Shukran for your patience while we made sure our reservations system was set up correctly for everyone to receive the appropriate discounted rates and information! Our group reservations system with the Fairmont Dallas is now open for business!

Phone Reservations Procedure: Call Fairmont Reservations Department at 1-800-441-1414. Make sure you identify yourself as being with AramcoBrats Reunion for ease of booking.

Online Reservations Procedure: A dedicated booking website has been created for our event so attendees are able to make, modify and cancel their hotel reservations online. https://resweb.passkey.com/go/aramco. More details regarding room rates, suites, and upgrades can be found at http://www.aramco-brats.com/reunion_reservations.html

IMPORTANT: Those of you who DID NOT WAIT to make your reservations may not be included in our room block and may not have received the group room rates. We work very hard (twist, pull, swoon, and cajole) to get these discounts and other amenities from the host property for the benefit of all reunion attendees, and we would hate to see someone miss out. Additionally, there are a few amenities that are tied to us, as a group, meeting a minimum room count during the reunion. We want to make sure all rooms are accounted for, so the reunion is entitled to any sweeteners. SO, IF YOU MADE YOUR RESERVATIONS PRIOR TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, PLEASE SEND YOUR CONFIRMATION NUMBER TO diana@aramco-brats.com to ensure it was handled properly.

2. Call for 2011 Reunion Committee Volunteers
Our 2011 Reunion Chair, Barry Cook, is working on forming the 2011 Reunion Committee. If you want to be involved in the organization of the reunion or would like to understand more about serving on a reunion committee, please contact us at reunion2011@aramco-brats.com. Shukran in advance to you awesome Brat volunteers!

3. Help us go green
In an effort to use less paper and postage, and because the majority of brats in our database now have email addresses, we will be transitioning our BratNews publications to e-newsletters instead of the print copies you have historically found in your mailboxes (you know, the ones you throw in the recycle bin once you've read every word?). This switch will not only enable us to share news more frequently, but also provide more interesting content such as links to articles, photos and videos that would appeal to our Brat community.

We still intend to mail print copies to those who request it. If you really need to continue receiving the print version, please complete and submit the following form: http://www.aramco-brats.com/Newsletter_Form.html. Wait! For those who received this e-announcement and are on the verge of clicking through to the opt-in form...Seriously?

And since we have you thinking about your mailbox vs. your inbox, now would be a great time to make sure that we have the latest and greatest contact information for you. If you have moved, please contact Duane (duane@aramco-brats.com) to update your information, or send it to us through our online form: http://www.aramco-brats.com/address_change_form.html

4. Photo contest
We're getting a little weary of our website banner and are thinking it might be fun to change it up a bit. Some of you have some fabulous photos in your stash that capture the essence of Aramco Bratiness. We know it! We've seen them in various online albums and on Facebook. Maybe it's a beach photo with friends, a cool Little League or swim meet photo, or just a fun or funny scene that says it all for you. How fun would it be for your photo to be the face of ABI?

If you have a photo that you would like to have considered, please send your submission to Dawn at dawn@aramco-brats.com. Here are submission requirements:

• minimum 1000 pixels horizontally and 125 pixels vertically
• content must be appropriate for public display
• photos can be either black/white or color
• photos must be your own and free for ABI to publish
• photos may subject to minor alterations to make them fit the banner space and site color scheme (cropped, faded, tinted, etc.)
• tell about the photo and how it captures the essence of Aramco Brattiness.

We're hoping we get enough submissions to even change them out every now and then. An old Aramco Christmas photo would be a much better way to spruce up the website than holiday clip art, don't you think?

Thanks!
Marie Littlejohn-Dunn, ABI President

'Tis the season for holiday parties. While we would love to bring us all together to eat, drink and be merry, we cannot, for the life of us, fit the bowls of hummus and trays of cookies in this announcement. The best we can do is bring a little menu of seasonal entertainment and reminiscing to your desktop to thank you for making the ABI such a successful and fun organization. Enjoy!

Vintage Aramco Christmas footage courtesy of Aramco Expats and Tim Barger - "Sleigh Bells Ring in 1952" : http://www.aramcoexpats.com/Articles/Lifestyles/Special-Interest/2870.aspx

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" from some ABI elves - http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/CF1OJqUyk16P5YdJ

"Jingle Bells" from some more ABI elves - http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/3sZwnQlPHUP3Qmd15VG5

Oh wait! What's in that big box the elves are wrapping over there? The tag says "Aramco Brats." Could it be a reunion announcement? It's the right size and shape! They're still wrapping it, but it looks like it will be finished really, really soon! Stay tuned!

