KEEP INFORMED ! The Reunion is 2 weeks away! As the actual Reunion progresses, check here for updates.
ANNOUNCEMENTS will be posted here. Many people have laptops and smart phones. Use them to check for updates.
The Email's listed are now in reverse order. The most recent Email is listed first
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October 1, 2015
Email Blast # 6
Updated Website:
The Campion website, campion65knights.com, has been updated to reflect our changing situation. Spend a few minutes there. All the NEW information is NOT in this Email.
Attendees: You will find a complete list of attendees and significant others on the web site.
Chicago Weather: is on our Campion website. Look for the tab on the left. This weather map isn’t bad. You can get 5 days of weather, both day and evening. I suggest you check 5 days out, 3 days out and the day before you leave, to see what kind of weather we are likely to have.
Midway Airport: Public transportation directions, to and from Midway airport, are on our Campion website. Look for the tab on the left.
O’Hare Airport: Public transportation directions, to and from O’Hare airport, are on our Campion website. Look for the tab on the left.
Driving Directions to the Hotel, Tips & Parking: All are on our Campion website. Look for the tab on the left.
Schedule of Events: A tentative schedule of Events is posted on the web site. The final schedule will be in the handout you pick up at the Welcome Desk. This information will also appear on the TV monitors, in common areas of the hotel.
Campion Suite: We have our own suite, with 2 adjoining rooms where you can come to hang out, get the latest news and find out where your friends may be, depending on when you arrive. Check for our Suite number at the front desk.
Early Check In: Normal check in is 4:00 PM. We are trying to make arrangements for an early check in, for a FEW rooms. If you would like early check in, email me. Those we can’t accommodate can leave their luggage with the bellman and check in at 4:00 PM
Hilton HHonors: Those with Honors points are free to use them to pay your bill.
Wi-fi- Free wi-fi is included in our room rate. Get the pass code when you check in.
Welcome Table, {2 PM to 5:30 PM, Friday ONLY}: After you check in, stop by and pick up your name tag, hats and a last minute hand out that will inform you of changes & happenings since this last Email. If the Welcome Desk is no longer up when you arrive, or you won’t arrive till Saturday, check with the front desk to find out where our Campion Suite is. You will be able to pick up what you need there.
Hats: Those of you that ordered hats can pick them up at the Welcome Desk, close to the Registration Desk, after you check in. Hats are $10. We have a few extra, if anyone is interested. No change. $5’s and $10’s ONLY.
Nametags: Name tags, with lanyards are provided. Pick yours up at our Welcome Table after you check in. Please Wear Your Nametag. Most of us no longer recognize ourselves in the mirror in the morning let alone trying to remember someone you haven’t seen in 50 years.
Names & Faces: John Dudek now goes by Jack and has for many years. Ditto for Tim App, who goes by Timothy App.
Annette Difino is with Chuck Corbett. Irene Cook is with Tom Harrington. Theresa Bedoya is with Timothy App. Elaine Lozier is with Roger Least & Grace Mazur is with Pete Birren.
Former classmates, Frank Hull and his wife Sennis, as well as, Dan & Connie Dunn will be with us for the weekend. Pete Birren & Grace Mazur will be with us for Friday night.
Bellwether: Friday night’s dinner/get together Venue. The restaurant is on the ground floor of our hotel. Restaurant pictures are on the site as well as the evening menu and drink options. Additional Menu’s will also be placed on all the tables at the restaurant. All food and non-alcoholic beverages are included. Alcohol is on a Cash Bar basis. If you open a tab, use your last name. The server will take your credit card when you open your tab and present you with your bill when you leave. We will have approximately 4 servers and a bar tender in our area. We will be there from approximately 7:30 to 10:30 PM. We have a single, unisex bathroom on our level. Additional bathrooms are available on the ground floor.
Saturday Afternoon Activity: This year we are going with a multiple choice option. After breakfast, Saturday morning, we will gauge interest in the following activities. An architectural boat cruise on the Chicago River, with Wendella Boat Tours, approximately 75 minutes, leaves every hour. Lucky Strike, in our building. Bowling, Pool tables, a Huge Bar with food. All in all, a great place to hang out. The Art Institute of Chicago, where there is a Degas exhibit among other interesting exhibits. None of these activities are all or none. All activities are a short walk from our hotel. Just hanging out with your Classmates works fine. Finally, This is Chicago! We’re 2 blocks off of Michigan Ave, one of the great shopping venues in the world
Mass: Mass will begin somewhere between 4 PM and 5 PM. The exact time will be in the handout.
Busses & Cars: Everyone has a seat on the bus. The busses, yellow school types, will leave the hotel shortly after 6 PM for Navy Pier, a fifteen minute ride at most. If it’s a nice day, some of you may want to walk, which is fine, just, LET US KNOW, so we aren’t waiting for you. On the return trip, if you are NOT on the bus at the prescribed return times, we assume you made other plans.
