Dear Benrud Family Members,
The Benrud Board met Saturday, February 27, 2021 and decided, due to the continued issues with the pandemic, to cancel the in-person reunion scheduled for July 30, 31, and August 1, 2021.
But there are some exciting options:
- A virtual Benrud Reunion is being planned for 2021 — more information to follow!
- A Benrud reunion in Canada is being planned for 2023, 30 years after the last one held in Canada in 1993. Additional information will be coming at a later date. Many of you may not be aware that we mail over 110 newsletters to Canadian addresses representing well over 300 Benrud relatives.
- Our next US Benrud Reunion will be again in the La Crosse, Wisconsin area, tentatively scheduled at the Best Western Conference and Hotel Center across the Mississippi in La Crescent, Minnesota on August 1, 2, and 3rd, 2025.
We need your help now — please forward this email to those who may not have gotten it or opened it and send email updates to jewelsdi@yahoo.com. Julie Backus, our family tree editor, also needs any updated addresses as soon as possible for our next Benrud Newsletter. You can submit your changes through the website or send them by email to Julie, or by mail to 891 N. Roadrunner Road, Apache Junction, AZ 85119.
If you are not a member of the Benrud Family Facebook, check it out and join — we will be providing more information on Facebook about upcoming events in the coming weeks and months.
If you made hotel reservations for the 2021 reunion, remember to cancel them!
– Julie Backus, Family Tree Reporter and Diane Piper, Vice President, US
This is the first time since we began our large family reunions in 1950 that a reunion has been cancelled. We all hope it never happens again. We wanted to share the following thoughts from our Canadian vice president, Doug Olson, as they are so appropriate in these difficult times.
These are unprecedented times and every country, state, province, city, community and family is trying to come to grips with the challenges ahead of us and mitigate the spread of this COVID-19 virus. We are all attempting to flatten the curve but unfortunately the peaks are still ahead of us and unfortunately once we get over the hump the health officials are saying that there is a good chance of a resurgence again later in the year. The reality is 2020 is going to be bumpy ride. However, we come from deep and strong family roots that have persevered through harsh challenging times of their own over the past 150 years…and so shall we. Our Families and Nations will be stronger as we band together and emerge from this global challenge as the borders re-open and economy rebounds. Stay healthy and strong – stay calm and carry on!
Best wishes from your Canadian Cousin, Doug Olson