Have a safe and happy holiday!,

The ABI elves

We are pleased to announce that we have filled all of the appointed Board positions for the 2009-2011 term. Please join me in welcoming first-time Board members Tom Littlejohn, Robin Payne White, Duane Hopple, and Andrew Bobb. I would also like to thank our returning Board members for agreeing to serve (yet) another term. We have another great group of volunteers and a nice balance of experience and fresh perspective on the team.

Your 2009-20011 Board of Directors:

Marie Littlejohn Dunn (DH7)-President
Randa Owen Williams (DH65)-Vice President
Tom Littlejohn (DH84)-Treasurer
Kim Zinszer (DH67)-Secretary
Robin Payne White (DH59)-Class Representative Director
Duane Hopple (RT79)-Database Director
Diana Ryrholm-Geerdes (RT62) DAL (contracts)
Andrew Bobb (DH74) DAL (nominations)
Mike Simms (AB75) Publications Director
Diane Knipfel-Adams (AB78) Reunion Oversight Director
Dawn Kolb (DH92) Website Director

To our departing Board members, Penny, Dean, Gary and Doug, "shukran" for your many hours of hard work and for your wonderful senses of humor that made the hours seem shorter and the work lighter. We will miss you. You made it fun!

Now, on to the work of throwing another one of the best parties in the world, the 13th Biennial ABI reunion! Stay tuned to your favorite Brat channel (www.aramco-brats.com or www.facebook.com/aramcobrats or both) for details.

Marie Littlejohn Dunn (DH77)
ABI President

As many of you know, Halloween in odd-numbered years has a special significance for AramcoBrats as it is the final day of the ABI board of directors term. At midnight on October 31st, the current ABI board will dissolve and the newly elected board will officially take over leadership of the organization.

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know that it has been an honor to be the ABI president for the last 4 years and I appreciate the opportunity you as AramcoBrats granted me in the job. To be sure, as with any endeavor, we had some successes as well as some challenges. I'm happy to say that the ABI came through it all in fine shape. The organization is strong and stable and I'm proud to be able to turn it over to the new leadership. They are as fine a group of elected board members as I have ever seen and I'm confident that they will only move us forward as they take up the reins of ABI operations on November 1.

Please join me in thanking the current board of directors for their oftentimes thankless hard work in keeping the organization operating. The ABI board is marked by very long hours of work on top of already busy lives for little more than the satisfaction of serving the Brats. Marie, Doug, Kim, Randa, Diana, Diane, Penny, Dawn, Gary and Dean have all performed with dedication and enthusiasm and the success of the ABI belongs to them. Please thank them the next time you see them, buy them a drink or give them a hug if that's your thing. They deserve all the gratitude you can offer.

Thanks too to all the many folks who helped in other ways when needed to make things happen and to keep things running smoothly. From two reunion committees to folks who stepped up when a job needed to be done, thank you for making it all happen.

Most of all though, I want to thank you -- the AramcoBrats -- for your support, your criticism and your praise throughout the last four years. Your support has allowed us to keep going; your criticism has been our motivation and our guide in moving forward; and your praise has been our priceless reward. We can't thank you enough for being Brats and for being a part of our incredible family.

Thank you again and see you around the Bratosphere.

Mike Simms AB'78

1- SHUKRAN REUNION-GOERS AND REUNION-THROWERS!
2- REUNION FEEDBACK SURVEY
3- REUNION PHOTO REQUEST
4- ABI FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
5- WHERE IS MY 2009 ARAMCOBRAT DIRECTORY?:

1-SHUKRAN REUNION-GOERS AND REUNION-THROWERS!
The 2009 LA Reunion was another rousing success! Thanks to all the reunion attendees who helped make it so. It wouldn't have been such a fabulous weekend without your smiles and laughter or your participation and support! And what can we say about the LA Reunion Committee but "bravo" and "shukran" for such a great job planning and organizing the event. Our heartfelt appreciation to Reunion Chair, Julia Simms, and her Committee, June Christman, Kathy Montgomery, Keith Nietupski, Andra Stivanyi, Marsha Sullivan, Neomi Tio, Liz Wood and Costa Yiannakakis.

2-REUNION FEEDBACK SURVEY:
We need your feedback. Let us know how we did, or what we can do to improve the reunions. Please take a moment and fill out the Reunion Feedback Survey - http://www.aramco-brats.com/form_feedback.html

This survey is not specific to the LA reunion atttendees but applies to all AramcoBrat members. If you have attended any, all or none, we would still love to know what YOU think! IMPORTANT: If you wish to remain anonymous, please fill out district and year to help us understand the demographics of our membership better. Some responses we have already received indicate an interest in chairing or serving on a reunion committee but were submitted with no name or contact information (email). We can't find you if we don't know who you are!

