Welcome to the Prop Wash Gang Reunion Site. Ron Hentz here.
The 2011 PWG reunion will be held here in Wisconsin. Dates will be 18-21 August 2011, and we will be staying at the Bridgewood Resort Hotel and Convention Center in Neenah, WI. There are 30 rooms blocked off until Jul 18, 2011 at a rate of $89/night double occupancy, with a surcharge of $10/night for each extra adult. All rooms are complete with refrigerator, microwave, TV, DVD player and much more. The smallest rooms have 2 queen beds, so couples could conceivably share a room for $109/night. Mention the "Prop Wash Gang" to get these very reduced rates.
This resort is a Best Western property and is rated by Best Western as one of the top 2% of its 21,000 properties in the US. In addition to the queen bed rooms, there are a very limited number of "business suites" that are available on a first come, first served basis. These are upscale suites, but are being made available at the same price of $89/night. You may check out the resort at the Bridgewood Resort Hotel Web Site . You may make reservations directly from the website or call them at (920)720-8000. It is a smoke-free facility, as are all public facilities in Wisconsin. Rooms and rates are available up to one day prior until one day after the reunion for those who might want to arrive early or stay late. Room taxes are 5% local and 5% state.
I am a one-man committee due to the limited number of PWGers in Wisconsin, but have started working on several possible activities during the convention. Of course there will be the usual hospitality room, but this one comes with something extra for the voyeurs. It has an overflow area to a mezzanine that looks out over the hotel pools. In addition, I am working on a tour of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) museum in Oshkosh, which is about 15-20 minutes from our hotel. I have also talked with the Green Bay Packers, and a tour of Lambeau Field is also a possibility. A Friday luncheon cruise on a paddlewheel boat is also a possibility. Of course, each of these is dependent on the levels of interest. Rates for the EAA museum tour are $7.75 for adults and $6.75 for those 62+. Lambeau Field tours are $11 for adult (18-61) and $10 (62+). Groups of 20 or more can get a private tour of Lambeau at special rates. If you wish to also tour the Packer Hall of Fame, the total price goes to $19. Prices for tours do not include the cost of possible bus rental, which would have to be defrayed evenly by attendees. (If there are only a few who wish to attend, perhaps those of us with POVs would be willing to drive.) If interested in EAA or Lambeau, or both, please respond with name and number of tickets. If there is sufficient interest, I will move along with accepting checks for tickets and making reservations with the appropriate venue(s). Please email me separately if you plan to definitely attend one or more of these events. The end of August is also an excellent time to be salmon and trout fishing on Lake Michigan. Although the nearest charter boats are a bit more than an hour away, that is also a possibility. The fishing is world-class. In fact, a world record brown trout (around 45 lbs) was recently caught in the Wis waters of Lake Michigan.
The buffet dinner will be Saturday evening, the 20th of August. BG Urschler has agreed to be our guest speaker for the event. As most of you already know, the General was one of our RC-135 pilots in his youth, and our vice commander in the latter days of his career. I anticipate that dinner will run $35 per person. A portion of that will also cover the cost of room set-up and the guest speaker's dinner, with any remainder going toward helping with hospitality suite expenses. I am hoping that one of you will step forward and volunteer to collect checks for the dinner and keep tabs on attendee names. If no volunteer, I'll take it. Donations toward the stocking of beverages for the hospitality room will also be gratefully accepted, with checks made out to me, Ron Hentz, and sent to 8037 Cavendish Rd, Neenah WI 54956. Dinner menu will be tossed salad with choice of dressing, fresh vegetable tray, smoked salmon, fresh fruit tray, cheese display (this is Wisconsin after all), pasta salads, and chef's choice of vegetables, potato, rice, rolls and beverage. Entrees will include chef carved baron of beef, honey roasted ham and chicken.
Some Web Sites for your perusal:
More about the resort: They have a regulation 9-hole golf course. Weekend rates for 9 holes are $16 and $24 for 18 holes. Club rental is $10 for 9, and $15 for 18 holes. A pull cart rents for $3.50 all day. Motorized carts are $9 per person for 9 holes and $14 per person for $18. Seniors (62+) get rates reduced by $1-2 for any of the above except pull carts. There is also an 18-hole miniature golf course for $6 per round. Neenah's hiking/biking/running trail borders the golf course and is easily accessible from the hotel. Within a short distance are a Super Wal-Mart, Kohl's, numerous fast food restaurants, a supermarket, and even a clinic for medical emergencies. For serious medical issues, Neenah's hospital is consistently ranked among the top 100 in the nation.
For those arriving by air, the closest airport is Appleton, which is about 15 minutes from the resort. The resort provides free transportation to and from. Advance notice is required, so let the hotel know of your flight number and arrival time when you request transportation. The airport code for Appleton is ATW, for those who might like to research airfares. ATW is served by Delta and United. For those arriving from either of the Orlando Fl or Las Vegas areas, Allegiant Air provides cheap, non-stop airfare to and from Appleton, mostly for Wisconsinites who wish to visit those tourist areas. For those who might like to save on airfare, both Southwest and Air Tran fly into Milwaukee (MKE), however a rental car would then be needed to make the approximate 1.5 hour drive to Neenah. Another option is Green Bay (GRB), which is about 45 minutes from Neenah. Rates to GRB, however, would probably be very similar to the rates to ATW. Another option would be to fly into Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and make the 3 hour drive. It's obviously farther away, but airfare might be cheaper enough to make it a worthwhile option.
For those arriving by auto, US 41 is the main thoroughfare. It is a four-lane highway throughout Wisconsin and is undergoing construction to six lanes from south of Oshkosh to Neenah (it is already six lanes from Neenah to Appleton), Those driving from the west, e.g. from Omaha, would use US 151, which is four lanes from the Cedar Rapids area to Fond du Lac WI, where you could pick up US 41 northbound to Neenah. Once in the Neenah area, take exit 129 right to Harrison St (approx 0.2 miles), then left on Harrison for another 0.2 miles to Jewelers Park Road, which is actually a frontage road on US 41. Turn left on Jewelers Park and drive about 3/4 miles to Cameron Way and then turn right. You are then pointed directly at the resort hotel, which is in view just a couple hundred yards away. (If you do a Google search of the Best Western Bridgewood Resort Hotel, you can see a nice satellite overview of the area, complete with street names.)
Questions about anything I may have left out??? Direct them to me please.
Ron Hentz
8037 Cavendish Rd
Neenah Wi 54956-9051
(920) 725-4334