2023 Alumni Dinner Details

From Josh Benton (joshua_benton@hotmail.com) & Frank Layo (frank@teammacondo.com)

The time has come to commit!  We are officially one month away from the Annual KSA Alumni Dinner in Atlanta and are excited to see everyone and see what the world has brought to you post Covid.  We have strategically planned this year’s event around NRF, RILA, Spring Break, etc. so there are no excuses to not attend this fantastic reunion!  Apologies for a bit of a lengthy email, but there is a decent amount to cover regarding the event and we need some information / help from you.  So, here we go:

Event Details

Location – Dunwoody Country Club, Atlanta GA

Date – March 11, 2023

Time – 6:00 Bar Opens; 7:00 Dinner

Cost - $75 per person for dinner … there will be a cash bar (see additional information below)

RSVP – We need to know a Yes, No, Maybe by February 17th (2 weeks from now) and how many will be attending.  If you can’t attend, please still respond so we have confirmation the email was received.

Attendees

We are working now to get as many confirmed attendees as possible.  Click here to download an excel file listing everyone we have sent an invitation.  We know that there are many other Alumni that are not on this list that would be interested in attending, so please forward your KSA Alumni Colleagues a link to this posting.  I ask that you copy Frank and me (both in CC line) so we can know who has been contacted and add names to the KSA Alumni database.

Agenda

As part of the evening, we are going to have the opportunity for the Alumni Group to participate (and hopefully we have people volunteer in advance rather than coercing the night of the event).  The goal is an opportunity for us to recollect “the good ole days” as well as inform the group of what is going on in people’s lives today.  So, here are the asks in advance of the event:

  • BAR Sponsors – if you have a business (or just a good heart), volunteer to sponsor a portion of the bar prior to the dinner.  We have sponsorships starting at $500 (recall KSA’ers enjoy a beverage), but if that is a little steep for those of you with Start-Up organizations we can talk a lower rate.  As part of the sponsorship, you will have the opportunity to introduce the Alumni Group to your business (briefly) for awareness and education
  • “I Remember When” – this is an opportunity for the Alumni to recall KSA through the years.  We would like a participate from each decade to talk about the life of a consultant during your first project.  Think of this as the “we walked uphill both ways, barefoot, in the snow type stories.  If you are willing to participate, please let us know so we can get 4 or 5 decades covered.
  • “Picture Pages” – if there are any pictures that you have from your KSA days, please also share them.  We will create a simple slide show to run during the evening of these photos to remind us of the days gone by.  They can be project photos, reunion photos, Christmas Party photos, whatever you’ve got!

Our goal this year is to have over 60 Attendees to the event, so we really need everyone to join in and reach out to those that we don’t have email addresses.  If you are connected with people on LinkedIn or other Social Media channels, send them a quick note and get their contact information.  I attended the event last year and it was a true pleasure to reconnect with colleagues as well as meet some people that joined KSA after I departed.  This is truly a unique network of people and you will not regret spending a few hours with this crowd in Mid-March.

If you have any thoughts, suggestions, etc. please don’t hesitate to reach out to Frank and myself.  As we embarque on this journey, we are following an amazing lead from Bill Cobb, Butch Price and Libby Morgan … which everyone knows is an impossible act to follow.  Help us continue to keep the KSA Alumni group active and relevant.

2023 Alumni Dinner Scheduled for March 11th

Josh Benton and Frank Layo have announced that our 2023 alumni dinner is scheduled for March 11th at Dunwoody Country Club in Dunwoody GA.  For travel planning purposes, we expect the open bar / dinner gathering to begin at around 6:00PM.

Details will be forwarded as they become available.

March is a beautiful time of year in Atlanta -- we hope you and yours can join us this year!!

Best regards from the Dinner Team!!

2022 Alumni Dinner on June 18th is a GO!

Our 2022 Alumni Dinner will be held on Saturday, June 18th, 2022.  It will be held at Dunwoody Country Club, 1600 Dunwoody Club Dr, Atlanta, GA 30350.  Festivities will begin at 6:00PM on the 18th.  The dinner price will remain the same - $65 per plate.

Based on the positive responses we have received, 41 KSAers and guests will be at the dinner.

