Chairperson's Corner
Edited: January 16, 2026, by Adolph Keyes

Things for consideration ... ​

​

1. The 2027 KLK Reunion date is July 16 - July 18, 2027, and the reunion will be hosted in the north San Francisco Bay Area. The actual city and hotel to be determined.

2. We met with a couple of hotel event's coordinators who indicate it is too early to reserve accommodation and facilities for 2027, and recommend we reconnect with them late summer 2026 - approximately a year from our designated reunion date. 

3. Likewise, it is too early to reserve attractions and recreation facilities. The primary concern with accommodations and attractions is price changes. We have identified several excellent attractions that may interest our guests. We will canvas everyone in advance of the reunion to determine participation numbers and discuss discounts with respective companies, businesses, and/or organizations. 

4. For the past two months, I have been remodeling the KLK family website with the current posted data/materials 90-plus percent complete. I need family members to review and comment on content and accuracy. I need your input to accurately populate the entries and locate and connect Internet links to our data entries, e.g., upcoming reunion announcements, recent family announcements, deaths, births, graduations, etc.

5. Many of the website content links are functional and will lead explorer to links that offer additional details and information about a particular subject. I encourage you to activate the links and notify the webmaster so that the link can be updated, removed, or corrected. We would also like your feedback on website design.

6. As you can imagine, hosting a family reunion in 2027 in the San Francisco Bay Area will be expensive. As we did in Phoenix, I would like to recommend we start raising operating funds to help keep registration costs and event costs at a minimum. I recommend garage sales, bake sales, etc., to help raise funding for operating expense. Though we all would like to say we use every Christmas, birthday and special occasion gift, the truth is many of these gifts remain forgotten in the back closet and unused. I recommend the sale of these items at garage sales and the monies can be used to fund your reunion trip or donated to the operating fund. The reunion committee is also looking at ways to keep down cost, e.g., hotel awards, entertainment discounts, etc. Other areas to consider include dinner, hosting bars, and social event tickets.

7. The plan is to produce a semiannual newsletter to update everyone on reunion progress. Distribution will be via email. We also mail hardcopy to members who do not have email access. However, mailouts are expensive and we highly recommend members who receive them via email pass on the newsletter updates. The newsletter will be posted on the website. Members can download the newsletter, print a copy of it, and recirculate to others nearby.

8. Postcard notification. Proposing a quarterly postcard reminder mailed to members who do not have access to email and a quarterly email distribution to update everyone on reunion progress.

9. KLK Heritage Scholarship. We have tried to offer a family scholarship but have very limited success. The is money in the scholarship account currently managed by Ersula Riggs-Fraser. The last entries/applications for award were in 2025 - no scholarships awarded. Before then we awarded two scholarships in 2019 to applicants from Detroit, Michigan. At this point I would suggest we consider dissolving the scholarship program. I suggest we raise this at the general meeting in 2027 and allow the membership to determine what to do with available resources.

10. T-shirt design for 2027. Denice is working on a design that will encompass the California state outline. Should have done before summer 2026 and ready for purchase by Fall 2026. We plan to arrange for buyer to purchase directly from production.

11. Solicit 2027 reunion theme from general assembly. Plan is to solicit in the next email and newsletter distribution – expected February 2026.

12. Developing the reunion itinerary from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, departure.

13. Lessons Learned and reunion guidance.