Thanks to eagle-eyed Annie Oskam, who spotted a tell-tale book title in a Facebook teaser photo, the cat is out of the bag for the 14^th Biennial AramcoBrat Reunion! ABI is pleased to confirm that the 2013 reunion will return to one of our favorite reunion cities - Tucson, Arizona!

As several of you have surmised, we'll be at a different resort hotel this time, the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa!  It will be the same desert setting in the Tucson foothills with fabulous grounds and pool areas - perfect Brat hangouts!  Group reservations will not open until Dec. 1, 2011, so check the Hotel Reservations page after Thanksgiving for instructions on reserving your room.   

Reunion Auction Extravaganza!

Every summer should have a kickoff as exciting as our Brat Reunion was in Dallas.  And the excitement of seeing old friends and making new ones during the reunion was only matched by the smashing success of the Raffle and the Silent and Live Auctions!

Without the tremendous generosity of our fellow brats, teachers, and, yes, even annuitants, our raffle and auction would not have had such varied and unique offerings.  The raffle and auction rooms truly did resemble a Mid-East bazaar – brass, copper, clothing, antique books, prints and paintings – and even some delicious dates!  We had something for collectors of every ilk.  Without the time and effort spent by ABI's Raffle/Auction Chair (Randa) and committee, the Reunion Committee and various other volunteers, the items being offered would not have been displayed so temptingly.  And finally, without the enthusiastic ticket purchasers and auction bidders, the coffers would not have been filled so richly!  The proceeds, of course, all benefit the ABI, to be used for your benefit. Thank you all!

Our many, many thanks go to the following donors for all of these treasures (our apologies if we left someone off the list who donated during the reunion itself):

In addition, we wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to our friends in the Middle East - those business establishments in Al-Khobar, who donated so many fine things to enhance our raffle and auction, and to Tom and Kathy Owen, David and Paula Owen, Rick Owen, Lee and Jackie Ingham and Matt and Sue Cummings, who were instrumental in obtaining and transporting these items for us:

* Desert Designs*  *The Silver Museum*  *Arabian Gifts*  *The Gift Center*

The raffle did extremely well, with virtually all of the items being bid upon.  Ticket sales were a whopping $3,144, and several raffle participants lucked out with multiple items.  With over 180 items to raffle, only a handful were left for the next reunion.  The Silent Auction did similarly well.  Unfortunately, we had so many wonderful items that we had to hold a few in this category for the next reunion…or perhaps that should be fortunately?  We generated an impressive $1,655 from our Silent Auction bids. 

And finally there was the Live Auction… how much fun was that???  Our live auctioneer, Jeff Hutchins, once again stepped up to the plate and outdid his past performances admirably.  I do believe we generated more faloose in this year’s live auction than any time in the past - $4,600!  Thank you so much to the donors, and to the successful bidders (thanks as well to the unsuccessful bidders for livening up the show and to Pat Deines for giving us such a jump start with the Steiff puppets war!).

Live Auction Winners

Silent Auction Winners

AramcoBrats in Arab News

"Everyone who has spent time in one of the Aramco communities leave their mark in some way or another. No longer jogging, I am now walking the sidewalks of Dhahran before and after work. The other day I parked at the library and on my way to the clinic I noticed a handprint on the sidewalk of H & 7th Streets. I photographed the handprint and the name "Gracie", November 28, 1948. Through Aramco brat Steve Furman I found Gracie to be the daughter of James MacPherson, a VP of Aramco in the old days. I sent Gracie a photo of her sidewalk signature along with her friend, looks like David M., who also left his handprint on the same slab, dated simply Nov 1948. I have not heard back yet, but supposedly Gracie is doing well in Santa Ana, CA.... this morning I took another journey thru Old Camp looking for the sidewalk marks left by us brats. On M Street I found J.K., 1953. On L Street I found RLD 1975. And I found Jim Porto dated 1981 on 8th Street and sent him a message via AramcoBrats. Standby for news, I may find you..."