message from the president · have been waiting for…2017 family reunion registration has...

November 2016 The Royes Report 1

2015 – 2017

Executive Committee

Chris Patterson President

Carol Smith-Royes Vice President

Carol Campbell Treasurer

Melissa Williams General Secretary

Tricia Royes de Jong Communications & Correspondence

Secretary

Neville ‘Rhomane’ Graham Caribbean Regional Leader

Radcliff ‘Andy’ Morgan Western USA Regional Leader

Philip Royes Northeastern USA/Canada

Regional Leader

Casey Holmes-Forrest Southeastern USA Regional Leader

Jensy Barrett Central/South America

Regional Leader

JeanMarie Royes Europe/Asia/Australia

Regional Leader

Message from The President CALLING ALL "LOST" FAMILY MEMBERS…

In our history, we have had ten family reunions. I wish I could have attended them all but I missed two. I missed the Jamaica reunion in 2002 and the Costa Rica reunion in 2004. However, I saw pictures and heard stories about the good family times that everyone had at those reunions. Last year during the Saturday evening banquet at the Jewel Resort reunion, I sat back and watched as Charles and Joyce, Winston and Joy, Clarence and Carol, Verna (Cherry) and Edwin, Linette (Nettie), Hartley and Marcia were recognized for attending all 10 family reunions. Although I celebrated their recognition, I also felt a bit envious and regretful that I was not a member of the exclusive club of family members who attended every reunion. But then I thought, I missed those two reunions due to the births of my two children. My daughter Marley was born in 2002 and my daughter Paige was born in 2004. I had two very good reasons for missing those family reunions. As we approach our next family reunion in Orlando, Florida, I look forward to fun, fellowship and enjoying family during that time. I look forward to seeing Tricia and Erik from the Netherlands and Jeanmarie from England. I look forward to meeting new family members like Sidney and Terry from Michigan and Dora from Costa Rica, all of whom I met for the first time at the Jewel Resort in Jamaica. But I also want to reconnect with family members that I have not seen for several years and who have not attended a family reunion in a long time. I call these our "lost" family members. Family who for some reason or another have not recently attended a family reunion. I want to bring them back. I want to find these "lost" family members.


Help me to find these "lost" family members. Help me to bring them back. If you know a family member who has not recently attended a family reunion, lay some crumbs so that he or she may follow the trail to Orlando. Reach out to them. Give them a call. Send them an email. Text them. Ask them to attend. Tell them to attend. Remind them of how good it feels to immerse yourself in family during reunion weekend. Remind them that reunion weekend registration has started. Now it may not be financially feasible for some family members to attend the family reunion. But for all those who can, let's bring them out and bring them back. Let's get them to the site of the happiest place on earth. Orlando in 2017 will be one of our biggest and best family reunions. It definitely will be a "can't-miss" event. So unless they have a very good reason, let's get these "lost" family members to Orlando for reunion weekend and maybe they will feel a bit envious and regretful that they missed any of our previous Royes family reunions. See you all in Orlando, and remember that together we are strong.

Chris Patterson President

A photo reminder… Check out our Photo Gallery page today to see if you see anyone familiar, and you might even see yourself! Clicking on any of the pictures will open a large copy of the photo (like the great ones on the left!), which you can download/share if you wish. If you'd like to add any photos of family members/family events to our photo gallery please send them to us at [email protected] or [email protected]. We're looking forward to your photos, so thanks in advance for sending them!


Message from the Treasurer

Your 2016 annual family pledge is sorely needed, so please pay your family dues today! A US$10.00 pledge amount is due annually from each adult (18+) Royes family member who is not currently a student. You may pay your household dues:

ü directly to your Regional Representative

ü using PayPal on theroyesfamily.com

ü by sending a check to: Carol Royes-Campbell Royes Family International

PO Box 741484 Boynton Beach, Florida FL 33437 Thank you in advance for the timely submission of your pledges!

Carol Campbell Treasurer

WHY YOU NEED TO PAY YOUR FAMILY DUES

Those of you who attended the 2015 Family Reunion will recall that we voted to change the family dues from US$25.00 per household to US$10.00 per adult. Many of us have not been paying our dues for various reasons, and as a result the family ‘coffers’ are quite bare. Organizations need money to survive and thrive. Your dues are required to maintain our website, to maintain our bank account, to pay for Ancestry.com which we use for our family tree, and take care of other operational costs. We are also trying to establish a financial base to enable the organization to be in a position to do some charitable work within the family, to support our adopted school (York Castle Primary) and act on other worthwhile ideas and suggestions coming from family members. Please put Royes Family International on your gift list or add us to your budget - it is only US$10.00! You can pay via the PayPal quick link on the website, give it to your Regional Representative in cash, mail a check, take your pick, just pay it!