Hotel parking comes with In/Out privileges. If you want to drive yourself, check with us and we will tell you where to park. Parking at Navy Pier is $25 for 24 hours.
Boat Dress Code: The dress code is business casual. Sport coats for the guys, sweaters for the ladies. Pant suits are fine. The coats and sweaters are more about the temperature than the attire. We will be on Lake Michigan for 3 hours. It can easily be 10 to 15 degrees cooler on the Lake than it is on shore. You don’t want to be uncomfortable. Suits and ties, as well as, long dresses are overkill, but feel free to dress up if you like.
Boat Change: The Mystic Blue is having some repairs done. We are now going on the Spirit of Chicago. As much information as we currently have is on the website, under Spirit of Chicago. This includes menu & drink options.
Photography: We decided against having a professional photographer for our event. We need guys that are good with a camera to step up. Please bring your SLR or other camera on Friday night and Saturday night. Many of us have phones with built in cameras. Charge your phone and shoot as many pictures as you can. After the Reunion we will aggregate the photos and post them on the web site. The Reunion disc will be for sale after the Reunion for those seeking a memento.
Logo Merchandise: If you are still interested in Campion Logo merchandise, and have not ordered, do this. Go to the Lands End tab on our website. Pick out what you like. Call, Lands End customer service, 800-338-2000, They will help you expedite your order. Today, you are way behind the curve, let them help you. If you call after October 5th you’re probably wasting your time.
Walgreens: If you need a drug store, Walgreens is located at the end of our block, walking toward the lake.
Final Email: This is our final Email before the Reunion. If you have any further questions, problems or issues, contact a Committee member. Our phone numbers and Email addresses are on the web site, campion65knights.com. Be sure to pick up the handout at the Welcome Table, you will need it to see the full schedule of events for the weekend.
Our 50th Reunion has finally arrived. We look forward to seeing all of you and having a great weekend.
Jack, Tom, Chuck & John
Email Blast # 4
September 10th, 2015
Gentlemen:
Campion Logo merchandise from Lands End is NOW available. About half the class expressed interest in purchasing this merchandise. This stuff is NOT throw away T shirts! Check the Lands End site out.
To order, go to our website, campion65knights.com. On the bottom of the left hand column there’s a tab, Lands End, click on it, read what’s there, and proceed accordingly.
Time is of the essence.There is a Special Promotion thru September 18th, 8 days from today, FREE shipping and FREE logo’s. Promotions at Lands End change frequently, hop on this one, it’s the best!
In any event, you need to order your merchandise by OCTOBER 1st, 2015 to realistically have it in time for our 50th Reunion. That’s approximately 3 weeks from today! There are several delivery options. Read what’s there carefully before ordering. Order tracking is available under Customer Service. Have your order number handy. We don’t want any unhappy campers.
One additional logo, which is the Campion / 50th Reunion, portion of the logo, will NOT be available until Friday, September 11th. This logo is primarily for the cap, but can be used on other merchandise as well. The Knight on horseback will NOT fit on the cap. Waiting till Friday, to order merchandise, is a good idea, generally.
The Lands End site can be slow to update. Clear your browser. The “Add to Bag” tab sometimes takes about 30 seconds to load. There are many more anomalies on the site. Images & logo’s that won’t load! Internet Explorer works better than Chrome! etc., etc. If you proceed slowly, generally, you won’t have a problem.
Don’t Frustrate Yourself! If you have trouble navigating the site, call Land End customer assistance, at, 800-338-2000, tell them Campion Knights web site. Lands End personnel will assist you in placing your order. They are very helpful.
Have fun shopping!
Tom, Jack, Chuck & John
Email Blast # 3
August 24, 2015
Hello Again,
It’s less than 3 months till our 50th Reunion, 1 month and 22 days to be exact. I hope you all are getting excited. We sure are. We have some new faces and many old faces returning. Not to worry, name tags will be provided.
1Those of you who have NOT made hotel reservations, the Embassy Suites Magnificent Mile is Sold Out for Friday and Saturday night, all 450 rooms. This was not anticipated. According to the hotel, the likelihood of future cancellations is remote. Those who have NOT made a room reservation, please contact a committee member before September 1st, if you want our assistance in locating a room. Our interim suggestion is to book a room at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, The Doubletree Magnificent Mile, or Loew’s Chicago. All of these hotels are within a block of the Embassy Suites Magnificent Mile. If you have booked a room and cannot attend. DO NOT CANCELL YOUR RESERVATION. Contact a committee member and we will handle it for you. We have Classmates needing rooms.
2] Payment for the Reunion is due NOW. We are paying a substantial credit card usage fee to use the credit card on the website. We request that those UNPAID send a check to Jack Dudek instead of using the credit card on the site. His information is in the Pay Reunion Fees tab. If you haven’t written a check in years, use the web site rather than delay payment. Please pay immediately. Like Today! Deposits for many things are due shortly.
