Sommerer Family Website

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heits point

2025 Reunion Information

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Here is the long awaited 2025 reunion information. As is our custom, the information has been divided into four separate pages to make things easier to find and/or to make everything more confusing:

  • General Information quick notes:
    • Start there. That page has most of the information you want.
    • Dates: Friday, July 4 through Sunday, July 6. But some people may be arriving on Thursday, July 3.
  • Reservation Page quick notes:
    • We will continue to work so that the oldest members of the family can have rooms in the Spitz Center if they want them.
    • We’re once again asking for information from people who are coming to the reunion, but not staying at Heit’s Point, so that we can get a more accurate head count for meals.
  • Meal Page quick notes:
    • Aunt Lolly (and/or Grandma Lolly, Great grandma Lolly, and Sister Lolly) will be providing the evening meal on Friday. The menu will be fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, and desert. You don’t have to bring anything.
    • We will be having 3 meals again on Saturday.
    • There is a sign-up “sheet” for what to bring for lunch on Saturday.
  • Schedule Page quick notes:
    • After the more or less successful dish washing schedule last year, we are making a general Job Board. You can sign up for things or Pete will sign you up.
    • If you want anything added to the schedule, just let Lloyd know.

Things you need to do:

  • Let Christina know how many of you are coming and what, if any, lodging you need on the reservation page near the bottom.
  • Let Lloyd Jr. know what you’d like to sign up to bring for Saturday lunch on the meal page near the bottom.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you can use the comment area at the bottom of any of these pages to make your feelings known.

If any of the links don’t work, let Lloyd know.

2024 Reunion After-Action-Review

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Customarily, I write up my thoughts on this year’s reunion and possible changes for next year. You guys are all welcome to add your own thoughts and ideas in the comments below. It’s a lot more fun if you do.

2025 reunion dates: Friday, July 4th to Sunday, July 6th

We had a total of about 102 people at the reunion this year, including about 10 of the “Nebraska Sommerers” who I’ve been inviting down for years. If was nice that some of them could make it, and I was disappointed that I missed them by a few hours. They are about your third cousins (more or less, depending on who you are).

Including the money given during church, you guys raised a little over $13,000 for the outdoor kitchen during the reunion, which brings the total to over $18,000. So nice work everyone. You’ll also be happy to know that the “Jim’s Beer fund” is fully endowed thanks to a generous donation made in Greer Baker’s name. A more fitting tribute to Greer could not possibly have been found.

Also, Linda and Bill have donated the money for the bricks for our family members who have passed away recently. You guys are the best.

Several people told me, and I completely agree, that taking the family picture before supper was an excellent idea, and we should continue to do that in the future. We didn’t have people wandering off, and it gave us at least a half hour more daylight for the softball game.

I also thought that the fans for the potluck tables were a great addition as well. Let’s do that again as well.

Thanks to everyone who signed up on the job boards. If you felt like there were not enough people to do a job with you, say something in the comments, and we’ll add more people to that job. If there are additional jobs that need to be added, please mention that as well.

Sam and I talked about coming up with a better system for hanging things up. We’ll work on that for next year.

I thought the meals went pretty well this year. Some of you told me that for lunch we ended up with:

  • Too many olives (one small black and one small green would be fine).
  • Too much snack cheese. I don’t know if I agree with that, because I took the extra home (Thanks Andrew), and have been enjoying it very much.
  • Not quite enough sandwich cheese (this was actually my fault, and didn’t have anything to do with the list).
  • Exactly the right amount of lettuce. I mean, like, to the leaf.

It’s pretty hard to predict just what we will need for lunch, because we make the list before we know how many people are coming. Your best bet is to sign up for something that you wouldn’t mind having to take the extras home with you. But I do appreciate the feedback, and will adjust the items for next year accordingly. As always, add any additional changes needed in the comments below.

We were maybe a little heavy on the main dishes, and a little light on sides and salads the first night. I don’t know what everyone brings for that first night, so I’m not entirely sure what the fix is. It could be signing up for two of those three items, or maybe just a spot we can say what we’re bringing so that people can look at the list and decide what they want to bring. Or maybe it wasn’t a problem at all, and I should leave well enough alone.

Summer(er) Kitchen Update

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Jim sent in this update about the Outdoor Kitchen Project:

Hello all!  This is an approximate drawing of the Sommerer Kitchen.  The size will be 13′ 6″ X 13′ 6″.  This drawing doesn’t show it, But I have an approximately 30″ x 72″ very nice grill. It will be free standing, and possibly movable. The estimated cost of this project will be around $15,500, for the Cadillac.  Materials only! Janine is on board and ready to get started this fall but we are short of funds. 

We’ve been talking about this for a couple of years, and have donated some money toward the project. You can read what we’ve said in the past here. Maybe we should do a special collection this year? We did something similar for the new roof project a few years ago and raised over $10,000.

Not too late to use your Thrivent Action Plans for Heit’s Point or elsewhere!

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My mom, Aunt Jane to some of you, sent this to me:

Dear family,

I talked to Mark Nolte at Heit’s Point today.  If you have unused Thrivent projects you can turn them in before the end of 2020 to be used between January and April of 2021.  To use them for Heit’s Point, mark it as a servant project.  Your part will be coordinating and planning.  He has had several go through as “Help with Volunteering” for whatever is needed.  Set the use as supplies and an amount of $250.00. You can even change the address to: 

Mark Nolte
Heit’s Point Lutheran Ministries
28345 Heit’s Point Ave.
Lincoln, Mo. 65338

That way, you will not have to get the project to him (it will be sent right to Heit’s point).  If you do not want to use it for Heit’s Point,  find another worthwhile project and submit for.  It has to be done before the end of December.

And I would just add that if don’t live in Missouri, it is probably easier to pick a local charity to use the free $500 dollars that everyone with a Thrivent Insurance policy or Retirement Account has.

Becky’s Change Challenge

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Dear Family,

As you have read in Lloyd’s Family Emails about Heit’s Point, I Have Been CHALLENGED. With a lot of thought, this is my response and my challenge back at the Family. HERE I GO…

I am going to confess my DEEP Dark Secret of my Life!!! I am a JAR hoarder!!! I humor myself by filling them with coins. My sister has given me many unique wine and whisky bottles (EMPTY) over the years to fill with coins. 

This was a head shaker for my son when we moved. His dad had to tell him, quote, “Don’t ask, just move them.” The Jars of Coins come with stories throughout my married life. They were backup money for vacations, or taxes, or “give a life lesson to your son about giving….”

My story with my son is a Jar of Dimes. When my son graduated from high school and went off to college, it was very hard for me to come home from work with him not there. I was thankful for Christmas Vacation and his return home. His return came with the statement, “I have no money for Christmas Gifts.”My lesson to him was to sit down at the table and to sort and roll a Jar of Dimes. Then he could take them to the bank and cash them in for Christmas Gift Money. 

That day was great. We laughed. We talked about presents for his dad. We bet on how much money the dimes would make. I got good quality time out of that Jar of Dimes.

This is my answering challenge to Lloyd and Pete: I am giving 1 Jar of Dimes, 1 Jar of Nickels, 1 Jar of Pennies and 1 Jar of Quarters. I challenge you to clean the cupholders in your car and your ashtrays. Give your change to Heit’s Point. Give a week’s allowance. Give what you can because it is getting doubled by our Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. I intend to take their money, and thank you to them for offering it. 

Becky Cary