11 - 14 SEPTEMBER, 2008
The Reunion began on Thursday, 11 September, with everyone staying at the Embassy Suites in downtown Huntsville. Every attendee was given a welcome bag with logo (see picture above) going along with our theme of “before there were rockets there was cotton”. The bag contained a folder with a welcome letter and information about the reunion, a package from the Visitor’s bureau, a cotton seed sack going along our theme, water and snacks to enjoy. The hotel’s managers’ reception gave everyone a chance to get oriented for the weekend’s events. Most of the attendees enjoyed dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, Ruth Chris’ steakhouse.
After breakfast on Friday morning, the day started out with a briefing and tour of the Missile and Space Intelligence Center, followed by lunch and a tour at the Huntsville Botanical Garden. After the garden tour we were treated to a tour of some of the downtown Huntsville historical sites.
At the informal business meeting on Friday, during the hotel’s managers’ reception, Walt & Manette Lazear agreed to take over the AFAITC website from Mike Mockford and Allen & Penny Frick agreed to host our next reunion in 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After breakfast on Saturday morning, we travelled to Lynchburg, Tennessee to enjoy a tour of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery followed by a Family of Brands tasting. Afterwards we had a brief visit of the Lynchburg town square followed by a family style lunch at Miss Mary Bobo’s. After lunch we had time to walk off our lunch and spend more time on the square. The day ended with the hotel’s managers’ reception followed by the banquet and business meeting attended by 29 guests at the Von Braun Center. At the conclusion of the banquet, the reunion baton was passed to the 2010 hosts. On Sunday a cookout was held at the Starkloff’s, which provided us a last chance to share stories and bid farewells.
We hope for a great turnout in Las Vegas.
Huntsville 2008 Reunion Hosts,
Karl and Judy Starkloff
Tote bags
NOTE: The New York Times recently published an article about Huntsville and the Rockets. To read the article click here.
Weekend Schedule
MSIC Tour
Botanical Garden Tour
Jack Daniel's Tour
(from left to right) Judy Starkloff, Karl Starkloff, Ishy Palma, Hank Palma, Gayna Park, Vern Nordman, Ken Park, Walt Lazear, Mike Lemma, Manette Lazear, Eltomae Lemma, Ron Talbot, Barbara Talbot, Christine Halsall, Chris Halsall, Jerry Hensel, Jackie Rossman, Keith Garrett, Sandra Barry, Violet Garrett, Jim Shafer, Lydia Shafer, John O'Meara, Linda O'Meara, Shirley Mockford, Alan Frick, Penny Frick, Mike Mockford, John Barry, Rowdy Baxter (guide).