As recalled by: Turney Hernandez & Don Tingdale
In February of 1990, after being prodded by several of his colleagues, Don Tingdale, retired sales representative in the Southeast Region sent out a letter to approximately 100 Ag Retirees across the U.S. proposing the first get together of this group. The proposed dates and location for the First Ag Reunion were October 19, 20 & 21 in Atlanta, Georgia. The big selling pitch was""Y'all can fly from anywhere in the USA into Atlanta on a senior ticket for one hundred dollars, if you are 62 or older". Now those were the "GOOD OLD DAYS".
Turney says that Don had agreed to be the chairman of the group but due to some personal issues he had to back away and Verne Bliss "gently persuaded" Turney to take the leadership. About 20 retirees and spouses attended. See the group photo from this first meeting at the end of this article.
Turney took over the organization in 1991. The following were the locations of the subsequent Reunions:
1992---Burlington, California
1993---New Orleans, Louisiana
1994---Wilmington, Delaware
MORE RECENT HISTORY TO DATE:
During the 1994 meeting in Wilmington, Delaware, the group mostly toured the sites of Wilmington and nearby Pennsylvania. Jim and Gloria Riggleman hosted the group for a dinner in their home, and came out of it the new leaders of the organization. Turney used the excuse that he had a new job with the NRVMA, and he is still using that same excuse to not go on our current Reunion trips. Jim and Gloria guided the organization through the 2002 Reunion in Wilmington, which probably had the largest number of attendees of any reunion. With Reunions in:
| 1995---San Antonio, TX | 1999---San Jose, CA |
| 1996---Charleston, SC | 2000---Washington, DC |
| 1997---San Diego, CA | 2001---Phoenix, AZ |
| 1998---Portland, ME | 2002---Wilmington, DE |
At the 2002 get together Jim and Gloria announced that they were not going to be able to continue as the sole leaders of the group and persuaded Kent and Elaine to pick up the lead role with Jim and Gloria continuing to assist. Beginning in 2003 the Reunion sites have been as follows:
| 2003---Barcelona, Spain | 2007---Pacific Northwest, US |
| 2004---New Orleans and a River Boat cruise | 2008---Eastern Europe/Danube River Cruise |
| 2005---Puerto Rico | 2009---Nova Scotia and the Canadian Maritimes |
| 2006---Athens Greece and Vicinity, Turkey and Several Greek Islands | 2010---Chile and Argentina | 2011---Italy - Tuscany and The Amalfi Coast | 2012---Western US National Parks | 2013---Costa Rica with a Pre-Trip to Miami, FL. | 2014---No Trip Was Held This Year. | 2015---Wilmington DE area. | 2016---"Old World Prague & the Blue Danube" from Budapest Hungary to Prague Czech Republic. |
There is a lot of excitment about planning for the 2017 Annual Trip. Kent will be finalizing this location and details over the coming months.
For the past several years the group has been attempting to alternate years with Reunion sites in the US and the next year outside the US. We will continue this practice until the majority of the group gives other directions. The 2016 Reunion was held in a location in Europe.
As a reminder, each year during the Reunion those attending group decide on the location for the next year's Reunion. Again, Kent's email address is E-mail. Thank you.
Group Picture from Initial Ag Reunion of the DuPont Retirees Group in 1990 and a group photo from the 2015 Reunion.
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