The 2009 Homeschool ALUMNI National Reunion was a great success…thanks to God’s grace and lots of terrific people who selflessly donated their time and talents to making the Reunion such an amazing, fun, and memorable event.  Let’s hear some cheers for this awesome team!

Graphics Design:

Abigail Paul

Andrew Austin

Andy Baker

Praise Band:

Emerson Spiller

Jim Karpowitz

Kane Hiser

Jacob Hiser

Audio/Visual Crew:

Andrew Austin

Emerson Spiller

Jim Karpowitz

Noah Cohen

Chris Ong

The Collins Family

MC:

Riley Spiller

Speakers:

Camden Spiller

Eric and Leslie Ludy

Kevin Swanson

Travel Coordinator:

Katy Klein

Videographer:

Jonathan Klein

Name Tags: 

Helena Bluedorn

Team Leaders:

Allison Filkins

Hans Bluedorn

Josiah Barrett

Noelle Magnell

Adam Nisbett

Andy Baker

Autumn Roberts

Caleb Naylor

Doug Plagemann

Emily Spiller

Evan Pederson

Ingrid Reinsch

Lizzy Stewart

Melissa Filkins

Melody Roberts

Micah Klein

Security Team:

Allison Klein

Greta Reinsch

Hannah Georgeff

Jason Craig

Nate Sisson

Serenity Roberts

Medical Team:

Claire Smith

Noah Cohen

Sarah Phillips

Dianne Phillips

Doug Plagemann

Sports Coordinators:

Greg Wallace

Josiah Barrett

John Naylor

Caleb Naylor

Jeremy Naylor

Expo Coordinator:

Allison Filkins

Expo Vendors:

Liberty Barrett
Joanna Coleman

Deborah Brinson
Chris Ong
Sonia Arp

Tammy Arp

Hannah Weishaar
Naomi M
Alaina Arp
Zack Lawrence
Mercy Hope
Sony Elise
Abigail Paul
Nathan Lane
Jeannie Castleberry
Amber Covington

Angela Covington
Adam Nisbett
Jim Karpowitz

Eric and Leslie Ludy

The Extreme Group

Registration Team:

Katy Klein

Amber Covington

Angela Covington

Jill Wallace

Allison Klein

Abigail Paul

Dance Instructors:

Laura Plett

Sonia Arp

Talent Show/HSAIR Staff and Performers:

Greg Wallace

Emilie Cianciola

Mac Spiller

Joel Eldredge

Camden Spiller

Caleb Naylor

John Naylor

Jeremy Naylor

Hannah McMichael

Carrie Orth

Adam Nisbett

Abigail Paul

Emily Rains

Jared Poch

Zack Lawrence

Sarah Aly

Kim Godin

Benjamin Chapman

Lydia Pillitiere

Daniel Gardner (on video)

Deborah Brinson

Julie Mizell

Natalie Butler

Holly Butler

Allison Filkins

Melissa Filkins

Heidi Reiman

Nate Sisson

Evan Pederson

Chris Ong

Serenity Roberts

Clayton Abrams

Josiah Barrett

Elysse Barrett

Scavenger Hunt Team:

Marlana Dugger

Chris Umphress

2009 National Reunion Planning Committee:

Elysse Barrett

Emilie Cianciola, Communications Director

Ben Gardner

Katy Klein

Emerson Spiller

Josh Van Vleet, Committee Director

Greg Wallace

We’re off to Colorado! Yay! We can hardly wait to see you all.  Homeschool ALUMNI National Reunion 2009…here we come!

The Reunion Planning Committee,

Ben, Elysse, Emerson, Emilie,  Josh, Greg and Katy

P.S. Don’t forget to participate in an HSA promo project by taking awesome videos of your trip to the Reunion.  Safe journey to you!

Hello, fellow HSAers! I’m Emilie C., and I am so looking forward to meeting everyone who is coming to the 2009 Homeschool ALUMNI National Reunion in Colorado!

I serve as the Communications Director for Homeschool ALUMNI, which means that I compose many of the official emails, PMs, website text, and blog entries connected with the Reunion.  I also handle correspondence with speakers and volunteers, and answer general inquiries.  So, if you have a question related to the Reunion or Homeschool ALUMNI as a whole, feel free to drop me a line at emilie.cianciola@homeschoolalumni.org and I’d love to help you find the information you need.

This year I am also serving as the Supply Manager for the Reunion.  It has been interesting trying to keep track of supplies that are scattered in various staff members’ homes across the country, but I’m pretty sure that I know where every paperclip and roll of electrical tape will be!

My favorite responsibility is being part of the HSAIR Staff.  Many of you may recall that HSAIR stands for Homeschool ALUMNI Internet Radio…a show performed live each year to showcase what an HSA Nat’l Reunion is all about.  This year, Greg Wallace, Mac Spiller and I will be “kicking it up a notch” with a brand new concept. We are going to merge HSAIR with the first ever HSA Talent Night, so expect it to be fun, energetic, and, at certain moments, quite unexpected!

