Photo credit: Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism
For the 20th Biennial Reunion, we're going to the desert. No, not that desert.* It's Palm Springs, baby!! Mark your calendars for June 26 - 30, 2025.
We love, love, love our Arizona and Texas reunions, but we also love a little variety, and, according to our 2025 Reunion Poll, so do you! Once described as "America's desert oasis", Palm Springs, California has the heat and desert we all "love" from our Saudi days. With it's retro-vibe and glamourous history, it'll have us all feeling like returning students. Desert heat, swimming pools, shopping, golfing, hiking . . . it'll be Brat fun in Palm Springs. There's something for everybody and we can't wait to see you all in Palm Springs in 2025!
*Best line in an announcement video, ever.
Hardworking. Dedicated. Kind. These are the words most shared amongst the ABI board after learning of the untimely passing of one of our own. Dawn Kolb (DH92) was a steady presence on the ABI Board of Directors joining in 2005 as Class Rep Coordinator. Dawn's role evolved to include Website Director and Database Director over her 19 years of service to her beloved Brat community.
Beyond these roles, Dawn was instrumental in the success of our reunions...always one of the first to arrive and last to leave. Every member of the AramcoBrats, Inc. board worked with her in some capacity, and every member can attest to her commitment. We will miss her terribly.
Dawn touched so many Brats. If you paid your AdBak or needed to upgrade your membership level, Dawn was there to help you. If you ever registered for a reunion online, Dawn was there to assist. If you attended a reunion, you saw Dawn at Registration, and she was likely helping someone if not you. If you showed up early for a reunion, there was Dawn, in the wee hours of the morning, setting up and organizing the Raffle, Silent and Live Auction displays. If you submitted a Black Camel notice, Dawn helped you. And now we, the ABI board and the Brat community, send our dear friend, Dawn Kolb, peace be upon her, home on the Black Camel.
A Celebration of Life for Dawn is being planned for April 13th in Houston, TX. Details are pending - the outpouring of love for her is apparent! It's a challenge to secure a location that can accommodate the Brat numbers. For more information on the event and updates as they become available, please visit Dawn Kolb, Celebration of Life. Her friends will be creating a video of their favorite memories with Dawn; please share your favorites in this album for inclusion.
Oh happy day!! We've got our 2025 reunion co-chairs, and it's a sister act!!! The ABI Board is happy to sing the praises of Debbie Urenovich-Vassallo (DH-84) and Mara Urenovich-Barth (DH-85)! Meet your co-chairs:
Debbie: "Our family lived in Dhahran on & off between 1974-1984. We moved to Northern Virginia after I graduated from Aramco Schools. I graduated from Herndon High School in Virginia and Millersville University in Pennsylvania. Currently living in the Philadelphia area where my husband Nick and I raised two terrific daughters and a scruffy rescue dog. We run an industrial automation distribution business. I've been happily attending reunions since 2003 and love connecting with old friends and making new ones. I'm extremely grateful for all the previous committees and felt it was time to get more involved and help plan this special event."
Mara: "Our family spent 10 years (‘74-‘84) going back & forth to Saudi (assignments in Florida & VA helped us become experts at being the “new kid” ). Since then I’ve enjoyed living in VA, PA, DC, Chicago, CT & Paris - back in CT now! I’m lucky enough to have a husband who is brilliant enough not to follow me to reunions and an equally brilliant son who is kind enough to pretend I’m still smarter than him (sometimes). I’ve combined my love of traveling (thank you Aramco) and jogging to tackle the journey of running a marathon in all 50 states - completed my quest with Alaska July ‘23. Now that that’s over I think it’s time to be giving back to the Brats! After leaving Aramco for good in ‘84 I failed at keeping up the pen pal routine but thankfully the Internet came along to help & DH84 brat Valerie Kelly convinced me to go to a reunion. That was Bratlanta 1999 and I was floored with how much fun I had reconnecting with old friends and making so many new ones! I have happily been to every one since and hope to keep up the trend!
P.S. send any complaints to my sister."
We're excited to work with this great team in planning the best BrAt party on Earth! Hallelu...er...alhamdilallah!
We know you have fond memories and great photographs of your Little League exploits in Saudi Arabia. Here's a great way to share them and reconnect!
Not on FaceBook? Email your stories and photos to dybabaseballksa@gmail.com.
Dear Fellow Annuitants and Brats,
On behalf of this year’s Hafla Organizing Committee, we welcome all Aramcons (Annuitants, Retirees, Brats, and friends) to the 2024 Aramco Annuitants Reunion at the Omni Las Colinas Hotel in Irving, Texas. The three-day event will be held at a beautiful hotel located only 12 minutes from both Dallas Fort Worth Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport.
