Food! Beverages! Watch the sunset from 29 stories above Springfield! Time with friends! What better way to spend Saturday evening after the close of the FGS Conference in Springfield?
For years, I have hosted dinners shortly after the closing of many of the larger genealogy conferences. I always invite the readers of this newsletter and their guests. I am delighted to announce that there will be another such dinner this Saturday, September 10, 2011, immediately after the end of the Federation of Genealogical Societies' conference in Springfield, Illinois.
YOU are invited!
We will meet on the 29th floor of the Hilton Hotel, across the street from the conference center. The view is outstanding from 29 stories above Springfield. We will be seated at dinner and will be able to watch the city change from dusk to darkness as we all converse with friends.
These EOGN (Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter) dinners are for those who want to wind down over a meal with other genial genealogists on a Saturday evening after the conference has ended. Each dinner is (very) informal, usually noisy, and is a place to relax amongst friends after the hubbub of the conference. In this case, the word "friends" might mean long-time friends or perhaps new friends you meet at the conference or even meet for the first time at the Saturday evening dinner. After all, genealogists are a friendly group!
There is no agenda, no speeches, no program, no PowerPoint slides, and little else. The plan is simple: good food, and time spent with good friends. Past dinners have been noisy affairs, and I expect this one will be the same.
The EOGN Dinner will be held on Saturday, September 10. The doors will open at 7 PM and dinner will be served about 7:30 in a private dining room high atop the Hilton hotel. That hotel is immediately adjacent to the convention center.
If you have ever attended any of the previous EOGN dinners, I hope you enjoyed it. If you have not been able to attend a past EOGN dinner, ask anyone who has. Hopefully, we can repeat the experience this time and perhaps even exceed past years' experiences.
NOTE: In order to guarantee enough seats in the banquet room, registrations are REQUIRED. You MUST see me or send an email to me no later than 5 pm Friday. The kitchen staff will prepare enough meals for the number of people on the reservation list so, if you do not let me know in time, there might not be a meal for you. Also, I have to pay for the meals in advance so I'd appreciate your confirmed reservation.
The hotel assures me they can handle any size crowd if we provide at least one days' notice. Unlike some past years, there will be no shortage of available seats as long as you register no later than 5 pm Central U.S. time on Friday, September 9.
If you plan on bringing guests, make sure you make a reservation for each person in your party. It will be embarrassing to tell your spouse that you are going out to dinner with others while your spouse is left alone in the hotel room because "you forgot!" If there are two of you, you need two registrations.
The dinner will be served buffet style. The menu includes:
Chef's fresh soup of the day
Field greens with grape tomatoes, cucumber, and carrot curls
A variety of salad dressings
Marinated artichoke and tomato salad, roasted orzo prima vera salad
Oven roasted potatoes
Rice Pilaf
Your choice of:
Pan seared salmon with lemon buerre blanc
Sautéed chicken breast in sherried mushroom cream
Sliced herb roasted sirloin with a Cabernet demi glacé
The chef will also supply a selection of pies and cakes.
The price for dinner will be $40 per person. That includes the meal and the desserts but not sodas, beer, wine, or mixed drinks. A cash bar will be available for your drink orders.
Again, registrations will close at 5 PM Central U.S. time on Friday, September 9. See me at the conference or send an email to: richard@eastman.net
To keep things simple, payment in advance would be appreciated. However, if I don't see you in advance, I will also be able to accept payment on Saturday evening at the door.
Again, the doors will open at 7 PM and dinner will be served about 7:30 in a private dining room high atop the Hilton hotel.
I hope you will enjoy the EOGN dinner. I'll see you on the 29th floor on Saturday evening.