Wedding bells rang in Costa Rica...

Kimberly Baily and Karl Buchanan were married on 15 October 2016. Karl is the son of Marva Buchanan and grandson of Olive Correoso Ferguson. The wedding took place in San Jose, Costa Rica. We wish them a lifetime of everlasting love and happiness. Congratulations, lovebirds!

…and in Jamaica!

Neville Graham and Jodi Morris were joined in matrimony on 19 November 2016 in St. Ann, Jamaica. Neville is the son of Deloris Royes-Graham and grandson of Ogan Royes.

Photos of the happy event will be published on our website as soon as they are available!

National honour for EG Hunter!

Royes Family International salutes E. G. Hunter on the award of Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD) by the Government of Jamaica in recognition of his outstanding service to the nation.

E. G., who is the husband of Nesta-Claire (daughter of Lynette Smith and granddaughter of Ogan Royes), was conferred with his award by the Governor General at Kings House in Kingston, Jamaica on 17 October 2016. See more photos on our site.

Here are a couple of items published recently on our website:

• Costa Rica family day • London family day


IT’S FINALLY TIME!! THE NEWS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR…2017 FAMILY REUNION REGISTRATION HAS STARTED!!

We are pleased to announce that Royes Family Reunion #11 will be held from Thursday July 27, 2017 to Sunday July 30, 2017 in Orlando, Florida at the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld. The DoubleTree at SeaWorld is an upscale 4-star hotel that is located in the heart of Orlando's theme park and entertainment district. The hotel is close to Orlando’s most popular attractions and only ten minutes away from Orlando International Airport. Located on 28 lush acres adjacent to SeaWorld Orlando, DoubleTree at SeaWorld offers warm hospitality, stylish guest rooms, and an array of features such as 3 large outdoor pools, a putting green, fitness center, business center, game room, and miniature golf course. It also has an island-like feel with numerous outdoor paths and walkways, several hammocks to enjoy, and an overall relaxing atmosphere. Orlando is a fantastic reunion and vacation destination. Visiting Orlando on your own is great. But can you imagine how wonderful it will be to visit Orlando, the site of the happiest

place on the Earth, with over 200 of your closest family members?! This reunion is one that you can’t miss! Registration has started, so make your plans and register early! The reunion cost has been kept as low as possible to ensure that you will be there. The cost includes excellent hotel accommodations for 3 nights, all activities, daily breakfast and dinner, the Saturday night banquet, the reunion magazine, and a limited edition reunion t-shirt. The Planning Committee has devised a payment plan to make it easy for you to plan and budget for the reunion. However, if you prefer or are able, we encourage you to pay in full as early as possible. We only have limited rooms available at the low reunion rate, so please register early! Register now and make your payment so that you are not left out! The registration form and cost information are linked below:

• registration-form-royes-family-reunion-2017

• royes-family-reunion-2017-information-package

Any questions about the reunion should be sent to [email protected]. We are really looking forward to seeing you in Orlando in July and hope that you are as excited as we are!

The 2017 Reunion Planning Committee


One of the important initiatives funded by your pledges is the newly launched Royes Family outreach program. The main aim of the program is to reach out and touch those family members who are in need of a personal touch - those who need some extra support because they are going through a rough time,

those who have happy news and also those who just need a cheery word! The gestures of the program may take many forms, and we hope to make a positive difference in the lives of those in the family who need it most. Some people may receive an electronic card (ecard) and others may receive a greeting card in the post – it depends on the situation! If you know anyone in the family who could use one of these gestures, please send us their name and mailing address – you can reach us at [email protected].


2016 Family Pledge

So many family members have already paid their 2016 pledges that we can’t fit them all here! See the full list of paid pledges here, and add your name to the list today! Here’s an overview of the number of family members who have paid their pledges over the past few years:

Remember, pay your pledge today and add your name to the list! Need a reminder about why you pay? Click here. You canpay via the PayPal quick link on thewebsite, give it to yourRegionalRepresentativeincash,mailacheck,takeyourpick,justpayit!

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Caribbean

Region by

Neville Graham

GREETINGS FROM THE CARIBBEAN REGION!

The past few months have been relatively quiet. It has been raining more than usual, but we can’t complain!

Everyone is looking forward to Christmas. We will have a family meeting in January of 2017 to try and get everyone up to speed with family

happenings.

