To The Members of HMM-263,

As many of you know, Pop A Smoke Reunion 2004, Reno Nevada is just around the corner. Now is the time to start planning for our Reunion. Reunion 2002 at Pensacola was the first one attended by myself and many other squadron members. We came from throughout the United States, as did other members who were there for their 3rd and 4th Reunion. What a great experience it was to renew old friendships and make new acquaintances.

“RENO 2004 WILL BE THAT AND MUCH, MUCH, MORE!!!!”

My name is Gary Alls and I served with HMM-263 in ’66-’67 at Marble Mountain. When Tom Hewes, the reunion coordinator asked for volunteers for “Point Of Contact”, I submitted my name, as no one else had done so. During the first part of August, my wife and I made the trip up Hwy. 395 to Reno for a few days vacation and to get the general lay of the area.

It looks as if Tom Hewes and his group have out done themselves with the selection of The Reno Hilton (www.renohilton.com) as host for our 10th Popasmoke Reunion Enough can’t be said about the hotel and surrounding area. The hotel is less than one mile from the airport. It provides shuttle service to and from the airport twice every hour on the quarter hour. Car rental is also provided, but there seems to be a small selection of vehicles. You might want to make arrangements at the airport. (Buddy up and split the cost!!) The hotel provides many services, such as; a big outdoor swimming pool and spa area, golf driving range, bowling, and six great restaurants, ranging from a buffet with excellent food and prices to a super Mexican Restaurant. Italian and Oriental cuisine is also available. Gaming tables start a $5 dollars and up, with a world-class poker room, plus shopping for all ages. All this and much more.

Each room, smoking and non-smoking, comes with two queen size beds or one king size bed. Make sure you indicate what your preference is when you make your reservations. It would be nice if our squadron was on the same floor but it is really unnecessary with the easy access to all elevators. We are just a short ride away from all the activities.

Within hours drive of the hotel is Virginia City, America’s largest historical landmark (www.virginia city-nv.org). Carson City is just 29 miles south and 35 miles west is the mountain community of Truckee. The best is Lake Tahoe, which is an easy scenic drive of 45 miles south of Reno. Take a cruise on Lake Tahoe (www.laketahoecruises.com), or tour the Ponderosa Ranch, home of TV’s Bonanza (www.ponderosaranch.com). Plan now and check out these web sites for more information – www.travelneveda.com and www.noc@travelneveda.com.

T. C. Moyer, whose e-mail address is: moyerto@xpedius.net has family connections in the silk screening and graphics business, and has volunteered to handle reunion gear. Hats, T-shirts and polo shirts will be available. He will be going on line on our squadron web site on the “Notam Board”. E-mail him with any suggestions you may have regarding reunion gear. There are two different groups of members within HMM 263, UH34 and CH 46 personnel. We would like both groups to be represented in the decision making process. Please e-mail T.C. with your ideas.

One of the most important events to be held at this reunion will be our Friday evening squadron dinner. Due to the possible lack of transportation for our members, it will be difficult to hold a dinner elsewhere other than at the hotel. There are rooms available to be catered on a limited basis. Due to the small number of rooms and the fact that other squadrons have already reserved some, I took the liberty of reserving and placing a deposit on a room that can seat and serve up to 80 people. Having a squadron dinner is not our only option. We may also consider a breakfast or a lunch. Prices range from $13.75 to $18.00 for breakfast, $17.00 to $25.00 for lunch and $23.00 to $38.00 for dinner. Also include state tax and 16% service charge. We could also have a dinner buffet for $32.50 or a specialty dinner such as, Mexican, Italian, Oriental, Western and Mardi gras for $30.00. As you can see, a lot of decisions have to be made regarding this special night. Fortunately, we still have eight to nine months to finalize our decisions.

Due to the cost of material and mailing postage this will likely be the only written information that you receive from me. I would not mind doing another, but cost prohibitive. So PLEASE log on to our squadron web page on the NOTAM BOARD. Share you ideas and thoughts. E-mail our squadron coordinators and let them know your desires and or suggestions. I could possibly do group e-mail to those that are interested, but I would need your e-mail addresses. Let me know.

In closing, let me say that I think this could be the very best of our reunions that we might attend. Only we can make it happen. If you have a computor, check out the hotel at www.renohilton.com. Also, there maybe some members that I don’t have an address for, so please try to contact all of your friends who were in the squadron and let them know about Reno.

Respectfully,
Gary Alls “ CLASS OF ’66-‘67”
gjalls@aol.com