laying the wreath at the American section of the National cemetery in Normandy

Antony France

Trip 2009

Please find below a letter to the Company following our presentation about the Re-dedication Ceremony in Antony, France. 
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Dear Minutemen,

Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak at your meeting on March 19 about the invitation from Antony, Lexington’s sister-city in France, to march in their town and take part of the re-dedication ceremony of their “Place de Lexington”. 

Based on all the input we have received, we have confirmed that the re-dedication will take place on September 19, 2009.

Having met with the Mayor and other officials from Antony, we know they feel the presence of the Minutemen is vital to the event, and they hope many in the Company will be able to make the trip.  

In addition to organizing the dedication ceremony, the Antony officials have proposed:

•    putting a bus at our disposition to transport the Minutemen for the dedication, as well as to take the delegation to visit Paris and other famous tourist sites
•    assisting us with booking our hotels and tours of regional sites
•    holding a reception in our honor

List of Minutemen Potentially Interested

At the meeting we circulated a list for those present to note their interest, which many of you signed expressing an interest in possibly traveling to Antony for the event.  We have typed up the list and attached it to this email. 

Please do not hesitate to contact John Patrick if you would like to add your name, have us correct information or make any other changes.  John can be reached by email at john_m_patrick@yahoo.com

Copy of Presentation

As requested at the meeting, also please find attached a copy of the presentation, which provides information about:

•    the Lexington-Antony sister-city relationship
•    the re-dedication ceremony on Saturday, September 19
•    the opportunity for the Minutemen to march the weekend before in Antony’s 22nd annual Wine and Cheese Festival (September 11-13 2009)
•    sample suggested excursions to famous sites in France to be organized by the town of Antony during week between the festival and re-dedication (Antony will provide bus transportation and arrange for us to pay group rates on attractions where possible)

(The Presentation can be viewed on the following pages)


Answers to Questions Raised at Meeting

We have started to look into the questions you asked during the presentation and can already provide a few answers:

Hotel bookings in Antony

The officials in Antony in charge of the re-dedication have offered to arrange a group booking for hotel rooms at modern Antony hotels.  The rates for these rooms are estimated to be: eu70/single ($95), eu80 double ($108) per night. 

We are looking question about family-friendly hotel rooms and will get back to you shortly with more information.

Flights to Paris

Atlas Travel in Lexington has agreed to support us in arranging flights.   We will continue to work with you and Atlas Travel to see how the costs of flights can be kept as low as possible (for example through group bookings). 

A quick look at prices today shows fares ranging between $700 and $1,000 depending on airline and whether the flight is non-stop.  These fares do NOT reflect group discounts.

Excursions

A question was asked at the meeting whether it would be possible to add to the list of excursions a trip to visit the D-Day beaches and American cemetery in Normandy to the list of potential excursions during the week.

We are following up with our contacts in Antony to see how might be arranged.

The transport of muskets, bayonets and powder

We will continue to work with you and travel providers on the best solution for transporting these essentials.


Thank you again for your interest in this big event.

We would be happy to respond to any questions you might have regarding the trip to Antony.   For any queries you may have please contact John Patrick on:  john_m_patrick@yahoo.com

Sincerely,

Lexington Antony Sister City Association (LASCA)