The 2009 All Ships Reunion was held again at Harrah's Hotel/Casino in Reno, Nevada, Sunday 26 April thru Wednesday 29 April. Approximately 300 persons attended. Crew members representing 168 ships and small craft attended making it the best reunion yet! The Coast Guard Combat Veteran's reunion was also held at the Atlantis the same weekend. Many of the attendees were members of both groups and were able to participate in both functions. One of the highlights was the presence of Pat Pimsner (purser), Len Specia (stewardess) and Frank Garcia (flight engineer) aboard Panam 90943 that ditched at Ocean Station November October 16, 1956, and were all rescued by the CGC Pontchartrain. Also there were three crew members of the Pontchartrain: Wayne Hokum (radarman), Dick Olson (boatswain mate) and Doak Walker (radioman) present. We also had some other Panam people in attendance from that era. Our guest speaker Mike Walling, a Coast Guard author, is presently writing a book on this event and of the Bermuda Sky Queen. He was able to gather a lot of first hand information from reunion attendees. Again this reunion the CGC Minnetonka W67 crew members outnumbered the CGC Winnebago W40 with 27 crew from the Minnie and 24 from the Winnebago. Of the tours that were offered, the Lake Tahoe Sightseeing Luncheon Cruise aboard the paddle wheel propelled M.S. Dixie was the most popular with 67 attendees racking up a little more underway time. The Virginia City Tour had 31 visiting the old boom town. The Truckee Tour attracted 18 guests and the Reno City Tour had 15 persons on the local tour. The other event was a golf tournamant held at the Wild Creek Golf Club in Sparks that drew 12 hardy duffers. Another hit of the reunion was Jeff Hickman who drew caricatures of many of the guests. Keep an eye out here for information on our 2011 reunion. Best wishes for the new year 2010.