We plan to organize a get together during Easter 2017 in York Castle. Details of this will be circulated and we are definitely looking forward to the reunion next year.

Always remember: “You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.”

WEstern

USA by

Andy Morgan

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT…

Brooke-Noélle Royes, daughter of Karl Royes (grandson of Ogan Royes and son of Hartley Royes) is attending John Marshal Law school in Chicago with a year and a half to go.

Brooke-Noélle is a graduate of The University of California, San Diego.

We wish her well as she continues her studies.


Northeastern

USA/Canada by

Phil Royes

GREETINGS FROM THE NORTH-EASTERN (NE) REGION! As we transition into cooler (colder) weather along with the holiday season we should reflect on how blessed we are to part of this extended family.

The board members are continuing to meet on a monthly basis to drive improvements and to plan the July 2017 Family Reunion. We have also tapped into social media to identify additional family members in our region and I am hopeful many of them will attend the reunion.

While the NE region is vast I am still hopeful to bring some of us together. We want to ensure we have the most accurate contact information and as such we have kicked off an effort to update the current member records.

Please reach out to me directly with any questions or comments.

Southeastern

USA by

Casey Holmes-Forrest

HELLO FAMILY! HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL! We got together this year for our annual picnic, graduation party, fundraisers, funerals and to support each other at different events.

While there will be other events throughout the next 8 months, it's now time for our 2017 family reunion. Similar to previous planning committees, we worked hard and long to procure the best value for you to ensure

your attendance at the reunion. The planning meetings and negotiations were exhilarating to say the least. Through it all, there was a singular focus... YOU!

As a reminder, registration is now open and the contracted rooms are going quite fast! We urge you to register as quickly


as possible to secure the reservations covered within the negotiated room allotment and at the best rate.

What's next? Well, the committee's work continues from now to beyond the family reunion. We will be collecting and tabulating registrations, processing room/room sharing request assignments and planning daily and nightly events. While we continue to toil, none of this is possible without YOU the family.

Central/South

America by

Jensy Barrett

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DORA MARLENE ROYES

GORDON…

Dora Marlene Royes Gordon is one of the Royes who lives in Costa Rica, and her daughter Jensy has written a beautiful article about her life.

To read this piece and see more photos of Dora and her family, please click here.

Europe/Asia

Australia by

Jeanmarie Royes

NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE EUROPEAN FAMILY

In September 2015, I travelled to Birmingham to attend the funeral of Joycelyn M. Johnson, first cousin of my belated father, Neville D. Royes. Although not a joyous occasion, it gave me the opportunity to meet up with

many of my second cousins.

Tricia Royes de Jong and myself had spoken about the idea of getting together a family day for the region. At the time we were both very excited about holding an event in 2016.


The year came, and by September we wondered where it had gone. With three weeks to go, Tricia mobilised me into getting an event organised for Saturday 1 October.

We were both worried about the uncertainty of the British weather, but like true troopers we did not let this deter our venture. At the worst it would be Tricia, Erik and myself singing in the rain.

Although a small impromptu occasion, we were really pleased to have 11 members of the Royes Family who joined the Londoners. Our family had travelled from The

Netherlands, Portsmouth and The Midlands to be part of this occasion and I would like to thank them all. Tricia has added an article about the 2016 event on our website where you can see what a great time we had.

We have already kick-started the 2017 event, which will be held in the Midlands in May, and you are all welcome!

For all those who attended the family reunion at Starfish, Jamaica – it has now become The Royalton at Montego Bay. I attended the wedding of my niece (on my mother’s side) and would like to report that the new owners have greatly upgraded the facilities. We had a wonderful time there!


Hopefully you’ve noticed, but in case you hadn’t, we’ve started a monthly list of the Royes

birthdays on the website! Curious to see who has a birthday next month? Visit the news item on

theroyesfamily.com! If you’d like to have your birthday listed on the birthday page, drop us a

line and let us know!

If you would like to share your news and keep up with the rest of the family…

• visit our website: theroyesfamily.com • drop us a line: [email protected] • like our Facebook page • join our Facebook group • contact your regional representative • follow us on Twitter: @theroyesfamily • follow us on Instagram: theRoyesfamily • Subscribe to our YouTube channel • view our Flickr photostream

What can you send to us?

ü Births ü Deaths ü Marriages ü Christenings ü Graduations ü Important dates ü Birthdays ü Event announcements ü Engagements ü Party news ü Anything else you’d like to share…

message from the president · have been waiting for…2017 family reunion registration has...

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