September 2020

Remember the Beatles’ song “Hello, Goodbye?” Well, we just lived through a live version of that song! On August 20, we said GOODBYE to the Minnreg Hall. We sold the building and land to a local commercial real estate company called Atlas Acquisitions Group. At the same time, we said HELLO and leased back the building from Atlas for the next six months.

Here’s the back story. When we decided to put the building on the market, our fondest wish was that the new owner would lease the building back to us so we would still call the Hall our home and use it for our offices and meeting space. Before this buyer came forward, we went through two offers that fell through at the very end of the discovery process. Neither of those buyers would have allowed us to continue managing the building. So after those disappointments, favor shined on us and the new buyer stepped forward with a cash offer and a fast track to closing. Then, the great part. They said they would consider leasing the building back to us if we were so inclined. That was music to our ears. No moving out after 60+ years! No finding another place to meet. No finding another office location. No muss, no fuss.

In the end, we got out from under the heavy burden of building maintenance (AC, roof, parking lot resurface) but can continue to operate under the excellent leadership of Dan Bordeaux, our building manager. Now we have the next six months to turn the Minnreg Event Hall into a viable, self-sustaining business. The first step is to recreate our Web presence. We are currently building a responsive (displays well on all platforms – phones, tablets, desktops), interactive website featuring a virtual tour of the building, an interactive calendar, a reservation system and a payment gateway through PayPal. On Saturday, September 19, we will hold a “Grand Reopening” open house from 11a to 3p. We need smiling faces to greet visitors and show them around the place in style. Any takers out there? All of this is just great news – lifting a heavy burden off the entire organization. “You say goodbye, and I say hello!”

We need your help! We all love our Minnreg Hall and want to see it live on into the next generation hosting community events, such as NXT wrestling, gun shows, cat shows, bird shows, model railroad shows – well, you get the gist. As we move forward, do you know of an organization in the community that might need a fine place to hold meetings, conferences, shows or other events? Please pass along any information you have to Thom Dupper (thom@honeywellretireesclub.com) and we will reach out to them to join us at the open house.

*************************************************************************************** Let’s try this again…the regular monthly meetings will resume on September 16 at the Minnreg Hall. The lunch meeting will start at 12 noon. This is a change from the normal start time of 1:30. The dinner meeting will start at 5:30p. At each event, we will limit the number of attendees to the first 50 to RSVP to Mary Reffelt at creativemstock2@gmail.com. We promise lots of fun (amid all the safety measures – everyone must wear a mask and maintain social distance!) a great meal and a whole raft of surprises to celebrate getting back together again. Lots of good news to share with all of you. See you then! ***************************************************************************************

We are planning a “Grand Re-opening” open house on Saturday, September 19 from 11a to 3p. We hope that this event will jump start the hall rental process as we enter this new era. To make this a great success, we need a few volunteers to help with the planning and execution of the open house. We are planning a media blitz hoping to get meeting and event planners from all over the Tampa Bay area to attend the event and consider the hall in their future event plans. If you feel comfortable being around people during this pandemic, we need you to help us on the day of the event. If you are a good planner, we need your ideas to plan a great open house. If you can help in either role, please email Thom Dupper at thom@honeywellretireesclub.com. Hope to hear from you soon.

*************************************************************************************** So, let me get this straight, there’s no cure for a virus that can be killed by sanitizer and hand soap? When this virus thing is over with, I still want some of you to stay away from me. Whoever decided a liquor store is more essential than a hair salon is obviously a bald drunk. Another Saturday night in the house and I just realized the trash goes out more than me. If you believe all this will end and we will get back to normal just because we reopen everything, raise your hand. Now slap yourself with it.

Betty Held found this vintage photo of the 2009 Minnreg Board. From left: Phil Zell, Dave Nease, Tom Conner, Jim Kruk, Everett Jones, (unknown) John Voissem, Bill Cox, Lou Lutz, Jerry Dangler, Don Keegan, Dan Bordeaux, Billy Atkins, Mark Wolf, Lisa Delorenze, Dave Delorenze, John Parady, Jim Hansen, Dave Hewitt

NEW MVA MEMBERS (since 3/1/2020) Belan, Tony Bradley, Doug DECEASED MVA MEMBERS (since 3/1/2020) Dewall, Mary 3/3/2020 Lamdin, Carol 3/6/2020 Strinka, Karl 3/14/2020 List, Robert 4/30/2020 Hammill, Al 5/2/2020 Lundquist, John 5/21/2020 Moesker, William 5/24/2020 Soulis, James 6/7/2020 Kirschke, Janet 6/15/2020 Poe, Mollye 6/17/2020 Hansen, Larry 6/22/2020 Wendt, Roger 7/6/2020 Juhnke, Joyce 7/18/2020 Boudreau, Al 7/21/2020

This is how the whole thing got started. All those years later, we are one organization! Thanks, Jack Flynn and the others for your early efforts to do something great for the Honeywell retirees.

Were you here in the early 60s? Here are some memories from a Honeywell recruiting brochure in 1963.

As we prepared to sell the Minnreg Hall, a group of volunteers began to go through a host of boxes containing photos and documents detailing the history of the Minnregs, Honeybelles and the Honeywell Retirees Club over the years. What the search revealed was this – these groups used to do a whole bunch of fun and entertaining things.

As a big part of our new Minnreg organization, we want to bring back those wonderful day trips, dances, dinners and community and family events that brought so much joy to members and guests alike.

