2003 Jossey-Josey
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Hurrah for the Red, White, and Blue Reunion of the House
of Josey/Jossey family in
Upon arrival each attendee registered and received a goody
bag, maps, agenda, and a Scavenger Hunt Guide - the Scavenger Hunt turned out
to be a popular activity. Our secretary/treasurer, Jackie Helfrich, had every
detail of registration carefully planned and her team of volunteers moved over
100 of us through the process smoothly and quickly, so we could get on to the “visiting”
with relatives we had not seen for two years. As always her husband, Chuck,
served as trouble-shooter. What would we do without Chuck? He is our most
devoted HOJJ volunteer. (If you didn’t make it to the
Friday night we all gathered at the screened pavilion on
the grounds of the Comfort Inn for a traditional southern BBQ dinner. The BBQ
ribs and chicken prepared by the folks at
Saturday morning, Ray led a group on a driving tour of
chat & enjoy the dozens of wonderful teacakes provided by Faye Josey. When was the last time you had a homemade teacake? These were great. Let’s hope they become a reuniontradition too - please, Faye? Bud & Marion Josey set up their computer in the hospitality suite & were busy all weekend updating Josey/Jossey family files, and selling CDs containing the updated HOJJ books. All 8 volumes are now available on CDs to those people who have longed for a copy of their family’s book. If you want to buy a CD or if there have been births, deaths, or marriages in your family recently, be sure to let Bud know. It’s almost worth a trip to the reunion just to hear Bud laugh, something he does well and often. Thanks, Bud!
After Bud addressed our Saturday afternoon genealogy and
history meeting, a real treat this year was meeting family historian, William “Bill”
Downing of
If you have attended a HOJJ national reunion before, you
know that Saturday night is our big banquet event and this year’s banquet was
truly outstanding! In keeping with our theme of Patriotic Family Ties, the
banquet hall of the Woman’s Building was beautifully decorated by Janeen and
her team with balloons, flags and table decorations in red, white, and blue,
and most attendees were dressed in our patriotic colors as well. The total
effect was stunning. The Valdosta High NJROTC provided a color guard, and
Valdosta Mayor Jimmy Rainwater welcomed us all to
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Will Josey, of
We gave lots of prizes and awards at this year’s banquet.
Jackie presented the Top Recruiter award to Margaret Josey Howard of
Trophies were given in the following categories:
The couple married the longest (57 years) - Bobby and
Alice Josey of
The most recently married couple - Margaret and Henry
Raymond Smith of
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Most living children (7) - Windom and Karen Josey of Riddleville ,
GA
Longest distance traveled to reach the reunion - Will
Josey, who came from the banks of the
Youngest attendee - Catalina Juarez (10 weeks old), the
daughter of Amy Juarez of
Oldest attendee - Elsie Ferguson, Bud’s mother (We had 3 family members over 80 in attendance).
Ray presented three awards and I was delighted to be the recipient of his Appreciation Award. He said it was because I had been a mentor, coach, and sounding board to him, but I think
it was really because I let him con me into writing these articles! He inaugurated the President’s Award, which was presented to our tireless secretary-treasurer, Jackie Helfrich, for all of her hard work on our behalf. In addition to getting out the newsletters, Jackie is the Webmaster for our HOJJ website. If you have not already done so, be sure to check it out. She has done a fantastic job! A very special award was begun this year, the J. Edward “Bud” and Marion Josey Distinguished Service Award. This award will be presented to persons who have served the interests and pursued the goals of the Jossey/Josey family for many years. Ray explained that his inspiration was the saying “You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give”. Certainly no two people have done more for the House of Jossey/Josey for many years than Bud and Marion Josey, so it was appropriate that the award was presented in this its inaugural year to Bud and Marion. If you would like to nominate someone to be a future recipient of this award, notify Ray.
Throughout our banquet, Joel Hunt entertained us beautifully on the piano. Thank you Joel - you were great and quite a relief. When Ray said “my son-in-law will play the piano”, we were not sure what to expect. No wonder he was so proud of you!
In appreciation of the fine job Ray Josey has done as
president, the HOJJ family presented to him a framed, crocheted “JOSEY” made by
a woman from the county where he grew up,
After all of our awards were presented, Matt gave out more door prizes, and William Josey conducted our live auction of items made and contributed by family members. The auction earned the HOJJ almost $700 and was more fun than I could begin to relate - you just had to be there!
We had lots of first timers at this reunion, and at least
4 people who had attended every HOJJ Reunion we have had since 1989. Lots of
people had attended 4 or more Reunions - does that tell you something? Why don’t
YOU plan NOW to be at the next