August 30 - September 2, 2024
Omni Las Colinas Hotel 221 Las Colinas Blvd. Irving, Texas
Dallas is one of the top visitor destinations in Texas. From AT&T Cowboys Stadium to the Toyota Music Factory, Omni Las Colinas Hotel puts you near everything. Dallas is a major center for entertainment – from sports and music to the arts. With an excellent symphony orchestra, visiting opera, ballet and theater groups and major league sporting teams, adults and families alike will find lots of activities any day or night.
For the fashion-conscious, Dallas is a shopping mecca. Whether it’s upscale shopping at the Galleria and the Legacy West shopping center or outlet shopping at Grapevine Mills, you’re sure to find the perfect “souvenir.”
If you are staying a few days longer, be sure to check out Fort Worth - the 12th-largest city in the United States, known for Texas hospitality and a dozen remarkable districts full of culture and fun. Highlights include:
The 2024 Hafla will feature two banquet dinners, musical entertainment and activities ranging from indoor/outdoor to cultural/ creative and everything in between! There will also be a Souk, art classes, and special lecturers. The hotel is situated on the picturesque Lake Carolyn and has a full-service spa, heated pool to relax by, and a walking path around the lake. Gondola boat rides and stand-up paddle boards are also available for rent close by. For those baseball enthusiasts, the Texas Rangers will be playing the Oakland A’s Friday night at the nearby Globe Field.
We look forward to seeing you there!
~Hafla Organizing Committee
annuitantreunion2024@gmail.com
***The first 75 registration forms to be submitted will be entered in a room-upgrade raffle.*** ***We have 6 rooms in this raffle.***
***Sign up now to get your name into our room raffle draw!***
CUT-OFF DATE IS JULY 16, 2024. The 2024 Hafla discounted rate is valid from August 27th to September 4th. Room rates are $229 single/double occupancy King or Double Rooms.
Complimentary WIFI is extended to all Omni Select members (membership is free). Either call the hotel or use this link to sign up. https://bookings.omnihotels.com. Free WIFI access is also available in hotel common areas. In-room hotel WIFI rates are $9.95/day. Other room amenities include: lighted makeup mirror, hair dryer, iron and ironing board, Keurig coffee maker, digital alarm clock, flat screen TV, On Demand movies.
Click on the following link for the Omni Hotel to make your reservations:
Information and fees for activities are being finalized and will be announced shortly - so be sure to look for future updates on Aramco Expats/Events so you can register for these events. You must register and pay for events in advance.
Saudi Trivia- come and play this unique trivia game where you can test your knowledge and memory on how well you know Saudi.
Guest lecturers on a variety of subjects and authors from within our annuitant community. Specific topics to be announced and subject to change:
Working on other activities as well, please email me with suggestions!! annuitantreunion2024@gmail.com
Do you have a topic of interest to share with your fellow Aramcons? Whether it is a talk on Middle Eastern Daggers or an activity like Paint and Sip, we are interested in trying to give you a time slot to share the topic or activity. Please send us an email at Annuitantreunion2024@gmail.comwith the details (see below) and we will be back in touch.
Activities will be firming up soon - so don’t be shy or wait too long! Email the following information to: Annuitantreunion2024@gmail.com.
Chairperson: David Jessich (512) 263-8727, Email: jessich@hotmail.com. Display your hobbies, photos, crafts and special accomplishments before and after retirement. Tables will be provided. There is no charge for this event.
Email the following information to: jessich@hotmail.com.
If you are interested in volunteering, please message me at annuitantreunion2024@gmail.com
I am currently in need of immediate help in the following areas:
We are also looking for Aramco and/or Arabian items to auction off. Please message me if you have items to donate for our auction/raffle.
Alhamdilallah, it's completed. Finally! We appreciate your indulgence on this matter - finding someone willing to accept and complete this work was not easy. Apparently, labor shortages extend to CPAs, too, at least when it comes to a small non-profit like us.
We engaged Reginald Sherman, CPA to perform financial reviews dating back to 2012. Attached are his report and findings. In the past, we have received some improvement recommendations from the persons completing the reviews. Reginald did not have such recommendations; however, we have identified areas in our financial record-keeping that could be improved to facilitate future reviews.
