Notice

Please excuse the paint chips, we are renovating. This site is currently under construction. We are doing our best to get the site back up and running. Be careful while visiting the site, watch out for lumber, bricks and other construction material. We hope to have the site completed as soon as possible.

Lets face it, your time is important to you. There are many pages of information listed throughout this site and you can spend hours reading them if you have the time. If you want to get a quick idea of what we have to offer, you should first read our Mission Statement to determine if our services could benefit you and your group. Your next stop should be the Short Tour Program Schedule for new and small reunion groups. It shows you step by step what we have to offer and how you can utilize our services to create a Reunion to Remember. It also provides you with a wealth of information on how you can arrange your own first military reunion, either on your own or with our assistance.

Welcome to Military Reunions to Remember. I would like to provide you with some insight as to how MRTR came about and what our goals are. Military Reunions to Remember (MRTR) is a division of MRE Services, INC. MRE Services has been in business since 1990, incorporating in 1995. In 1998, as a personal project, Mr. McManuels coordinated the first reunion for veterans of the Asheville Patrol Gunboats with the assistance of a professional planning company in Norfolk, Virginia. Following their second reunion in 1999, he was forced to go it alone due primarily to the fact the group was so small and had proved not profitable to any professional planning company. In 2000, Mr. McManuels organized his first reunion on his own and has been doing so ever since. In 2001, he added Military Reunions to Remember to the MRE Services, INC family. He has spent a great deal of time studying the Military Reunion market. He has gathered experience from attending other military reunions as well as organizing reunions on his own. More importantly, his experience in dealing with the military, from his twenty six years of active service to his involvement with several military organizations following his retirement gives him the insight to know what is important to the veterans today.

His active service included joint service tours with every branch of the service. As an active member of every national veterans organization, he is able to keep him up to date on the changes in today's armed forces. We at MRTR believe we have a great deal to offer those individuals who are willing to dedicate the time and effort necessary to plan a military reunion. It is an exciting and rewarding challenge for anyone who has the necessary drive and motivation. Our goal is to assist you in those areas where, as a business representing multiple groups, we have more options and greater flexibility when it comes to negotiating a military reunion package. Our desire is not to plan each and every event and activity, it is simply to provide you with a plan of action to follow. We make suggestions, and give you a workable timetable to follow in order to accomplish your task. As you review this information, keep in mind the majority has been compiled for the first time reunion planner as well as the planner attempting to organize a reunion for a small group. If, following your review, you feel our services would not be beneficial to you and your group, then we wish you all the success. The information provided in the following pages will hopefully assist you in the future.

I am a retired Master Chief Petty Officer, having completed twenty six years of active service in the United States Navy. My career included operational sea duty on virtually every type and size of ship in the fleet. From Patrol Gunboats to Aircraft Carriers, from Destroyers and Cruisers to Tankers, I spent almost my entire career as an enlisted man assigned to fleet commands, including several joint commands. As a Command Master Chief, I was involved in Retirement Ceremonies, Re-enlistments, Changes of Command and many other formal and informal ceremonies. I have experience in ensuring that things run smoothly. I started Military Reunions to Remember because of my desire to coordinate a reunion for one of my former commands, the USS Canon (PG-90). Reunion planning is a fairly new market and as such, there are many companies that may want your business.

I am familiar with the competition and what they have offer. RTR is different in several ways. To begin with, RTR is owned by and employs primarily prior military personnel and military dependants. You might notice that most of the samples we are providing come from the Patrol Gunboat Association Reunions. I was stationed on a PG in the early 1970's and decided organize a reunion for the crews of these seventeen ships. With a great deal of encouragement and assistance from several sources, I arranged the first two reunions of the Patrol Gunboat Association, utilizing the services of a commercial planning company. However, due to the small size of the group, I was forced to either give up on the project or go it on my own. I decided to continue to organize their reunions each year, not as a business venture, but because I know what it is like to go to sea on a ship and develop the relationship that only a fellow sailor can understand. I started this group with a total of six names and addresses. It was particularly difficult since the Asheville Gunboats had a crew of only twenty eight and most of the ships were in commission less than ten years. These seventeen ships along with several staff commands now make up the Patrol Gunboat Association. We currently have more than two thousand names in our data file and over seven hundred active members. We held our first reunion in 1998 and have held one each year since.

Our first two reunions were arranged with the assistance of a professional planner and I admit they did a terrific job. Unfortunately, with our Association being so small in the beginning, we didn't represent a sufficient profit and after the first two reunions, the planning company elected to "Pass" until the number of attendees grew significantly. At that point I took over all the responsibilities and have been doing so since. The satisfaction that I have gotten from the PG Reunions is what motivated me to start Reunions to Remember. We are familiar with military life as well as the spirit of camaraderie present in most commands. Even if you decide not use any of our services, you are free to download and use any of the information on this site. If you should chose to utilize our services, our fees will be competitive and our services equal to or better than those of our competitors. Additionally, I am involved in every reunion MRTR assists with. You can always e-mail me directly at any time with specific questions or comments and I will be glad to assist you in any way I can. We are dedicated to making your commands reunion a Reunion to Remember. In short, we hope our business relationship is one in which you would be proud to call the RTR team, Shipmates. Hopefully, that says it all.

The MRTR web site is laid out in several sections. For the new planner, we include information on how to organize your members into an Association. Topics include Association finances, keeping your members interested and planning your first reunion. There is a section devoted to the advantages of utilizing a professional planning company such as Military Reunions to Remember. Sample registration fees based on reunion location and number of attendees is covered in the Registration Fees section. Remember that registration fees are frequently waived for first time reunions, and that we provide incentive rebates for referrals. For very small groups or those wanting to schedule their first military reunion, we have a special section dedicated to helping you through the initial planning stage. Be sure to check out the Premier Program for special prices on total packages. If you would like a complete copy of our Reunion Planning Guide in hard copy, please e-mail us and we will be glad to send you a complete Reunion Planners package. This package contains sample itineraries, registration forms, reunion surveys and name tags. We also include sample meal and event tickets, a custom registration envelope and a complete listing of our services.

For information or a copy of our prospectus, please email our offices at Reunions to Remember and we will be glad to assist you in any way we can. You can also contact us by phone at (757) 479-0849.