What Do We Do Here?

At a Glance ….
The Indiana Snowbird Club will begin their twice-monthly breakfast meetings at 8:15 a.m., Thursday, January 13, 2011 at Lulu’s Restaurant in Gulf Shores.  Doors will open at 7:45 a.m.  Other meetings will be January 27, February 10 and 24, and March 10, same place and times.   You may make reservations by calling Doris Gammon at 981-6901-14153, Beverly Lockhart at 317-432-8708.   Meal cost is $8.00, with drink, tip and tax included.  A short program is part of every meeting.

We look for good attendance at the first January meeting for the Indiana Snowbird Club, scheduled for January 13.    The club meets at Lulu’s in Gulf Shores, located at Homeport Marina.   Doors open up at 7:45 a.m. with a rousing “Hello” to everyone, and the breakfast buffet with plenty of good food will get under way about 8:15.  The program for the morning will be a presentation by Mike Foster of the Alabama Gulf Coast Welcome Center, talking about the area, its many amenities, and what has happened over the summer.

The Indiana Club will again be active in many community events which are moving along in the planning process at the moment.  One of the largest projects, which all the clubs share in putting together, is the “Super BratFest”, planned this year for February 5, the first Saturday in February.  Hoosiers usually respond very well with volunteers, and sign-up sheets will be available at our first meeting for working in some aspect of the “drive-through”.  We’ll need “Wrappers and Packers” and plenty of “Order-Takers”.

We have two January meetings to enjoy before that happens.  The first meeting is one of reunion and celebration for the Indiana faithful, a chance to greet and share with all of our friends we see here in lower Alabama from year to year.   This is the time when we find out who had to shovel some snow just to get out of the driveway as they left for the south.  The second club breakfast is set for January 27, same time and place, and will feature another good program.  Plan to come and enjoy the time together.

President Doris Gammon will announce other club plans, giving you an opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of activities and opportunities to pitch in and help.
Beverly Lockhart is V.P. this year.  Charlotte McClurg is Secretary, and Shirley Plank is Treasurer.   Committee Chairpersons are already busy with various responsibilities, and all will be present to greet you and your guests and welcome you to the fun and camaraderie.

You may call Doris Gammon at 981-6901-14153 or Bev Lockhart at 317-432-8708 to log in a reservation.  A reservation is not necessary in order to attend a breakfast, but we like to be able to advise the restaurant how many to prepare for.  The cost is $8.00 per person, same as last year, and it includes drink, tax, and tip.  It also include a small amount for club expenses.   Memberships are also available at the meeting for $2.50 (per year) per person, and this money funds the traditional Indiana Club charitable donation to the community, which the club will vote on in February.

You don’t have to be a member to enjoy the twice monthly breakfasts, but that is a good way to support the club, and the club counts on memberships to raise funds to support our projects.  A good number of Hoosiers have already pre-registered as members and many thanks are due to them.    The Indiana Club Breakfasts have turned out to be a wonderful way to meet new friends and connect with old ones.   In that spirit, we look forward to seeing you there!

Club History

Indiana has a rich tradition of being “Winter Visitors” on the gulf coast. Is it the winter doldrums in that great lakes state that motivates so many Hoosiers to skedaddle out of the state to warmer climes during the winter months? The Indiana Snowbird Club was finally formed in 1996 – 1997. The first formation meeting was held in the old American Legion Hall on AL 59. That building is no longer there, but from the few individuals who were there, the club was born. The club is in session only during the several winter months that visitors are present, and since many Hoosiers do not even arrive until after January 1, we have settled on five regular meetings per season, beginning in January and ending in March. We have met in several different places over the years, but we were the first snowbird club to make arrangements at Lulu’s, on the north bank of the Intracoastal Waterway on Alabama 59 in Gulf Shores.

We have an average attendance at our breakfast buffets of approximately 160 members, who hail from all parts of Indiana. Last year, the club had 217 dues-paying members. Some live permanently in the south but still claim their heritage as a Hoosier. But we create a new membership list every year, members from every part of the state of Indiana, but we remain one of the smaller clubs meeting regularly.

It’s an interesting thing to observe, but Indiana has some of the most unusual names for towns of any of the Great Lakes states. That’s one of the conversational subjects batted around during our get-togethers. From “Fishers”, Indiana to “Eureka”, Indiana (shouted by everyone who manages to find the place). There are lots of Indian names for towns, too, such as “Shipshewana” and many others.

The beaches are the big attraction here for Hoosiers, as it is for other states. Some of our members spend the whole winter months in RVs in the state park, or in other well recognized RV Resort Parks. It’s hard to beat some of the friendships established in RV travel. Somehow, when travel brings you to the gulf coast of Alabama, where there is no ice and snow, folks just think they have found their own particular corner of the world. The decision to ‘come back’ or to “stay here” is made, and many have begun a second home here.