Fed up with attrition clauses and the financial risk inherent in today’s corporate hotel contracts? Don’t worry, Armed Forces Reunions, Inc. (AFR) is to the rescue! AFR’s founder, Ted Dey, recently co-authored the first third party Military Reunion Hotel Contract with one of the nation’s leading hotel contract attorneys for non-profit organizations – Barbara Dunn with Chicago law firm Barnes & Thornburg LLP. What is so special about this? AFR’s contract is written for military reunions by the nation’s leading advocates for non-profits in general, and military reunions in particular. Over the decades AFR has developed a vast network of reunion-friendly hotel partners that honor and appreciate military reunions. Consider AFR the USA’s National Reunion Bureau. We will guide your group to the best reunion hotel with the best rates, no matter where you want to go.

With the Covid-19 pandemic in mind, leading attorney Barbara Dunn says: “Now more than ever it is critical that a reunion group’s hotel contract reflect best practices and address all possible contingencies. Armed Forces Reunions’ Military Reunion Hotel Contract provides groups with the best chance of putting key contract provisions in place and expediting hotel contract negotiations.”

Every year Armed Forces Reunions books thousands of room-nights in hotels nationwide. Our enormous buying power will guarantee your group the best room rates and the most concessions. Having booked thousands of groups in over 150 cities nationwide we know what hotels are reunion-friendly. Especially for smaller reunions, say goodbye to financial risk and the threatening attrition language in corporate hotel contracts. We are here to help your Reunion Chairman get it right – at no cost!

Is your Group around 100 attendees or less? AFR launched BookMyReunion.com to connect smaller reunion groups directly to the most ‘reunion-friendly’ hotels nationwide that accept AFR’s Risk Free Military Reunion Hotel Contract for small groups. Check out what cities are offered and get started on your next hassle-free reunion by heading to BookMyReunion.com/Top-Destinations

Covid-19 wreaked havoc on our nation’s businesses, large and small. But no industry was hit worse than the hotel industry. It’s sad to see so many of our hotel friends furloughed. But what does this mean for reunions? Bargaining power! We are in a buyer’s market for the first time in over a decade. With over 30 years of booking reunions nationwide, family-owned and operated AFR will guide your group to reunion-friendly hotels wherever you’d like to go.

We recently partnered with one of the nation’s premier hotel contract law firms to develop the most reunion-friendly hotel contract ever. Hotel contracts are typically written for hotels by big law firms hired by major hotel chains. AFR, the nation’s premier booking agency for military reunions, will soon provide reunion groups with the ultimate tool in booking hotels with no room attrition, great rates, and buckets of concessions.

Get a professional on your side and take the hassle out of seeking the best hotel for your group. Thank you for your service and we look forward to serving you. Please call Ted Dey or Charley Dey at 1-800-562-7226 or 757-625-6401. Or email at ted@afri.com or charley@afri.com.

Closed due to COVID–19, Molly and Ted Dey couldn’t get an up-close visit to southwest Colorado’s Puebloan Cliff Dwellings or the Four Corners Monument where Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah meet. However, they were able to drive through Mesa Verde National Park before trekking through the mountains of Southwest Colorado, transiting the Million Dollar Highway and the seasonal Kebler Pass for the final week of their America the Beautiful tour in the Crested Butte area

A lunch stop in Ridgway (epicenter for the filming of John Wayne’s academy-award winning True Grit) at the True Grit Café was a must for Ted – a longtime John Wayne fan.

“Once in Mesa Verde Park we found a good vantage point where even from a distance we could see the Puebloan people’s impressive ingenuity in building the cliff dwellings more than 800 years ago,” said Molly Dey, President of Armed Forces Reunions, Inc. “The 52,485-acre refuge park was established in 1906 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site protecting 5,000 Puebloan archeological locations and the largest such preserve in America. It would have been great to get a tour of the dwellings, but exploring Colorado’s Rocky Mountains in and around Crested Butte provided more than we imagined.”

