People, Pictures, and Patches! Oh My!

On January 8th, 2005, the Camp Cachalot Alumni Association held its first annual Winter Gathering and Memorabilia Exposition at the V.F.W. Pvt. A. Poirier Post in New Bedford. Sixty-six current and former Scouts, Scouters, and other members of the Camp Cachalot family turned out for the afternoon, sharing their memories of Camp and showing off memorabilia collected over many years. Old Scout flags surrounded the room; collectible patches, Handbooks, neckerchiefs, and photos filled the tables; and a hot and cold buffet lunch filled our stomachs.

Event chairman Manny Bagaco got the show rolling at 2:00PM, after people had had a chance to browse the memorabilia on display for an hour. After a brief welcome, lunch was served, the silent auction was opened, and we got down to business. Manny and our Vice Chairman, Tom Whelan, provided information about future plans for the Association, including our plans to establish a scholarship fund for future Summer Camp Staffers, and gave some preliminary details about our upcoming Alumni Association Homecoming. Dennis (our webmaestro) and a few other volunteers spent much of the show busily scanning in the photographs and slides brought in by numerous alumni, adding over 120 new photographs to our archive. These photos, along with many others from the archive, were presented as a slideshow later in the afternoon.

By the end of the afternoon, we had welcomed twenty-three new members to the Alumni Association, including one new Lifetime member. Including those member fees, we were able to raise approximately $2,400 for the day, which will go a long way towards furthering our goals.

We're Looking for Feedback

This was our first major event, and we're looking for feedback from those who attended (and from those who didn't!) Giving us feedback will help us to improve future events. Those of you who have already registered on our forums may provide feedback in this thread in the forums, either by simply rating the event or by providing a more detailed reply. People who haven't yet registered for the forums (and why haven't you?), or people who wish to provide more detailed feedback in private, should feel free to email that information to webmaestro@cachalotalumni.org. Remember, the more information you provide, the more we'll be able to improve in the future!

Many thanks to everyone that attended!

Site look odd? Your browser may not be up to date. See the note on the main page.