In May 2005, Jake Karoly, NCVA National Site Selection Coordinator and member of the Smoky Mountain Chapter-NCVA, was attending a “How-To-Do-Reunions” seminar in the St. Louis, Missouri area. It was at this time he was impressed with how St. Louis was presented as an example reunion site city. Jake Karoly contacted fellow Smoky Mountain Chapter-NCVA member, Dave Fiehtner, who also served as Secretary/Treasurer of that Chapter, to assist him in presenting St. Louis as a Host Nominee for the 2008 NCVA National Reunion at the 2005 NCVA National Reunion. Dave, using the NCVA National membership directory, mailed an invitational letter, listing 29 prospective members to form a local “NCVA - Lewis & Clark Chapter”.

At the September 2005 NCVA National Reunion, held in San Antonio, Texas, the 650-plus attending membership, voted to have the 2008 NCVA National Reunion in St. Louis. The only problem was - St. Louis didn’t have a local Chapter and wasn’t included within the boundaries of any existing Chapter.

The following month, email traffic started between Dave and some responding members of the invitational letter to establish a local NCVA Chapter. The Chapter would be homeported in St. Louis and would cover a radius of approximate 250-300 miles. The region would make contact with eight states and be bounded on the West by Kansas City, Kansas; on the North by Des Moines, Iowa and Chicago, Illinois; on the East by Indianapolis, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky; and on the South by Memphis, Tennessee and Little Rock, Arkansas. Of those names on Dave Fiethner’s contact list, six members became the Charter Forming Committee. The committee was comprised of: Ken Cole, Frank Huffman, Don Owens, Bob Pepper, Ray Purdom, and John Whitworth, with the guidance from both Dave and Jake. A “get acquainted - shake & howdy” meeting of the Charter Forming Committee with Dave Fiehtner occurred on November 7, 2005 at the Sheraton Lakeside Chalet Hotel, within the Westport Plaza complex, in Maryland Heights, Missouri, which is the site of the 2008 NCVA National Reunion. A complimentary breakfast was provided by the Sheraton Hotel and was followed by a tour of the reunion facilities. Using the National membership list, Don Owens and John Whitworth compiled a contact list of 167 prospective NCVA members that resided within the Chapter boundaries; the contact list would ONLY be used for Chapter related business. By email discussion, between the Chartering Committee, it was agreed to submit the by-laws to the membership under the name of “Gateway Chapter - NCVA” versus “NCVA - Lewis & Clark Chapter”. Using the by-laws of other Chapters for guidance, John Whitworth provided a working draft for the Gateway Chapter-NCVA Constitution/By-Laws to be approved by the membership. The formal charter meeting of the Gateway Chapter-NCVA was held 31 March - 1 April 2006 as the 2006 Mini Reunion at the Sheraton Westport Plaza Tower Hotel. The primary purpose was to adopt the Gateway Chapter Constitution/ By-Laws and to elect the Directors and appoint Officers, If interested in becoming a member of the Gateway Chapter - NCVA, contact any Chapter Officer or any other Chapter Director listed in the NCVA National Membership Directory and plan to attend the 2008 NCVA National Reunion, 21-24 August 2008.

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