People start arriving Friday night and spend time seeing who else is there and getting your name tag and learning your way around the hotel and where to find everything. The name tags are colored depending on your Eaves lineage as follows:

Graves – true blue
Semitics – sunny yellow
Patrick/Buckner – spring green
R1b1 Haplogroup lines – wild rose
Unknown – white
Adoptees – Color of adoptive EAVES line – with colored dots added.

Saturday morning is what you don’t want to miss. Immediately after breakfast is the general meeting usually around 9am. There’s a short business meeting (letting everybody know what’s going on), then each person introduces himself/herself and their Eaves connection. This is followed by a special recognition of all veterans.  After that, there is a photo op of the entire group followed by each group (depending on color of name tag) and one of the veterans. After this everyone breaks for lunch; after lunch we have the option of whatever we want to do. Most come back to the hotel (if they left to eat somewhere else) and talk to all their genetic relatives, share records, pictures, etc. Usually there is a large genealogy display of some kind. The member that is hosting the reunion this year has made large graphs showing the Eaves lineage of all who have had their DNA test done. This always brings a lot of interest.

Also there is a “silent auction” table where we buy the donations that members bring (like homemade canned goodies). The proceeds go to our growing Eaves Scholarship Fund.  Always fun to look at the stuff on the table. Food items & handmade items usually are the first to go, then art work, hand knits etc. Larger items (like quilts) are purchased through raffle tickets.

For Saturday evening a reservation is made for the group at some large restaurant (you will be asked to sign up if you intend to go). After dinner we return to the hotel meeting room to continue our visiting and sharing. Sometimes there is an added activity to enjoy. The “silent auction” closes a 10pm when everyone picks-up and pays-up.  There is always something to do.  These reunions have been going on since 1980, so there are always old timers that just want to be there to “feel the spirit” and share family histories.

I suggest that you join the EFNA (which you can do at the reunion for a nominal annual fee or a larger life-time fee). Members receive quarterly newsletters and a EFNA directory with the names and addresses of all other members to continue your reunion throughout the year.

Enjoy!

LoisEaves@live.com (Lois Eaves) – Eaves project DNA administrator
jf5635@hotmail.com (John O. Eaves) – Eaves project DNA co-administrator