10,007-foot Kebler Pass is on a 30-mile gravel mountain road that runs between the town of Crested Butte and Paonia State Park, and a popular short-cut to Aspen in non-winter months. The stretch is part of the West Elk Loop Scenic Byway and offers a marvelous panorama of alpine vistas, streams, lakes, meadows and wildlife, including moose sightings. It also is home to one of best fall foliage displays in America courtesy thousands of Aspen trees.

This area of Southwest Colorado is home to one of the largest aspen clones in the country. “The aspens were at full peak during our stay, and it was like seeing rolling waves of Yellow Brick Road,” Ted said. “Above the trees were endless mountain canopies and striking terrain. We could see the two 14,000-foot plus peaks of the iconic Maroon Bells in the far distance”, Molly adds.

The couple four-wheeled, biked and hiked throughout the region, including stops at Ruby Anthracite Trail, Pearl Pass, and Gothic Mountain. The Deys found an idyllic spot at Kebler Corner Campground, the western terminus of Kebler Pass, where the Anthracite Creek and Gunnison River converge. “With 25 RV spaces, several cabins, outdoor event space, and world-class fly-fishing it is the perfect spot for a family reunion,” says Ted.

One of the literal climaxes of the tour was driving the Million Dollar Highway, one of the most scenic and spectacular roads in America, albeit dangerous. Part of the San Juan Skyway, the stunning stretch runs between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado where the mountains rise more than 11,000 feet with hairpin turns, few guardrails and steep drops. “It was a challenge to drive and not look at the mesmerizing scenery,” said Ted, “but we made it.”

Thank you to all who have followed their journey, and soon we’ll release a video homage to America the Beautiful, for it truly is an amazing place to live!

In many locations a 150 million year trip back in time, Moab, Utah on the Colorado Plateau is a gateway city to several national and state parks that date to the Jurassic Period. The region includes Arches National Park and its 2,000 primordial and surreal sandstone red rock formations, the largest density on earth. Adjacent is Canyonlands National Park and its remote rugged canyons, towering red cliffs and mesas forged by the Colorado and Green rivers. Dinosaur tracks can still be found in the parks and bones of the giants are on exhibit at the Moab Museum.

Moab and its surrounding parks were the fourth leg of Armed Forces Reunions, Inc.’s America the Beautiful tour and blog. Founder and President Ted and Molly Dey went on an endurance run hiking, biking,  and four wheeling through the ancient and spectacular terrain.

“Arches is an enchanted outcropping of nature’s other worldly art, vibrant towers that bloom from the desert,” said Molly Dey, President of Armed Forces Reunions, Inc. “Canyonlands has a prehistoric look and feel. We often felt like we were on an archeological expedition.  Flowing deep below us was the mighty Colorado River, which carved this masterpiece just as it had the Grand Canyon.”

Arches National Monument was established in 1875, made a national park in 1971 and enlarged in 1998 to 76,519 acres. More than 1.5 people visit annually to marvel at the incredible formations and enjoy hiking, biking, rock climbing, camping and more. Highlights include Courthouse Towers, Devil’s Garden, Delicate Arch, Balanced Rock, Colorado River and the 12,000-foot La Sal Mountains to the east.

Canyonlands was established in 1964 and enlarged to 337,958 acres in 1971. Nearly 800,000 visitors come each year for hiking, biking, four wheeling, white water rafting and horseback riding along trails through its four districts: Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the Rivers, which offers views of lush growth and water wildlife that contrast from the desert landscape. The Maze is the most remote and challenging destination in the park, a dry labyrinth of canyons, high cliffs and sandstone terrain with very difficult roads and trails.

“It is hard to fathom the difficulties faced by European settlers in this forbidding, magically sculpted terrain.  At the same time, it is amazing to consider how ancient natives lived so harmoniously in the canyons and crevasses – as evidenced by petroglyphs throughout the parks.  Rock formations are so monumental and foreboding, it feels like riding through the land of Pharaohs, and that Khartoum could be just around the bend,” said Armed Forces Reunion, Inc.’s Founder Ted Dey.

The next stop on the Dey’s America the Beautiful tour is Mesa Verde and Kebler Pass, Colorado so stay tuned.

Photo credits: Ted Dey