3] Everyone who has registered at the hotel, RSVP’d or indicated they will be attending the Reunion, will be contacted in the next few weeks by a committee member to make sure we have all the information we need for planning purposes, please respond to that email promptly
4] Father Jim O’Leary will be joining us on Saturday afternoon and evening. Many of us remember him fondly. He’s very excited to be joining us.
5] There will be Mass, officiated by Father O’Leary, late afternoon Saturday, before we get on the bus to go to the boat, for those that would like to attend.
6] Campion Logo merchandise, shirts, caps etc, will go on sale approximately September 1st. The Campion Class of 65 web site will have a tab, Lands End, that when opened, will contain a link to our company store. You will be able to order your size, the way you want it, in a quantity as low as one, and have it shipped directly to your house. Complete instructions will be on the site as well as a place to pay by credit card.
7] Those who have NOT, Updated Your Information, please do so. Classmates are looking for you and current information makes it easier to find you now and in the future. It takes less than 5 minutes.
8] As was previously mentioned, Jack Greider will reprise his Campion presentation from the 90’s that many of us remember with great pleasure.
9] Tim App is going to bring his Guitar along and play a set or two for us. Many of us remember that Tim was instrumental in introducing us to folk music, Bob Dylan, Dave van Ronk among others.
10] Quite a few expressed an interest in walking to Navy Pier to get on the boat. We made an executive decision to provide everyone attending with a seat on the bus. We’re all hoping for clear skies and a night in the low to mid 70’s. This is Chicago. We could have freezing rain and it could be in the 30’s or perhaps a torrential down pour. If it’s a nice night, feel free to walk, just know that you have a seat on the bus.
11] The, Who’s Coming tab if fairly complete. If you failed to RSVP, your name or spouse’s name will NOT appear until you do so. The Spouse’s Coming, In Memoriam, and Who’s NOT Coming tabs are all up to date.
12] We can still use Donations. Some unexpected expenses have come up. If you can see your way clear to send us a few bucks, your Classmates will appreciate it. The web site, Donations & Gifts tab, is very user friendly.
13] The golf outing is cancelled, no real interest.
14] We will be supplying instructions on how to use public transportation from both Midway and O’Hare airports in our October Email.
15] If you misplace or delete this email, it will appear on the, On Going Updates tab on the website.
Chuck, John, Jack & Tom
E-Mail Blast # 2
Gentlemen:
With 4 months and 13 days left till our Reunion we’re looking pretty good. Lots of returning Classmates and some new faces will be attending our 50th Reunion. In the Internet age we were not able to locate 13 people. We’re still at it though.
1] The poll will close at the end of June. We will be making decisions based on the information there at that time. If you haven’t taken it, please do so.
2] The Hotel reservations tab and the RSVP drop down ”Staying at the Embassy Suite Hotel” tab ARE NOT CONNECTED. If you’re confused, contact us and we’ll give you the proper instructions.
3] Many of you have “Updated Your Information” If you haven’t, please do. Most of us are reasonably settled and your current information today, will make it easier to contact you 5 years from now for our 55th Reunion.
4] We will start collecting fees, in earnest, for the actual Reunion Events in mid July. Quite a few have paid already. Remember, if your significant other is attending, you need to pay in 2 places.
5] The “Whose Coming”, “Whose Not Coming” and “Spouses Coming” tabs are reasonably up to date. The updating is all manual and takes time. If you have a specific request in these areas that needs addressing, contact us.
6] A few classmates are sharing rooms. The sharing has been handled privately. If you would like to share a room, let us know. We have booked the Presidential Suite for 2 nights and the Suite comes with 1 King room and 1 Double room. We will be offering those rooms at a reduced rate in the future.
7] To date, due to the generosity of your Classmates, we have raided $2700. We would like to raise more. Donations start at $10, please donate if you can.
8] No decision on a golf outing. It has been proposed that we consider Sunday afternoon as a possibility. If you’re interested, let us know. It appears that any group will be small and I can guarantee the venue will be outstanding.
9] Pictures continue to be posted from the 2005 and 2010 Reunions. We can create as many photo albums as needed. If you have old pictures, post them.
10] We will have a professional photographer for part of Saturday night.
11] Tim App and Joe Rosenberger are going to provide some music for our entertainment. Their efforts are still in the works. More later.
12] The best for last. Jack Greider is going to reprise his Oscar winning performance from the 1990 Reunion. Of all the Reunions we’ve had, that event stands out as the best and the funniest. Not to be missed.
campion65knights.com
John, Chuck, Tom & Jack
1] Email # 1
Classmates,
We sincerely hope you are looking forward to our 50th Reunion. If, per chance, you can’t come, kindly go to the web site anyway and follow the instructions there. We set up the Campion web site to provide one central location for Reunion information and to make it easy to book your hotel and pay for Reunion Events. There is a lot of information on the site, perhaps too much for some, but the site will answer 95% of any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing you. 81 Classmates received this email. 19 are deceased and 6 are unable to attend, out of our class of 137. Pretty great after 50 years! Type the following into your browser bar and you’re ready to go.
campion65knights.com
John, Chuck, Tom & Jack