In this Issue:
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Follow Us:
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New in the Suq:
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Check out the newest items in the online Suq:reunion-logo coffee mugs, ghutra print pens and mouse pads!
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ABI Board:
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President
Marie Littlejohn-Dunn DH'77
Vice President
Randa Owen-Williams DH'65
Treasurer
Tom Littlejohn DH'84
Secretary
Kim Zinszer DH'67
Reunion Oversight Director
Diane Knipfel-Slingluff AB'75
Director at Large - Nominations
Andrew Bobb DH'74
Director at Large
Diana Ryrholm-Geerdes RT'62
Database Director
Duane Hopple RT'79
Publications Director
Mike Simms AB'78
Class Representative Director
Robin Payne-White DH'59
Website Director
Dawn Kolb DH'92
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The ABI Board would like to thank all of you who voted . . . voting matters. It is important for the Board to operate under officers chosen by the collective wisdom of all Brats. So again, a big "shukran" to all of you who voted!
For those of you who were unable to attend the reunion, or for those of you who did attend and did not hear the announcement at the banquet (for whataever reason), here are the election results:
President Marie Littlejohn-Dunn
Vice President Penny Dougharty- Maher
Secretary Erica Ryrholm
Treasurer Tom Littlejohn
Congratulations to Marie, Penny, Erica and Tom. They each have big responsibilities ahead, but we know they are more than up for it!
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Order Reunion Class and Group Photos
If you forgot to order you class or group photo at the reunion, you can still do so online. EyeCatch Designs image gallery will be available online through August 31, 2011.
Title: AramcoBrats Reunion 2011
Passcode: abrats2011
Photo booth images are also available.
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Upcoming Events
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Show Us Your Pics!
Have you checked out the Dallas Reunion photo album on Flickr? There are already more than 400 pictures to view! Thanks to those who have already shared their photos with everyone, but we'd love to see even more. (Don't think we don't see all those fabulous photos on facebook!) We've made it easy. Just follow these simple instructions. (more)
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Q1 2011 Financials
Our latest financial statements (through the end of the previous quarter) are available for your viewing pleasure.
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Copyright AramcoBrats, Inc.
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Dallas by the Numbers
The 13th biennial reunion in Dallas was, judging from the smiles and laughter, a great success. There were many of the same, old regulars and plenty of first-timers. The venue was superb for socializing and soaking up that end-of-spring Texas sun (and wind?!), for enjoying our very own outdoor Brat theater under the stars, or for dancing away the night in the canteen with our virtual, "grooveshark" jukebox. It was successful by any measure, but you know how we like to pull out the old yardstick, so here is Dallas by the numbers*:
Total attendance
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735 (4th largest) |
| Total Brats in attendance |
576 |
| Oldest class |
1957 |
| Youngest class |
2008 |
| Largest class |
'83 and '84 (37 ea) |
| Bowlers |
85 |
| Golfers |
20 |
| Tennis players |
14 |
| H.O.R.S.E. |
11 |
** Attendance numbers are based on paid registrations.
Sports Tournament Results
Bowling
High Series: Lyn Daniel-Deaton, Barbara Deines, Scott Miller, John Prugh
Men's High Series: Tom Freeman
Men's High Game: Keith Meehan
Women's High Game: Lyn Daniel-Deaton
Women's High Series: Sissy Quick Kay
Golf
Closest to the pin (Men): Hirath Ghori, Brent Cline
Closest to the pin (Ladies): Karen Morrow
Longest Drive (Men): Hirath Ghori
Longest Drive (Ladies): Wendi Haggard-Nitschmann
Winning team: Hirath Ghori, Baldo Marinovic, Karen Morrow
Tennis
1st place (Men): Girin Barretto
2nd place (Men): Michael Kirk
1st place (Ladies): Liz Wood
2nd place (Ladies): Nancy Pais
H.O.R.S.E : Mark Dolce
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A Class (AB '65) Act
Inge Frye (AB '65)
(The story of how a "missing" Brat discovered AramcoBrats, Inc, tracked down other missing classmates, became Class Representative, doubled the number of her classmates in the database, and rallied her class to attend what would be her first reunion in Dallas.)
Late 2009, I had a reunion with my High School class from Rosenberg, Switzerland. I had worked 2 years on finding classmates and managed to round up 26. One of the classmates I was looking for had been with me in Abqaiq, and I had tried for over a year to locate her. At the Rosenberg reunion, someone who had lived in Saudi Arabia as a child, but not with Aramco, asked me if I had tried the Aramco Brats website. I had never heard of it!
 With amazement, I found the website and saw quite a few names that I recognised. I grabbed my Al Sejil yearbook from 1960 and started to write down all of the 4th grade class and compared it to the list of Brats listed as AB65. So many of us were “missing” and not even listed as missing! I realised that the class roster was only made up of Brats that had graduated in 1965, but I felt that ALL of us who had been in that class should be listed.
Kathy Montgomery started to help me understand the way things were set up and encouraged me to contact those of my class that did have a listing. So I did, and, little by little, they all answered me. The girl I was looking for to join us at the Rosenberg reunion was also listed and it was a happy, tearful day when she answered my email.
I asked everyone to send me their recent photo, and I started to amuse myself by putting together a “before” and “now” page for each person, with a short summary of what they had been up to since 1960. Later I decided to send my classmates this Newsletter, and I was really happy to hear that everyone just loved it. Some had not even remembered some of the classmates shown, and only by seeing their old photo did they remember. It was fun for them to see where everyone lived and what they had become.