3-REUNION PHOTO REQUEST:
We are looking for some reunion photos to post on the website. Do you have any? If you are willing to electronically share your images or have them already posted online somewhere and will allow us to link to them, please contact Dawn at webmaster@aramco-brats.com.

4-ABI FACEBOOK FAN PAGE:
It's here, it's cool, and it's as fun as Aramco Brats make it: the official ABI Facebook page! (http://www.facebook.com/aramcobrats) It will be a convenient way for our members who enjoy Facebook to keep in touch with us. We'll be posting announcements, photos, event information, and other ABI news here as it occurs. Become a fan if you haven't already! Write on the ABI wall, join a discussion topic, or let Brats in your area know of an upcoming get-together you are planning. And don't forget to recommend us to your AramcoBrat classmates and friends on Facebook!

5-WHERE IS MY 2009 ARAMCOBRAT DIRECTORY?:
Those of you who did not attend the LA reunion but who have paid their AdBak for this term should be receiving your directories in the mail any day now. If you do not receive yours within the next 2 weeks, please let us know by contacting board@aramco-brats.com. Those Brats who have not paid AdBak for this term, there is still time to do so and receive a directory while supplies last. The AdBak forms can be found online at http://www.aramco-brats.com/adbak.html. As always, we appreciate the Brat community's support!

Mike Simms AB'78
ABI President
for the
ABI Board

It's all about deadlines right now folks. The reunion is almost upon us and there are definitely dates you need to be aware of if you are coming to LA or are just thinking about it. Here it goes:

In this issue:

1-Reunion Sports Deadlines from Costa.
2- Reunion Hotel Room Block Deadline
3- Give Up Your Reservation
4- Check the Website
5- Online Raffle Ticket Sales

1- Reunion Sports Deadlines
Greetings to all Brats! Hopefully you are all signed up for the reunion, including for your favorite sports event. Those of you that are coming, but haven't registered for any sports, here are some pertinent facts:

Bowling is filling up fast, and while they have plenty of lanes for us, you need to make sure you are signed up and paid up by May 10th to assure a spot on a team. Anyone signing up afterwards, or at the reunion itself, risks being turned down.

Golf is not so full, but we have a headcount deadline for the course on May 8th. Anyone signing up afterwards may not get to play with the tournament, and may risk not getting a tee time at all.

Tennis is not doing so well - if you are thinking of signing up for it, let us know by May 15th, though you still don't have to pay up until the reunion (those signed up will be billed when they register).

HORSE, while not an "officially sanctioned" sport, is a big success - we have 16 signed up already, and we are expecting to have to squeeze onto two baskets as it is. So hopefully you will let us know as soon as you can if you plan on joining in the fun. Finally, please keep in mind that participants will be required to arrange their own transport to the events. While the Bowling, Tennis, and HORSE events are all less than 4 miles from the hotel, and all within walking distance from each other, the golf course is about a 40 minute drive. We will have a ride board set up at the registration area of the reunion - volunteer and sign up at it. And if you want to play with someone specific, and you haven't notified us of that preference yet, please let us know by May 15th. The fees, starting times, and addresses for each of the sports are on the sports info page on the website.

Please contact me at yiannace@roadrunner.com if you have any questions. Costa Y. RT'70"

2- Reunion Hotel Room Block Deadline
If you haven't made your hotel reservations yet, now is the time. There are still rooms available at our special rate of $109 per night, but come May 5, 2009 (that's in about two weeks) unsold rooms from our room block will go back into general hotel inventory and you may have to pay significantly higher standard rates for a room the reunion. Do it NOW.

3 - Give Up Your Reservation
If you find that you have reserved a room (or 10 -- you know who you are) and are not coming to the reunion after all, please, please, please cancel your room reservation for rooms you won't be using. Also do this NOW. We need an accurate count of the number of rooms to be occupied during the reuion and holding reservations you aren't going to use might be taking one away from someone who needs one.

4- Check the Website
Check the Website at http://www.aramco-brats.com daily for updates and new information as the reuion approaches. Critical information is likely to show up there first before we can get it out to you by email or other means.

5- Online Raffle Ticket Sales
At the Asheville Reunion, we wanted to try selling raffle tickets online prior to the reunion at a discounted rate. It was a great success, so we are doing it again! Starting tomorrow, until Wednesday night, May 20, you may purchase raffle tickets online. The price will be 5 tickets for $15, or 10 tickets for $25. Just go to the ABI website, under the Reunion tab, and click on Raffle Tickets. There, you can also see some pictures of a few items we are raffling off.

See you in LA in a few weeks!

Mike Simms AB'78
ABI President
for the
The 2009 Los Angeles Reunion Committee
and the
ABI Board