to be posted as soon as it becomes available.

Aloha!