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Our 7th Burke-Gallon Family Reunion (June 14-17, 2008) at the Buena Vista Suites in Orlando, Florida, was filled with great fun, laughter, fellowship, and worship. Registration went very well. Most of us had pre-registered and this was very helpful in expediting the reunion packets which were bags labeled with our names. Inside our bags were name badges, activity tickets, program booklets, genealogical charts, birthday calendars, notepads with personalized B-G logo pens, B-G crosses, B-G Father's Day tokens for all fathers, order forms souvenirs, prayer requests forms, and discount coupons for retail stores in Orlando and the surrounding areas..
Attendance at the reunion was great this year! We had approximately 96 family members participating (ages ranged from toddler to 74 years old). Activities of interest were provided for every age group. Candid photos of our activities are included in this website, beginning with Photo Album #7. We aslo had several items for sale in our souvenir booth (B-G bottled water, t-shirts, birthday calendars, program booklets, genealogical charts, family collages, and our family slides presentation and website CD's. At each activity, door prizes (listed below) were provided by U'bangi & Cassandra Hajj-Mak, Stan & Cassandra Morris, and Lawrence & Nikki Sloan.
Door Prizes
4-piece canister set 10-piece kitchen knife set Tote bag
4-piece place set (4) 41-piece kitchen knife set 3-piece tong set
Hospitality basket 21-piece knife set 12-piece cookware
Blender & hand mixer 12-piece cookware set 3-piece cutlery set
Non-stick chicken fryer 16 piece dinnerware set Armorall gift pack
Makeup kit/$50 gift card 3 days/2 nights get away (2) $50 gift card
Various games (6) Various toys (15) CD boom boxes (3)
School supplies packets (8) Personal Journals (6)
We kicked off the reunion on Thursday, June 14th with a "Meet, Greet, Chat, and Chew" Hospitality Reception. During this special time, we met family members we had never seen before, greeted familiar faces, talked about old and new happenings in our lives, and dined on delicious delicacies prepared by the host caterers. The main attraction was the family slides presentation, a beautiful genealogical breakdown of Charlie & Patsy's family tree, prepared by Cassandra Morris and Nathaniel Brooks. You may purchase copies of the family slides presentation by contacting Cassandra Morris at 407-578-2993.
On Friday morning, the children were entertained by "Tulips the Clown." They were given balloon sculptures and gift bags, had their faces painted, enjoyed a magic show, and participated in storytelling.
Friday afternoon, the children and adults participated in Family Games. The adults competed in Backgammon, Bid Whist, Chess, Rummikub, Scrabble, and Spades; the children played Go Fish, Memory, Parcheesi, Scrabble, and Uno.
The winners were:
Adults Children
Backgammon - Angela Wallace Go Fish - Samuel Sloan
Bid Whist /Spades - Sylvia Oguntoyinbo Memory -
Quatisha Roundtree Parcheesi - Shardae Robinson
Chess - U'bangi Hajj-Mak Scrabble - Lauren Sloan
Rummikub - Carolyn Hall Uno - Rommell Dixon
Scrabble - Cassandra Morris
On Friday evening, all donned in our B-G reunion t-shirts, we boarded the "Pegasus," a chartered bus for our trip to the "Arabian Nights" dinner show; this was an awesome event and was enjoyed by everyone!
After the hustle and bustle from our bus trip, everone was looking forward to Saturday - our Family Business Meeting and then Free Time or Theme Park Attractions (Universal Studios and Holy Land Experience). Most of us participated in activities away from the host site; however, some remained and enjoyed the dining and swimming facilities.
On Sunday morning, as we prepared for our last activity, our Inspirational Service, we said our good-byes to those who had early morning flights to return home. The service was just that, inspirational! Bishop Nathaniel Brooks delivered a soul-searching message on what death means. Although we did not have the formally organized B-G Family Reunion Choir, family members participated in providing the music and singing for the service under the direction of Angela Wallace. Gary Bolden, Dwaine Dixon, Sr. and Ricardo Dixon, Sr. led our praise service.
Minister Carolyn Hall coordinated our Memorial Tributes in honor of our deceased family members - "Generation to Generation." Five generations were represented. Someone from each generation lit a candle as the deceased names from each generation were called. There also was a beautiful display of photos of our patriarch and matriarch and their 13 children as well as a collage of other deceased family members.
During the service, which was also Father's Day, all B-G fathers were recognized and presented with a #1 Burke-Gallon Father button. We climaxed the service with our special presentations as follows:
Certificates
First to Register - Cynthia McKoy
First to Register on our Website - Ayanna Luck
Oldest Female Attending - Sherry Carroll
Oldest Male Attending - Louis Mathis, Sr.
Youngest Female Attending - Madison Thomas
Youngest Male Attending - Spencer Luck
Member Traveled the Farthest - Adika Hajj-Mak
Member wih the Most Children Attending - LaShaundra Harris
Member with the Most Grandchildren Attending - Irvin Lyons, Jr.
Largest Group of Familes Attending - Earl Dixon, Sr.
Plaques
Service Award - Irvin Lyons, Jr.
Valuable Contributions - U'bangi Hajj-Mak and Quatisha Roundtree
Oldest Grandchild - Gloria Burke-Smart
Oldest Grandchild (Participating) - Doris Brooks-Miller
Youngest Grandchild - Carolyn Ransom-Hall
Oldest Father - Louis Mathis, Sr.
Father with the Most Children - Dwaine Dixon, Sr.
Honary Tribute Awards
Burke-Gallon Surviving Children - Mae Ella Burke-Thomas
Daisy Lou Burke-Brewer
As tjhe day came to a close, we reluctantly said our good-byes and began to loof forward to our next reunion in 2009. We will rendezvous in Bouie, Maryland. It would be great to see YOU there!
Thanks to everyone who came and participated in our family reunion. If you have any pictures from this reunion that you would like to have posted on this website, please e-mail them in jpeg format to morrisstan@bellsouth.net as soon as possible. We need to close out the 7th Reunion Website and begin the 8th Reunion Website no later than June 1, 2008.
For those interested, you may purchase a copy of the 7th Reunion Website CD; contact Cassandra Morris at 407-578-2993. Go to www.burke-gallonfamilyreunion.com to view the contents.
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