Kathy then encouraged me to officially become our class contact. I accepted with the idea that I would try to rally them all to come to the Dallas reunion. Between 2009 and 2011, I managed to get our class contact list up to 36 classmates from the original 18 that were in the 2009 directory.
 With help from other classmates and their old Al Sejils, we managed to make a very complete list of every person that was ever in our class, even if only for one year. The total count is 62 of which 3 are deceased and 23 not yet located. 2 graduated in 1966 but spent most of their years with us, so we keep them in “our” list. And some left for Dhahran or Ras Tanura, but we also keep them listed in “our” list.
The Dallas reunion had 13 AB65’s registered, and in the end only 12 made it. But it was a start and the unbelievable closeness that we bonded during the 3 days that we were together was incredible. Together, we managed to bring back many memories that I had forgotten. Names were remembered, teachers, incidents and special moments.
We missed those that could not make it this time, but decided that we would really like to organise a reunion with the whole class one of these years. For us 2015 would be a special year. Most of us will be 65 and retired and it will be 50 years since 1965. I may have to skip the 2013 reunion, but aim to get everyone that can possibly make it come to the 2015 reunion.
Meeting the people who make the ABI run and work was a special treat in Dallas. I had been in contact only by email with many of them. I admire their dedication and the time they give to make all of this happen. You have to be touched by a very special angel to have the patience and make time for it all. I think that angel has touched me too because I am determined to continue to locate the missing 23 classmates on my list. And I intend to keep my classmates together by informing them of any news I come up with. A sort of yearly class newsletter will be sent to them so that they know what is going on with the others and what the status is on my detective work.
 It all seems so very important to me now. Maybe it is the ageing process, when we start to look back and try to remember things. For me, living in Abqaiq was the happiest time of my life. Our family was together then until tragedy struck and my father died in 1960 at the age of 45. The years after that were pretty black for me and I yearned for the happy days in Abqaiq. Life does go on, but I have held those years (1953-1960) in my memory as the best of my life. I assume that it is only normal that I now consider my classmates and playmates from that era to be part of my family and memory. Their importance to my life now has become major. For so many years I could hardly remember their names and now I know most of their children’s names!
I wish I had more memories of Arabia in those times, I left at the age of 10, so there is really not that much I can remember. It was so wonderful to sit together in Dallas and do some brainstorming together. It was amazing what we all came up with, like the crippled “Shrimp man” that came down the alleys on his cart to sell fresh shrimp. I can see him in my mind now. And strangely enough I was the one that remembered him. Someone else came up with the egg man, and another and another! It was a delightful babble with laughter and many “Oh, I remember what you once did….”
I am so glad I did not miss this reunion. It filled many empty places in my heart and I came home much richer than I left. I made some new friends from other classes and districts there too. We are all special people, you know. We had a youth that not many have had. The reunions are a great means to bring this special group together. If you have not yet gone to one, I highly recommend that you do!
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Extra Special Donor Shukran
We would like to thank the following Brats for donating beyond the suggested AdBak amount this term. Your generosity helps keep the ABI going! Donations are from December 18, 2010 to present.
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Jamal Abdul Rahman-Al Jabiri
Patricia Ahrnsbrak-Barnes
Reshat (Dolunay) Al-Kaisi
Dean L. Barnes
Chris Behringer
James O. Bowler
Celeste Brooks-Barrentine
Judie K. Bryan-Messier
Anne Bryan-Patrick
Laurie Carl-Wright
Sally L. Carson-Campbell
Angel Colberg
Steven G. Crane
Jay Crawford
Albert B. Csaszar
Matthew Cumings
Lyn Daniel-Deaton
Patricia Deines-Marquart
David Elliott
Harry W. Ellis, Jr.
Albert Fallon
Mary Jo Faulkner
Gwen Fuschetto
Keith Edwin Hall
Richard Harris
Angela Hazelton
Laura W. Heywood-Zenor
Suzanne Frances Hill
Frank E. Holt
James A. Hubbard
Jeffrey M. Hutchins
Max (Abd) Isa
Juana Johnson
Cameron Ross Johnston
Gary M. Jungers
Deborah Kearney
Otto Knutzen
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Steve Le Roux
Margaret McDonald
John (Jack) McGovern
Megan McIntosh
John R. Meyer
Michael Miller
Jackie M. Milne-Skakel
Laura Moffett-Houghlan
Theresa Rose Mortensen-Chatfield
Brian Mulligan
Todd Nims
Justin O'Toole
Jennifer A. Onnen-McDaniel
Richard B. Owen
Sharon L. Papp
Marietta Parianos
Sean C. Payne
Colette G. Philip
Michael J. Polhemus
Ellen Beth Polhemus-Mazaika
Pamela Rader-Pauwels
John M. Rappaport
Rory Rickwood
Mark D. Rines
Mary Louise Singelyn-Littlejohn
Helen K. St. Clair-Heidbreder
Danee Sullivan-Hubbs
Ann Sundberg-Johnston
Amy Thompson-Steindorff
Julee Tindall-Scanlon
Mark Tracy
Brenda D. Turner
Elizabeth Ullmann
Janice N. Wohlgethan-Hawwa
Laura Yarbrough-Lucore
Peter Yoon
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