If you have not already RSVP'd for the June 18th dinner and would like to attend, you may respond at the dinner RSVP form (click here to view the form) by the end of the day Tuesday, June 14th.  We will shut off the form when seats are filled.

If you do plan to attend and wish to pay by check, mail it to Libby by May 27th.  Her mailing address is P O Box 934, Glen Alpine NC 28628.  If that is not possible, bring it to the dinner with you.  You may also send funds for the dinner to Bill via Venmo; his Venmo credentials are @bcobb10b, 678-634-7274.

Best regards to all!

Bill, Libby & Butch

The Alumni Dinner Team   (dinnerteam@kurtsalumni.com)

2022 Alumni Dinner

The Alumni Dinner Team has huddled about our 2022 Alumni Dinner and leans toward proceeding with the event. We have scheduled it for Saturday evening, February 5th, 2022 at Dunwoody Country Club in Atlanta. Pricing for the dinner has not been set with Dunwoody Country Club but given trends with everything else we are purchasing, we expect it to increase from the 2020 price.  [The dinner has been rescheduled from the proposed February 5th date to June 18th, 2022.  More about the 2022 dinner is here.  We hope to see you there!]

We’re aware that large indoor group gatherings are still controversial and would like to hear if you are interested in attending the dinner. Your response will be treated as an expression of interest and not a firm commitment one way or the other. It is early and we will modify our plans if attendance will be too light to justify holding the event.

Please send your response to dinnerteam@kurtsalumni.com. It is a forwarding address that will send your reply to Bill, Libby and Butch.

2021 Alumni Dinner Postponed Until 2022

The Alumni Dinner Team believes that it is prudent to postpone our 2021 gathering until 2022 due to COVID-19. We considered moving the date into the summer of 2021 but recent news regarding COVID-19 uncertainties pushed us toward postponing until 2022.

We have tentative reservations at Dunwoody Country Club in Atlanta for January 29th and February 5th of 2022. Please let us know if you have preferences between those dates.

We hope that all of you have been successful at avoiding COVID-19. The Price, Morgan and Cobb families have endured the intrusion with no direct ill effects and are hopeful that this is true for you as well.

Best regards to all!

Bill, Butch & Libby
The Alumni Dinner Team

2020 Alumni Dinner

Our 2020 Alumni dinner will be held at Dunwoody Country Club in Atlanta on February 1st, 2020 at 6:00PM.

Invitations for the dinner were emailed in early December.  You may RSVP from the email; it also contains an address to which check payment for dinner should be sent.

If you did not receive your invitation, send an email to wrc@kurtsalumni.com and we will send it again. In the meantime, click here to download a PDF file with party details.

We need your RSVP and check for dinner by January 11th, 2020.

Hope you can make the dinner this year. We will have a fabulous program and are expecting to see many folks who have not made recent dinners.

2019 Alumni Dinner Date

Our 2019 Alumni dinner will be held at Dunwoody Country Club in Atlanta on January 26th, 2019 at 6:00PM.

Invitations for the dinner were emailed on December 2nd.  You may RSVP from the email; it also contains an address to which check payment for dinner should be sent.

If you did not receive your invitation, send an email to wrc@kurtsalumni.com and we will send it again.

We need your RSVP and check for dinner by January 12th, 2019.

Hope you can make the dinner this year.

2018 Dinner Weekend Followup

Our 2018 dinner weekend is history.  Comments indicate everyone who joined us had a good time.  It was really good to see friends and catch up on their activities since last year.

Alumni Dinner

Our dinner gathering Saturday night at Dunwoody Country Club was great.  I won’t repeat the details as you can see the powerpoint slides used for the program by clicking here and a few photos by clicking here.  Speakers included Dave Cole, John Caldwell and Bill Cobb plus a host of ad hoc commenters from the audience.

Thanks to Libby for her behind-the-scenes work that keeps the event running smoothly, to Butch Price for enabling us to use Dunwoody Country Club, and to all whose suggestions and support help us keep the event fresh.