Remember the Christmas Kids Carnivals? How about the Holiday dances? Day trips to Disney? Golf Tournaments?

Our goal is to resurrect those glory days in the months and years ahead. We will be asking for your input to plan events of particular interest to our members.

We will also be soliciting ideas for community-based events that will continue the positive influence of the Minnregs in the community.

This is a great time to reach out to former HI employees and invite them to find a place with us. They will thank you for the invitation!

September Birthdays

09-01 John Erickson 09-01 Teri Godfrey 09-02 Linda Allen 09-02 Rosemary Bradley 09-02 Larry Carawan 09-02 Joyce Mcleod 09-02 June Migliorisi 09-02 Glenn Thompson 09-03 Mary Dumont 09-04 Philip Bayly 09-04 Patricia Craig 09-04 Margaret Donehoo 09-04 Martina Haywood 09-04 Ted Konkle 09-05 Earle Lincoln 09-06 Linda Blechschmidt 09-06 Gerald Johnson 09-06 Enrique (George) Munoz 09-06 Denise Seyler 09-07 Frederick Glover 09-07 Susan Hill 09-07 Vivian Kerr 09-07 Carolyn Townsend 09-08 Helen Bateman 09-08 Margaret Borgelt 09-08 Ralph Gabert 09-08 Marlene Householder 09-08 Elaine Tarrance 09-09 Russell Dumont 09-09 Helen Eaker 09-09 Pat Kearns 09-09 James Lewin 09-09 Sharon Miletich 09-09 Dorothy Stonebrook 09-09 Joe Tennant 09-10 Carolyn Acosta 09-10 Peggy Herrington 09-10 Doris Johnson 09-10 William Jones 09-10 Edward Miner 09-10 John Nicolas 09-10 Beverly Schmitt

09-10 Lorraine Shelander 09-11 Carolann Mancuso 09-11 Marianne Rich 09-12 Wilma Fletcher 09-12 June Heiser 09-12 Betty Kelley 09-12 Katherine Lewin 09-12 Jeanette Meier 09-13 Carol Bailey 09-13 Catherine Blackburn 09-13 Paula Dalton 09-13 Rodney (Rod) Harris 09-13 Douglas (Doug) Hunt 09-13 James Mill 09-13 Elaine Rodriques De Miranda 09-14 Ted Andresen 09-14 Dolf Boll 09-14 Edna McCall 09-15 John Bowers 09-15 Linda Lopez 09-15 Dorothy Patterson 09-15 Reyna Teets 09-16 Jacquelyn Alexander 09-16 James (Jim) Hansen 09-17 Rose Barnes 09-17 Barbara Bayless 09-17 Brianda Carawan 09-17 Joanne Konkle 09-17 Connie Lotz 09-17 John (Jack) Malley 09-17 Kirk Mason 09-17 Bill Zuben 09-18 Jay Bennett 09-18 Charles Crow 09-18 Delores Cwynar 09-18 Margaret Fennell 09-18 Dolly Jamieson 09-19 Mary Arthur 09-19 Ted De Felix 09-19 Shelley Egli 09-19 Deena Hopkins 09-19 Debi Horn 09-19 James Miller 09-20 Fred Cutting 09-20 Tony Deprisco 09-20 Elizabeth (Lee) Foley 09-20 Sandra Hamilton 09-20 Herbert (Bill) Hart 09-20 Sylvia Scoble 09-21 Shirley Creamer 09-21 Debra (Deb) Dupper 09-21 Glenn Harger 09-21 Clyde Schreiner 09-21 Rosamond Soulis 09-21 Robert Willms

09-22 Eileen Carr 09-22 Brenda Lapointe 09-23 Deborah Gabert 09-23 Louise Johnson 09-23 Shirley Judy 09-23 Thomas (Al) Martin 09-23 Anne Martin 09-23 Dolores Sigler 09-23 John Winkle 09-24 John Brexa 09-24 Virginia Crump 09-24 Raymond Kelly 09-24 Lawrence (Larry) Shannon 09-24 Jerry Spinger 09-25 Janice (Jan) Coleman 09-25 Don Gillespie 09-25 Gerald Gjermundson 09-25 Edmund Ketcham 09-25 Diane Krzeminski 09-25 Phillip Martin 09-25 Judy Peterson 09-25 Anne Schmitt 09-25 Jean Sell 09-25 Lorraine Warren 09-25 Patrick (Pat) White 09-26 Roger Bourdeau 09-26 Geraldine Brooks 09-26 Marie Malley 09-26 Sherry Rasmussen 09-26 Rosalyn (Roz) Sliger 09-27 Rod Badgett 09-27 Donald Clayton 09-27 Kenneth Coleman 09-27 Denise Martin 09-27 Donald Phillips 09-27 Karen Romeo 09-27 Alice Schwitzgebel 09-27 Dorothy Shimel 09-27 Ethel (Sunny) Wood 09-27 Shun-Si Ying 09-28 Nelda Burton 09-28 Caroline Buyse 09-28 Theodore Eitel 09-28 Robert Fenton 09-28 Peter Stoneham 09-28 Greg (Weav) Weaver 09-29 Leroy Chamberlin 09-29 Arthur Damon 09-29 Robert Malloy 09-29 Dean Olson 09-29 Gloria Wick 09-30 Paul Arnold

Minnreg Veterans Association, Inc. 6340 126th Ave. North Largo, FL 33773 Return Service Request