[Distributed: July 20, 2008]

Hello Rutherford Clan!

The "2008 Rutherford Reunion" is fast approaching. Only three more weeks until the reunion on Saturday, August 9th at Harrison Park in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada!

We have been amazed at the response to the reunion. Thus far we have received RSVP's for over 100 people from Canada and the United States. That's a lot of folks. :-)

If you haven't filled in the online RSVP form, please do so now at http://RSVP.RutherfordReunion.com so we can plan accordingly (e.g. seating space for the noon meal, etc.).

We originally rented the Community Centre building within Harrison Park for the reunion. But as the number of RSVP's grew, we had to also rent the outdoor gazebo (pavilion) in the park to accommodate everyone for the noon meal. The Community Centre will be the first stop when everyone arrives (to register) and will also be where various people will setup their Rutherford memorabilia, history and family displays, family trees, etc. It will also have the washrooms.

The noon meal will be a picnic where each family is asked to bring their own food, drinks, cutlery, serviettes, etc. Due to the wonderful response to the reunion (the volume of people coming) and due to various food allergies, we felt it was best to not have a potluck, but to instead have an extended family picnic where each family provides for their own consumption.

We have 6 rows of tables in the outdoor gazebo / pavilion rented. The gazebo is covered with a roof. We will also be providing water in water coolers which will be available throughout the day at the gazebo and the Community Centre. There will also be coffee available in the Community Centre.

There is a public baseball diamond located in the park between the Community Centre and the gazebo, so bring your gloves, baseballs and bats. Also feel free to bring any other outdoor games (e.g. frisbees, etc.).

We also hope to update our family tree data when everyone is together. More on that in our next "Rutherford Reunion News" message.

To help defray some of the costs associated with the reunion day (park rental & supplies mostly), we are suggesting a donation of $10 per family when you arrive. It is optional but would be appreciated.

I think we are all in a similar boat regarding the fact that there will probably be more people at the reunion that we don't know, than we do know. It should be fun getting to know as many people as possible. I just hope there isn't a test at the end of the day regarding everyone's name! :-)

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (SAT. AUG. 9TH)

10:00 - 11:30AM Arrive anytime within this period. Sign-in at the Community Centre so we have a record of everyone who was at the 2008 reunion. View the family history displays in the Community Centre, update your family's information, mingle, get to know other people, play some games (outdoors), walk around the park, talk, relax.

12:45 - 1:00PM Setup for lunch

1:00 - 2:30PM Group Lunch

2:30 - 3:30PM Group Photo.

3:30PM and thereafter Games, fun, more mingling and getting acquainted.

Although your arrival and departure time is up to what suits your family, we would really appreciate if everyone was there for the group meal and the group photo time. You will also want lots of time to get to know others and what branch of the family they are from.

FAMILY HISTORY DISPLAYS

If you have a display of family information or pictures to setup in the Community Centre, please send me an email (doug.braun@pobox.com) so we have an idea of how many displays there will be and so we can find out how much table and/or wall space you might need. We have reserved 9:00 - 10:00AM for the setup of the various family displays in the Community Centre, so you'll want to arrive within that time period if you have a family display.

HELPFUL LINKS

We have a Rutherford Reunion web site setup which contains a lot of helpful information regarding the reunion: http://www.RutherfordReunion.com

The web site contains a page which lists how many people are coming from each City, Province and State. This list is automatically updated whenever someone submits their online RSVP form. We currently have people coming to the reunion from 4 Provinces and from 9 States. To see the actual counts by City and Province/State, go to the web site or go directly to this link: http://www.rutherfordreunion.com/locations.php

To see a page that summarizes the reunion day's information, go to link: http://www.rutherfordreunion.com/invitation.php

To RSVP (if you haven't already done so, please do so ASAP), go to link: http://RSVP.rutherfordreunion.com

When you RSVP using the above online form, you are automatically added to the reunion mailing list. However, if you would like to add any additional email addresses to the reunion mailing list (e.g. your work address, other family members), then use the following form to do so: http://www.rutherfordreunion.com/list.php

WHAT TO BRING

In addition to the meal items mentioned above, you might want to also bring sunscreen, lawn chairs, refreshments & activities for any of your young children. You will probably want to bring your meal and drinks in a cooler.

CLOSING

Please let us know if you have any questions about the reunion by sending questions to doug.braun@pobox.com (they will be forwarded to the planning team).

I speak for the planning team when I say that we are really looking forward to getting together and meeting as many of you as possible! It should be a fun day! (Remember to RSVP!)

We will be sending out additional email messages with further information as the day approaches.

Thank you.

Doug on behalf of the planning team (Debbie Campbell, Kevin Rutherford, Pat Myers, Carey Rutherford, Doug Braun)
http://www.rutherfordreunion.com/who.php