Other Weekend Activities

  • The bridge group did not hold an event during the dinner weekend this year – not enough folks were available.  We understand that the group plans to hold a replacement event during the spring.  If you want to play, ask Josh Taylor or John Caldwell to add you to their mailing list.
  • The Financial Braggarts Breakfast Club gathered Saturday morning in Dunwoody to celebrate the successful conclusion of their 20th year of competition. Bill Beckemeyer, 2016 champion, turned over the trophy to 2017 champion Tony DeMaria. Tony’s 42.3% portfolio gain bested the S&P 500’s 19.4% gain by just under 23 percentage points – great results in any year but especially this year with a new president-elect and uncertainty over where his policies would lead the country and market at the time when FBBC members were constructing their 2017 portfolios.  Congratulations Tony!!

2019 Alumni Dinner

Our 2019 Alumni dinner date has not been scheduled as this is written.  Plans are to hold it in late January or early February.  As soon as a date is firmed up with Dunwoody Country Club we will alert you here and by email.  By the way, if you are not receiving our emails, go to the “Mailing List” link in the menu above and sign up.  Or email Bill at wrc@kurtsalumni.com and ask him to enroll you.

2018 Alumni Dinner Date Change

Our 2018 Alumni Dinner date has changed to February 3rd, the first Saturday in February.

Invitations and more details will be distributed in November.

Enjoy your Halloween!!

2017 Alumni Dinner Followup

Our 2017 dinner weekend is in the history books. It was good to see friends and catch up on their activities since last year.

The weekend was full of activities.

  • Bridge competition at Josh and Jeanne’s on Friday was fierce as usual.   Players included Elaine Moore, Kline Reed, John Caldwell, guests Jerry and Gudi Noonan, and Josh. Kline and Elaine were the top scorers.
  • The Financial Braggarts Breakfast Club gathered Saturday morning in Roswell to celebrate Bill Beckemeyer’s 2016 winning investment portfolio and kick off their 20th year of congenial competition and breakfast conversation.
  • Our dinner gathering at Dunwoody Country Club Saturday night was good. We missed a few of our regulars, but welcomed new faces from the Atlanta Office. I won’t repeat program details here as you can see the powerpoint slides used for the program by clicking here. Speakers included Bill Beckemeyer, Dave Cole, and Kline Reed (remembrances of those we have lost); Mike Gregory (KS – Accenture Transition); and John Champion (History Project).

Thanks to Libby for her behind-the-scenes work that keeps the event running smoothly, to Butch Price for enabling us to use Dunwoody Country Club, and to all who had suggestions for and supported our program.

2018 Alumni Dinner

Our 2018 Alumni dinner is scheduled for the fourth Saturday in 2018 – January 27th, 2018  first Saturday in February – February 3rd, 2018 – at Dunwoody Country Club in Atlanta. Put it in your calendar now. We look forward to seeing you there.

History Project

Here is a quick overview of the History Project for those of you who did not get to hear John Champion’s comments at the dinner.

Collecting copies of memorable documents from KS offices has been a topic of conversation for some time. A project actually began shortly after the 2016 alumni dinner with an inventory of photos and documents available in the Atlanta office, and a survey of resources available to capture and display the project’s output. Calls to this group for photos and documents yielded some fruit, such as a nearly complete collection of KSA Observers sent by Hal Wilson. Project activities continued at a leisurely pace until Accenture’s acquisition of KS was announced in the fall, then kicked into high gear as John and his team learned of plans to relocate KS AO staff to Accenture’s offices early in 2017.

The rest of the story is documented on our web site at www.kurtsalumni.com. Click on “History” in the menu and settle in for a delightful walk through our history. The collection is divided into photos and PDFs for technical reasons, and there are lots of photos throughout the PDF section. The “Group” PDF section is noteworthy as it includes some group pictures and our comprehensive set of individual pictures in the 1988 Family Album.

Be aware that many of the PDFs are quite large (25 – 30MB) so be cautious about opening them if you have a slow internet collection.

Also be aware that the “search” link in the site’s menu bar takes you to a page that gives you the ability to search photo titles, file names, and captions for specified content. Handy if you are looking for photos of “dean” or “ken”.

If you have photos or documents not included in our history collection, please send them to John or Bill.

As you go through the year, if you become aware of news relevant to the Alumni community, please email it to Bill. We will add it to the web site and, if appropriate, distribute it to those on our mailing list.

Best regards,

Bill & the Alumni Dinner Team