Since the last financial review, banking practices have changed. They are virtually all online now. Bank transactions are automatically downloaded from the bank to ABI's Quickbooks. We also have utilized different vendors - Paypal, AffiniPay, and Stripe, to name a few - and each of these have their own, unique reporting format. We get what they give us. Some transactions downloaded directly to Quickbooks are done in batches, with little to no identifying information included. Adding the corresponding FM numbers to the Quickbooks expense entries following the downloads will provide clarity for future reviewers.
Again, thank you for your patience and your interest in ABI's fiscal responsibilities. If you have any questions, please contact us via email at board@aramco-brats.com.
Thank you, Your ABI Board
Marharba, Brats! Aramco Brats, Inc., began a new term, November 1, 2023. We are proud to present our board for the 2023-2025 term:
Liz Germani (RT '84). PresidentPaul Allen (DH '89) , Vice President Tom Littlejohn (DH '84), Treasurer Raidah Ziadeh-Hudson (DH '77) , Secretary Debbie Hendricks-Kheiry (DH '84), Reunion Oversight Director Jeffery (Jeff) Neal (DH '86), Director at Large (Nominations) Dawn Kolb (DH '92), Website and Database Director Marie Littlejohn-Dunn (DH '77), Director at Large Cynthia (Cindy) Metcalfe (DH '84), Publications Director
We'd like to thank Sandra Kerr-Louchard (DH '84, Vice President), Amber Perkins-Neal (DH '86, Secretary), Bridget Halpin (DH '84, Reunion Oversight Director), and Selma Zein (DH '06, Database Director) for their work. We are grateful for their dedication to the Board and Brat community over the years. We will miss working with them and can't wait to see them at the next reunion. Give them some love next time you see them - well deserved!!
Congratulations to Paul Allen (DH '89), your new Vice President. Paul needs no introduction to most Brats - if you've been to one reunion, you know Paul! We look forward to the energy you bring in all you do!
Aramco Brats, Inc. welcomes 3 first-time board members:
Raidah Ziadeh-Hudson (DH '77) was elected to the board as Secretary. Raidah, the eldest of the four Ziadeh girls, was born in Dhahran. Her father Jamil joined ARAMCO as a 19-year-old recruit from Jerusalem in 1951. In1961 when he went back to his hometown in Palestine, got married and brought his unsuspecting wife to Arabia. The Ziadehs lived in several houses, but Raidah remembers the 313 portable across the street from the school most fondly. She also remembers her parents' friends, Arab Aramcons from all over the Middle East, who became family to her and her parents. Raidah lives in Richmond, Virginia, a city with a beautiful river and gorgeous urban park system. She has been a dentist managing a solo practice for her entire career. She enjoys the fast pace of dentistry, helping people improve their health and interacting with folks across all demographics. Raidah loves to cook and host friends at her home; she loves to travel like a local and has enjoyed sharing the travel bug with her two college age sons. Dr. Debbie (Hendricks) Kheiry is joining the board as the appointed Reunion Oversight Director. She and her family moved to Dhahran in 1975, where they first lived in a row house before moving into a lovely pink stucco C-3. After four years in Saudi, they took a break and went back to the states for almost two years before again returning to the Kingdom, this time to North Camp, where they resided in one of the fine-quality, doublewide trailers. Their stay, this time, was less than two years before returning home to deep south Louisiana. In 2016, Debbie reconnected with one of her DH Brat childhood friends, Jamal Kheiry, via social media (thank you Facebook!). They married in 2019 and reside in Findlay, Ohio. Dr. Deb is a small-animal veterinarian and Jamal is a Corporate Communications Manager for Marathon Petroleum. They enjoy CrossFit, walking, reading, travel, dining out and love their dog, Chuckie, brought home by Dr. Deb in 2020. Jeffrey (Jeff) Neal is joining the board as the Nominations Director. The Neals arrived in Dhahran from Houston, TX in August 1979…spending the first two years in North Camp before relocating to the Hills on Safaniya Drive at the start of Jeff’s 5th grade year. Jeff was a competitive swimmer with the Dhahran Youth Swim League (DYSL), and he also became a frequent scuba diver during the Neal’s stay in-Kingdom. They returned to the U.S. in November 1985 prior to Jeff completing 9th grade at Dhahran Junior High School (DJHS). Pivotal as Jeff’s childhood Aramco experience was, that lightning struck again when Jeff had the amazing good fortune of reuniting with a fellow classmate, Amber Perkins (DH ’86), during their collective first Aramco Brat Reunion in 2011. They were married two years later after Jeff and Amber blended their families together in a home near Dallas, TX affectionately coined, “Snap Ranch”. Their Brat connections only grew from there through Amber’s 2015-2023 board service as Database Director and Secretary, while Jeff coordinated Reunion bowling events starting in 2017. Jeff is a Senior Program Manager in the Transportation Department of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), one of the country’s largest and most progressive Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs).