See you in Colorado!

Be one of the next three to register for a chance to win $50 towards a Southwest Airlines flight!

Please contact me at events@homeschoolalumni.org or via PM if you have questions.  We look forward to seeing you in Colorado!

- Katy

Greetings from Oregon!

My name is Laura Plett, and I will be the English Country Dancing dance instructor at the 2009 Reunion. I’m really excited to be leading this year, and I can’t wait to share with you the fun dances I’ve been collecting since last year!

For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing an evening of English Country Dancing, ECD is a particularly beautiful sort of group dancing. You can come in knowing absolutely nothing about dancing, and leave with a treasure trove of memories and a smile you simply can’t wipe off your face. ECD is easy to learn, and a lot of fun to do! There is a small repertoire of easily learned moves that are combined into hundreds of different combinations. All of the moves will be thoroughly taught, and each dance will be called, so you will not need to stress trying to remember what move comes next.

I’m especially honored to be leading the ECD at the Reunion, because I was first introduced to ECD at the very first Reunion in 2006. My heart was captivated – I simply fell in love with the lovely patterns, the gorgeous music and the buoyant feeling of joy. When I came home from the 2006 Reunion, I could not stop thinking about ECD.

I really felt God was nudging me to nurture this love that had come into my life, and so in January of 2007, I started my own group, Set to Music. Since that time, God has blessed us in extraordinary ways. Starting from a group of 12, we’ve grown to more than fifty people attending class each week and balls every other month. ECD has been a very positive change in my life, and I love sharing the joy with others. I’m delighted to have a chance to do just that in August!

Don’t miss out! This will be an unforgettable experience!

Thanks to the folding, stuffing, addressing, sealing, post-office-toting efforts of Team Klein, all those who were among the first 75 to complete their registrations will soon be receiving their early registration bonus t-shirts in the mail!

To provide a way for the HSA community to band together and provide for anyone who can’t come for such reasons, the Reunion Committee is excited to announce the National Reunion Scholarship Fund!

Would you be able to make a donation to help other homeschool graduates make it the Reunion this year? Learn more about how you can help!

Preparations are made, plans are set, and only four short weeks until we see you in Colorado! I’m very pleased with the work of this year’s Reunion Committee and as they’re busily wrapping up last minute details to prepare for your arrival I wanted to give you an important update on this year’s registration.

With registration currently tracking for around 200 people, we’ll have a great Reunion this year, but unfortunately it may be shy of the 250+ attendees we need to recoup costs and begin planning for a National Reunion in 2010.

So I’m writing today to ask for your help spreading the word. If you have friends or family who haven’t registered yet please encourage ‘em to register soon! (before July 22nd for the best rate - but preferably as soon as possible)

We know it’s a tough financial year for everyone, but to keep costs low for you, we operate so dangerously close to break-even that it unfortunately leaves HSA very vulnerable to an economically tough year like the one we’re facing now.

Everything is all set for 2009, but Lord willing, and with your help, we’d love to soar past that 250 mark and be able to continue serving you with the National Reunion in 2010 and beyond.

Do you have friends or family that might be interested in the Reunion? If so, don’t be shy - help us spread the word! And if you’ve been thinking about coming to a National Reunion, don’t miss it! It’s truly a one-of-kind event!

Thanks - and see you soon!

Be sure to check out www.youtube.com/danielgardner for more Daniel Gardner goodness.

Hey there!

Wow – I can’t believe it, but I’m already beginning to count down the weeks and days to the 2009 HSA National Reunion! Let the excitement begin!

If you haven’t figured it out, I’m Elysse Barrett, one of the most excitable members of this year’s National Reunion committee.

Serving on this committee is a great honor and privilege; I’m blessed to serve shoulder to shoulder with every member of this team. Looking forward to this year’s event has got me thinking back…on how the HSA Reunion has become such a highlight of my entire year. The 2009 Reunion will be the fourth Reunion I’ve attended, and I’m confident that it’s going to be even better than before!

This year my responsibilities include Facilities Coordinator and HSA Store Manager.

As Facilities Coordinator, it’s my job to know the ins and outs of the entire reunion schedule, as well as all the details about every building at the camp. It’s my goal to make sure each attendee knows what’s going on and where it’s going on at…and that they feel right at home the entire weekend!

Just so you know, I’m not slacking…as Facilities Coordinator, I went and scoped out the entire Ponderosa facility….and this I can promise: you are in for a treat…and a little bit of adventure.

As HSA Store Manager, I will be making sure that all HSA merchandise is at your fingertips anytime the Reunion Entrepreneurs Expo is open!

My unofficial job, but definitely my favorite, is getting to meet new HSA’ers and catching up with old ones…

Look forward to seeing y’all in August!

PS – If you have any questions about this year’s facility or the HSA Store, please drop me a note at elysse.barrett@homeschoolalumni.org