The 2025 USS Reeves Reunion is ON
In the Fall 2024 Newsletter we spoke about our progress towards a location for the 2025 Reeves Ironman Reunion. We circulated our Request for Proposal (RFP) to hotels in the Pensacola area to see who had what available. We got only a few bites before we were able to find an excellent hotel that was willing to meet all our needs, and most importantly, keep the room costs reasonable. Several site visits were made by our Pensacola based Team, Shipmate Todd Larson and his wife Jane, to tour the property and ensure that it was an acceptable choice. Todd and Jane were both pleased with the hotel, the condition of the rooms, accommodation, and the hotel management staff. So, the decision has been made to proceed, and we can now confirm that the USS Reeves Association has everything all set for the 2025 reunion.
The 2025 Reunion will be held in Pensacola Florida on Monday, October 13th through Friday, October 17th, 2025
We have signed a contract with the Holiday Inn Pensacola University Hotel, which is located at 7813 North Davis Hwy, located at Exit #13 off I-10 with quick access to downtown Pensacola. The hotel is near the Pensacola Regional Airport (PNS), Pensacola Beach, Pensacola Naval Air Station, The National Naval Air Museum, and within easy striking distance to the USS Alabama Museum and Park in Mobile, Alabama.
The hotel, which is newly renovated, is only four miles from Pensacola International Airport (PNS) and offers free shuttle services to/from the airport. It is about ten miles to the Pensacola Naval Air Station, and an hour away from the USS Alabama Museum in Mobile Alabama. We think the location gives us plenty of choices for travel and tourism. There are a variety of restaurants located nearby.
The hotel includes all of the amenities that we have come to expect, such as complimentary breakfast, complimentary Wi-Fi, free airport shuttle service, a complimentary hospitality room, and a nice banquet room for our Association Banquet. The hotel has both a restaurant and bar, so there is no need to leave for a drink or a snack. It also means that they have the ability to put on a nice banquet dinner.
We were also able to get the hotel to allow us to bring our choice of beverages and snacks into the hospitality room, with them helping us out with ice as needed. Bringing our adult beverages into the room may not sound like a big deal, but with many hotels it is not allowed as they would prefer that we spend our money at their bars. We have received a copy of the banquet menu, and so far, it looks like we are going to go for the Buffet Menu. There are some pretty nice choices for us, and it provides a few things we like; it holds the price down, offers everyone more selections, and reduces the time it takes to feed everyone. We have not settled on any specific menu items to date, as there is plenty of time to sort that out. For now we are just polling our guests to to who selects beef, chicken, seafood, or vegetarian. We are confident that we can work with the menu to offer you the best choices to satisfy everyone.
We were able to negotiate the hotel room rate to $125.00 per night. We were very concerned with the room costs per night going into this and honestly expected them to be higher. Everyone is aware of the cost increases we have seen for just about everything in the last few years, so we really hoped that we could find a room rate that didn’t scare everyone away. It appears that we have found something that most of us can live with. That leaves the cost of attending this reunion just a few dollars more than Dayton in 2023. The hotel has also agreed to honor our discount rate for three days before and after the reunion.
So, while it looks like the room rates and our association participation rates will stay roughly in line with the last three reunions, there is the whole Pensacola being in Florida thing to consider. That is either a longer drive or flight than most of us are used to, but keep in mind that the sooner you start shopping for flights, the better chance you have to find deals. There is also the possibility for a shift in the economy that may see some changes in fuel costs. Take a look now so you will understand the pricing and maybe spot a deal when it pops up.
So, for any of you that may have looked ahead to a 2025 Calendar and noticed that all the dates we just mentioned were, in fact, all weekdays. Well, you are entirely correct. What we are proposing to do is change the daily routine for this reunion to accommodate all the cool things we want to do in Pensacola, which, by the way, happen on weekdays.
From a schedule perspective, there is the Blue Angel practice schedule, which only happens on Tuesday and Wednesday, then there is access to the Naval Aviation Museum, which is easier and less crowded on weekdays, and then there is a planned bus trip to Mobile, AL. to see the USS Alabama Museum, which is also easier and cheaper to sneak up on during the week. The cost perspective is very simple, hotel rooms, attractions, and transportation are cheaper during the week.
A proposed weekday schedule looks like this. Monday is check in and set-up to get the party started. Tuesday looks like a great day to head to Mobile AL. to check out the USS Alabama (BB-60) Battleship Memorial Park. In addition to the Alabama (https://www.ussalabama.com/explore/uss-alabama-battleship/), there is the USS Drum (SS-228), and a surprising number of aircraft, tanks, and artillery on display. Wednesday takes us to the Pensacola Naval Air Station to see the Blue Angels Practice their show routine. Afterwards, we will visit the National Naval Aviation Museum and take in lunch at the Old Cubi Point Officers Club, which was fully relocated to Pensacola, for our dining pleasure. Thursday is an open day to visit the Pensacola area, while we have our business meeting in the late afternoon and our banquet in the evening. Friday is load up and check-out day.
Of course, each of our evenings will see the hospitality room fully open for hanging out with shipmates, enjoying adult beverages, consuming snacks, and recounting fabulous sea stories. We normally have our welcome reception on Tuesday evening to welcome everyone aboard, then we also hang out after the banquet on Thursday evening to raffle off all our door prizes and wish everyone well until we meet again. The hospitality room is not a mandatory appearance. The evenings are your time to do what you like, but it is a nice place to enjoy some time with shipmates.
This whole weekday reunion thing is nothing new for us. As some of you may remember we did the weekday thing several times in the past. The San Diego Reunion in 2009 was a Monday through Friday thing, and then we repeated it again in Portland in 2014. Both times it proved to be much easier to get to attractions and generally held down our hotel costs in places where weekend days demand a premium price.