Raidah Ziadeh-Hudson (DH '77) was elected to the board as Secretary. Raidah, the eldest of the four Ziadeh girls, was born in Dhahran. Her father Jamil joined ARAMCO as a 19-year-old recruit from Jerusalem in 1951. In1961 when he went back to his hometown in Palestine, got married and brought his unsuspecting wife to Arabia. The Ziadehs lived in several houses, but Raidah remembers the 313 portable across the street from the school most fondly. She also remembers her parents' friends, Arab Aramcons from all over the Middle East, who became family to her and her parents. Raidah lives in Richmond, Virginia, a city with a beautiful river and gorgeous urban park system. She has been a dentist managing a solo practice for her entire career. She enjoys the fast pace of dentistry, helping people improve their health and interacting with folks across all demographics. Raidah loves to cook and host friends at her home; she loves to travel like a local and has enjoyed sharing the travel bug with her two college age sons.
Dr. Debbie (Hendricks) Kheiry is joining the board as the appointed Reunion Oversight Director. She and her family moved to Dhahran in 1975, where they first lived in a row house before moving into a lovely pink stucco C-3. After four years in Saudi, they took a break and went back to the states for almost two years before again returning to the Kingdom, this time to North Camp, where they resided in one of the fine-quality, doublewide trailers. Their stay, this time, was less than two years before returning home to deep south Louisiana. In 2016, Debbie reconnected with one of her DH Brat childhood friends, Jamal Kheiry, via social media (thank you Facebook!). They married in 2019 and reside in Findlay, Ohio. Dr. Deb is a small-animal veterinarian and Jamal is a Corporate Communications Manager for Marathon Petroleum. They enjoy CrossFit, walking, reading, travel, dining out and love their dog, Chuckie, brought home by Dr. Deb in 2020.
Jeffrey (Jeff) Neal is joining the board as the Nominations Director. The Neals arrived in Dhahran from Houston, TX in August 1979…spending the first two years in North Camp before relocating to the Hills on Safaniya Drive at the start of Jeff’s 5th grade year. Jeff was a competitive swimmer with the Dhahran Youth Swim League (DYSL), and he also became a frequent scuba diver during the Neal’s stay in-Kingdom. They returned to the U.S. in November 1985 prior to Jeff completing 9th grade at Dhahran Junior High School (DJHS). Pivotal as Jeff’s childhood Aramco experience was, that lightning struck again when Jeff had the amazing good fortune of reuniting with a fellow classmate, Amber Perkins (DH ’86), during their collective first Aramco Brat Reunion in 2011. They were married two years later after Jeff and Amber blended their families together in a home near Dallas, TX affectionately coined, “Snap Ranch”. Their Brat connections only grew from there through Amber’s 2015-2023 board service as Database Director and Secretary, while Jeff coordinated Reunion bowling events starting in 2017. Jeff is a Senior Program Manager in the Transportation Department of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), one of the country’s largest and most progressive Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs).
The results of the 2023 Woodlands Reunion Satisfaction Survey are available for your reading pleasure. Thank you to all who provided responses!
2023 Woodlands Satisfaction Survey Results.pdf
The minutes from the Reunion Board meeting and the 19th Biennial Town Hall Meeting held at the Woodlands Resort on June 10th can be found here. You can also, ALWAYS, find ALL the ABI financials, meeting minutes, and FMs (Formal Meetings) there. The Bylaws are located here. We encourage any Brat with questions or concerns to contact us at board@aramco-brats.com.
We have signed an Engagement Letter with Reginald Dewayne Sherman, CPA (A. L. Bean & Company - Consulting, Tax & Accounting). He has agreed to perform reviews of the expense side of the ABI’s income statements from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2022 . We have asked for the review of the 2012 - 2022 terms' expenses to be completed in 3-months and will provide updates as we receive them.
Keep an eye out for a reunion survey - whether you attended or not, we want to hear from you! Weren't able to attend? Let us know what held you back! Hung out in the Oasis in the Pines? Let us know what a great time you had!
We're ALREADY thinking about the 2025 20th Biennial Reunion and have a feeling it'll be YUGE! Want to Chair THE 20TH REUNION?? Put your mark on BratHistory by planning the "Roaring 20th"! (If you don't like the sound of that, Chair the committee and come up with the theme!) You don't have to live in the host city to Chair the event! Contact board@aramco-brats.com.
Have a great summer!
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