Heather Latter
Without a solid turnout at an upcoming meeting to plan an all-inclusive Town of Fort Frances reunion in 2013, Dave Ashworth said it’s unlikely the event will go ahead.
“We really need a strong local core of like-minded people to put this together,” noted Ashworth, who is co-chair of the committee with Kimberly Emes-Nicholson.
“If only two or three people show up, then it won’t fly,” he stressed.
The meeting is slated for next Tuesday (March 27) at 6:30 p.m. in the meeting room at La Place Rendez-Vous.
In order to get some more “out-of-town” people involved, Ashworth said they’re looking to set up a teleconference, conference call, or webinar for the meeting, but they need some assistance from a “techie” to help set it up.
“Whatever is the easiest to broadcast it to people,” he remarked, adding video would be ideal.
“People are saying they are willing to do stuff, but we just need a strong local core to get it off the ground,” he reiterated.
Ashworth said he would like to see at least 10 people at next Tuesday’s meeting so they can start planning events for the summer reunion, which is aimed at being held around July 4-7, 2013.
After only a few people came out to the last meeting back in November, Ashworth had stressed “the bigger committee we get, the more events we can put on.”
“You don’t necessarily have to come out and commit, but just come out and listen and maybe there is somewhere you can help out,” he said about the upcoming meeting.
“We just want to get a lot of interest going, people talking about it, and get it rolling.”
He added the reunion will be for everyone who “lived, worked, played, attended school, or just drove through town and [has] a fond memory of this area.”
Ashworth is hopeful they’ll be able to get the Town of Fort Frances on board, as well as local businesses and organizations, to make the reunion a whole week of activities.
He said the committee tentatively is looking at having a wine-and-cheese event coinciding with registration on the Thursday night, as well as possibly two nights of entertainment.
There also would be an interdenominational church service on the Sunday.
Ashworth has received plenty of feedback from members of the Facebook group called “You grew up in Fort Frances . . . if you remember,” including many people living out-of-town who indicated they would return for the reunion.
In fact, talk of the reunion first began after the creation of the Facebook group by former resident Al Beeber.
He started the page for what he thought would be an opportunity to talk about old times with a few friends from his days as the sports reporter for the Fort Frances Times.
But the group has continued to grow and now sports 1,411 members.
The committee also hopes to get a Fort Frances reunion website up and running to keep people up-to-date with plans and activities.
“To make an event with amazing potential, we need Fort Frances alumni to overcome obstacles and turn the ‘I can’t’ attitude into ‘I can,’ then this reunion will shine,” Ashworth reasoned.
For more information, contact Ashworth at dave@jam21.net or watch the Facebook group for updates.