Reservations: The hotel has provided us with a special link to make our reservations, and also provided the direct dial number in case you do not like to make on-line reservations. That number is (850) 472-1400. Just let them know you are with the Reeves Group. As usual, Shipmates and guests will make their own room reservations, billings, and cancellations directly with the hotel. Your card information is only to hold the room, and it will not be billed until the hotel stay is completed. Individual room cancellations are allowed up to 24 hours before check-in with no monetary penalty.
Once there, select VIEW PRICES, then enter dates (10/13/25 to 10/17/25), Select GROUP RATES, tab down to find and select Group Code REE and hit Search. This will populate the screen with choices for King Standard or Double Queen Rooms for $125 per night. Make your selection and head to the reservation screen to enter your information. It boils down to $500 for four nights with $62.50 for taxes. Please keep in mind that when you first get to the site, you will see room rates of $113 per night. That is for now, and not for October. The October rates for our dates are $136 per night, and that is the senior discount rate.
We strongly suggest that you DO NOT book our rooms with any of the third-party booking discount web sites (like Booking.com or Trivago or Expedia or Priceline, etc), as we have found that they may save you a few dollars, but you have no amenities or standard protections that are guaranteed by dealing directly with the hotel. We hear about this at every reunion and advise against it. As usual, if there are any problems with any component of the hotel reservation process, please contact us directly and we will deal with the hotel to correct any problems. As of this writing there is 8i nches of snow on the ground in Pensacola, but we do not anticipate that for next October.
Registration Fee: As there has always been with the USS Reeves Reunions, there is a single, all-inclusive fee of $110 per person for the reunion. This fee covers all the things that the Reeves Association provides to make the reunion occur. This includes the costs associated with the welcome reception, beverages & snacks for four days in the hospitality room, the cost of the banquet meals, reunion ball caps, genuine Reeves Bling, door prizes, event insurance, postage / shipping costs, transportation lunch and seating for the NAS Pensacola Tour, and a variety of attendee materials. The USS Alabama Tour is not included in this fee, but the trip to the Blue Angels Practice (with seating provided), the National Naval Aviation Museum, Lunch at Cubi O'Club, and a guided Museum tour ARE INCLUDED.
Here's the Reunion Master Schedule
Monday, October 13th
All Day USN Birthday!
10:00 to 1500 Set-up at the USS Reeves Hospitality Suite (visitors and helpers welcome)
1500 Hotel Check-in Opens. Reunion check-in at the Hospitality Suite
1500 to Close Hospitality Suite OPEN for business. (Snacks, adult beverages / some sea-stories)
Tuesday, October 14th
0800 to 1800 Hospitality Suite OPEN for business. (Snacks, adult beverages and more sea-stories)
0900 to 1600 Bus Trip to the USS Alabama Museum in Mobile Alabama.. Bus transportation + $35 per person
- Transportation cost $36 per person
- Park Admission $15 per person
- Lunch /Hot Dogs/Chips/Beer/Soda/Water (hosted by Todd and Jane Larson)
- Depart Hotel 0900 at Battleship Park 1000 to 1400
- Depart Battleship Park 1400 for Veterans Memorial (South Wall) Park, Pensacola at the Park approximately (1) hour then back to the Hotel
1800 to 2000 Welcome Reception in Hospitality Room with Pizza Party
2000 to Close Hospitality Suite OPEN for business. (Snacks, adult beverages / advanced sea-stories)
Wednesday, October 15th
0830 to 1600 Group outing to The US Naval Air Station Pensacola- Cost for this tour included in Reunion Registration Fee
- Cost includes Bus transportation, Blue Angel Practice (weather dependent), chair for practice show, buffet lunch at Cubi Bar, Museum tour.
- Depart Hotel 0830, Museum opens at 0900 and Air Show is 1030 to approx. 1130.
- Depart Museum at 1500 for Hotel. NOTE: Times are all approximate!!!
1700 to Close Hospitality Suite OPEN for business. (Snacks. adult beverages / more advanced sea-stories)
Thursday, October 16th
0900 to 1300 Hospitality Suite OPEN for business. (Adult beverages and updated sea-stories)
1200 to 1500 Reeves Ladies-only Social Event
1300 to 1530 Reeves Association Bi-Annual Business Meeting – Hospitality Room
1730 to 1900 Holiday Inn Banquet Room / Cash-bar happy hour: Group/Individual Photos
1900 to 2200 Holiday Inn Banquet room / Reunion Banquet with a special Guest Speaker
2200 to Close Hospitality Suite OPEN for fun and door prizes. (Adult beverages / highly advanced sea-stories)
Friday, October 17th
0800 to Noon Hotel checkout & departure (helpers are appreciated)
That is all the news I have for the reunion for now. We will put out plenty more information as we get closer. The registration form is available in the latest Ironman Newsletter. While all this may appear simple and straightforward for the time being, there may still be a few complications to iron out, but they are all easier now that we have a confirmed location and dates to work with. Now we can concentrate on examining the menu and making some choices that make everyone happy without breaking the bank. Then we can start the search to find a great speaker for the Thursday evening banquet. Then there is time to obtain event insurance, track down transportation to reunion events, make reservations for our field trips, order reunion and DLG / CG ballcaps, order more golf shirts, obtain Reeves Reunion bling, door prizes, pizza, and a ton of other stuff that goes into the reunion before anyone heads to Florida. But this is all the stuff that happens every time we plot a course for you to attend the next Best Reeves Reunion you have ever been to. We sure hope to see you all there.
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2018 USS Reeves Association. All rights reserved. Last update: 01/22/2023