A few final thoughts before this thread falls through the cracks for another year...

1) quite a few forum members have expressed an interest in regional get-togethers

2) those who aren't retired yet need to plan vacations well in advance because most employers want a rough draft of planned vacation time by the end of January.

3) The upshot is that anybody who is serious about hosting something should announce a tentative date ASAP. Details can be worked out later, but that would give people time to plan, and it would give the host advance notice of attendance.