2021 TOGA REUNION – CANCELED

To:       All our members, family, friends and supporters

From:   Flip Godfrey, President

Re:       2021 Reunion – Cancelled

This is a message I was hoping I would not have to send a second time after 2020. After working over the past several months to plan the 2021 Reunion, the TOGA Board of Directors and our Reunion Committee watched with dismay as the COVID situation changed quickly and dramatically. We convened a series of meetings over the past weeks focused exclusively on our reunion to explore our options. This culminated on Sunday evening when the Board voted unanimously to cancel our 2021 Reunion.

While it is the prudent thing to do, it is still very, very, disappointing. After more than a year of wearing masks and limiting our interactions with others, I know we were all looking forward to seeing each other’s faces, conducting a pass-in-review, interacting with the Regiment’s Soldiers, and a wide range of other things at our Annual Reunion. We on the Board, and our partners at the Regiment, did everything we could to put us in a position where we could all attend. I was particularly excited about the FDC alumni joining us this year. What a great addition that was going to be. However, when we closely evaluated the current situation, it became clear that we should not let our emotions cloud the responsible way ahead.

The bottom line is that we did not have the ability to execute the event with any semblance of what we’ve come to treasure about our reunions, all the credible indicators show the situation—both in terms of public health and restrictions in response to that—getting markedly worse by mid-September, and we would be hazarding the reputation of both TOG and TOGA and some of TOGA’s finances.

If you want to read more about the details of our deliberations and decision, I’ve pasted that at the end of this message.  Most importantly, please read the following that addresses hotel cancellations, reunion refunds, and our plan to execute our General Membership Meeting and board elections in a virtual setting.

I want to this opportunity to thank Colonel Roddy and his team for all their efforts to support the reunion and TOGA during this difficult time.

See you in 2022!

Thank you.

Hotel Reservations

Remember to cancel your hotel reservations. Note: You may still use your reservation if you choose to go to Arlington during the time the reunion was originally scheduled.

Reunion Refunds

Ralph Jones, our Treasurer, will begin issuing refunds on Monday, August 23.  Please allow 5 to 10 days for the credit to appear or the check to arrive.  If you wish to donate all or a portion of your registration to TOGA, please let Ralph know prior to the 23rd by email at treasurer@oldguard.mystagingwebsite.com or by mail at –

TOGA
c/o Ralph Jones
2811 Oakton Manor Ct.
Oakton, VA 22124

Annual General Meeting of the Association – AGM

The Board of Directors is making arrangements to conduct the AGM in a virtual format. While we will provide more details in the next several days, we expect that will take place in the mid-September to mid-October timeframe. Keep an eye out for that information and please plan to participate in the governance of your Association. As a reminder, only those Charter, Regular (Annual) and Life Members who are current with their dues are eligible to vote. Please also consider updating your member profile at TOGA Membership – Login – The Old Guard Association! All communication about the AGM will be sent to your email address on file there.

Reunion Go – No Go Decision

The Board established a set of criteria we should use to guide us in our decision.  These criteria were:

1. The Regiment’s ability to support the reunion
2. COVID constraints in Arlington and VA
3. Restrictions that our hotel would likely have in place in mid-September
4. Whether and to what extend TOGA might be exposed to liability if we executed the reunion
5. The financial breakeven points associated with levels of attendance and planned activities
6. The COVID transmission rates in Arlington
7. The hotel’s willingness to negotiate cancellation penalties
8. Any travel restrictions in other states with which our members would have to comply after they returned from the reunion

Out of those eight criteria, we found three were most compelling.

1. Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall (JBMHH), MDW, & Regimental Support. JBMHH, MDW, and the Regiment’s focus has rightly been and will continue to be on maintaining readiness to accomplish their missions.  With this in mind and after applying the policies that the JBMHH, MDW, and other commanders had or might put in place, our ability to plan for even limited interaction with the Regiment was not in place.
   • Active-duty Soldiers would likely be restricted from participating in reunion activities
     • No soldiers at the President’s Reception
     • No chain of command at the Gala Dinner
     • No CCG posting and retiring the colors at the Gala Dinner
     • No TUSAB or FDC entertainment at the Gala Dinner
     • No soldiers at the Gala Dinner
     • No soldiers to accept awards
   • Lunch in the DFAC was cancelled.
   • The Pass In Review was cancelled
   • Visiting the Old Guard Lounge at the O-Club was cancelled
   • The FDC jam session on Friday night would likely not take place
   • The FDC picnic and concert on Saturday afternoon was cancelled.
   • RCO attendance at the General Membership Meeting would be only via Zoom
   • Masks would be required on all bus transportation.
   • Masks would be required for everyone visiting the Army Museum.
   • Wreath ceremonies at TUS and the TOGA Memorial would likely be reduced force
2. COVID Constraints in Arlington and VA.
   • All credible projections indicating increased transmission and hospitalizations around mid-September (see graphs below)
   • It’s likely that elected leaders would impose a requirement to wear masks indoors and limit indoor capacity constraints
   • Already a requirement on military installations in the region to wear masks indoors
3. Potential Liability
   • Executing in the face of current forecasts might expose TOGA to suits
   • Executing in the face of current forecasts
   • Might expose TOGA to allegations of unwise and imprudent behavior
   • Might cause those in the chain of command and the public to question the Regiment’s prudence for their role supporting our reunion