Kansas City SitRep

30th-Anniversary Reunion of the Navy Musicians Association

Kansas City, MO Airport Hilton Hotel

June 18-21, 2025

Information at www.navymusicians.org

- SITUATION REPORT - 19APR25 -

Shipmates,  

Over the last few weeks, I've been spreading bits and pieces of news about the 2025 Reunion. Today, I'm presenting this "Situation Report" to consolidate this information. Some of it you may have heard before, some will be new. I hope this helps to provide perspective for those who are making their reunion plans (or are still in the debating stage).

Two factors prompt us to anticipate a big reunion. Firstly, our last anniversary reunion, the 20th in 2015, was a giant affair. Secondly, our most recent visit to Kansas City in 2016 was also big, due, in part, to the Midwestern location that brought many new members.

We hope that holding an anniversary reunion at such an accessible location will serve as a double-barrelled attraction. A couple of clues encourage us: 

• Treasurer Stephanie Rowland has already received a substantial number of membership applications from MUs who are joining the NMA for the first time and those who are rejoining after a few years' absence. (In the NMA, we don't put AWOLs in the brig; we welcome them home.) 
• Reunion Coordinator Carl Gerhard has announced that the Hilton has made a new block of rooms available at our special NMA rate.

MUs, like everyone else, keep their eyes on their wallets. But, when it comes to reunion costs this year, there's no need to tap dance around the subject, because the news is good:

• This year's nightly room rate of $119.00 is waaay below the average for association conventions in the United States. According to MeetingsNet, a major resource for the meeting-planning industry, the average price for hotel rooms at meetings and conventions this year is $169.00. (Another way to look at this: at our last visit to the same Kansas City hotel in 2016, our room rate was $115.00. After nine years of CPI inflation, our room rate is only four bucks more.)  
• Parking at hotels near airports can be pricey, as the number of travelers increases demand for parking spaces. Carl has successfully negotiated our parking fees down to $5.00 per day. 
• Upon check-in, members will receive free breakfast coupons for use in the hotel dining room (two per room, based on double occupancy).  

These benefits are a direct result of our Reunion Coordinator Carl Gerhard's ongoing negotiations with hotel management. I'm in frequent contact with Carl (you might say I'm his "mouthpiece"), so I know how much work he puts into his job.

These are the facts as we have them. I see it all as excellent news and hope that you, too, will find them as inviting as I do. 

Hoping to see you in Kansas City,

Frank Mullen 

NMA Website Manager