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Our Founders
   
Shirley Duff Diane (Vince) White
HOW IT ALL STARTED
So many have said "I haven't heard of these reunions before", when did they get started? Well it all started one day in Vancouver when Diane White (1940 - 2017) and Shirley Duff met by chance at Woodward's Department Store. They made a luncheon date and discussed the possibility of organizing a reunion for peacetime Airwomen. The response was overwhelming!
Their first nominal roll contained 450 names. The University of British Columbia in Vancouver was booked, entertainment, refreshments, rooms and all necessary arrangements were made. Many times during the planning they would look at each other and say "What have we undertaken?". "Can we do it?"
With friends phoning their encouragement they carried on, and, after two years of extensive planning, held a very successful 1st reunion in June 1990 at UBC in Vancouver, BC. Approximately 175 women attended, coming from all parts of Canada, the US and Mariana Islands. A reunion cannot be held without a lot of help and the Committee members for that first reunion were Rose Beckman (McLay) (now deceased) Betty Dillon (Jarvis) (now deceased), Marlene Gibbons (Welsh), and Sandy Long (Farr).
1st Reunion Logo
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