2004 & 2005 Summit Meeting

Jennifer James March 17, 2023 29 Comments

At our 2023 Summit Meeting, Betsy Kalapp read old emails from her big brother Deva Singh Khalsa which I requested a copy to share on our family blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! I’ve attached photos from a Summit Meeting I was privileged to attend in 2008.

Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Dear Cousins and Siblings,
As some of you may know, I was selected as a replacement for my father (Uncle Kendall Kalapp) at the recent Summit Meeting of our “Elders” (children of Mama D). They call this position an Adjunct (Kendall Kalapp and Harry Watts are called Adjuncts). An adjunct has always been a spouse of one of the “Elders” and may participate in the meetings, but has no vote on matters unless there is a tie. Aunt Carolyn James has replaced Uncle Richard James as a permanent member and has taken over the bookkeeping duties from Rose Mary Kalapp.
Well, now that I’ve officially informed you of all the formalities, I’ll let you know what really goes on! Oooops, I’m not allowed to say anything. Sorry.
What I can tell you is that, as you probably already know, we have VERY INCREDIBLE Uncles, Aunts, and Grandmother. At first I felt as if I was intruding on their special time together as siblings, but I was warmly received and looked upon with anticipation for bringing in new ideas. It’s absolutely amazing to sit in my mom’s living room and watch ten people have eight different conversations going on at the same time, how is that done? I couldn’t follow but one or two, and once I tried to get involved in onw, it was over and on to a completely different topic before I could say anything. WOW! I quickly knew that I was out of my league.
The most important topic of course, as is, with all James events is FOOD. I started out Sunday morning by making my famous multigrain, banana, walnut, and blueberry pancakes for all and have become an honorary member (at least for breakfast). Then it was quickly on to “what is for snacks after the meeting starts”? Then things started to heat up and get serious, Uncle Warren James banged the gavel to officially start the meeting. After a grueling 15-20 minutes of approving the minutes from the previous meetings, it was time for a FOOD break! These meetings are tough, but I sucked it up and was able to represent us admirably. I may not be able to follow any conversations, but I can eat with the best of them.
At 51, I was by far the youngest, and that fact wasn’t lost to the Elders. It’s ABSOLUTELY AMAZING at how young they all act and look (I know what you’re thinking, that I was given partial inheritances by all to say this). In South Florida 70 and 80 year olds have blue hair and you stay as far away as possible from them when they’re driving. These guys don’t know how to act old. When they’re together in this environment, it’s like they are living back in Jacksonville when they were 14 or 15 years old, just like younger siblings act. They tease each other, bring up old stories of when they were young and how they got away with different pranks etc. Mama D is right in the thick of it all, still acting like they are kids. I think we should have them start a reality show on TV, all of them living together with Mama D for a week. It would be a HUGE success, one of the funniest shows on TV.
I feel very honored to have been the first to participate in the Summit Meetings. It’s time for us to get more involved. It was decided to have two of us attend each year to have new and fresh ideas, and it will rotate, so most of you will get a chance to participate. It’s a lot of fun, very rewarding, educational, and mostly very humbling at what a great family we really have. I deeply thank all the “Elders” for welcoming me so graciously into their inner sanctum.
Sincerely,
Deva Singh Khalsa

Monday, March 7, 2005
Hello to all,
I’ve been a little delinquent in my report about the Summit of ’05, sorry for the delay as it wasn’t as hysterical as my first private encounter with “THE ELDERS”.
As usual though, food was and will probably continue (until there is no more teeth to chew) to be THE main topic prior to the gavel coming down.
There was much talk about Mama D and her broken foot and how it has changed her perspective on being by herself in the future. The whole meeting took on a much more serious tone concerning her future care and the other serious health conditions that have happened around the family this past year. It was brought up how fortunate this family has been and how healthy and long lasting we seem to be.
It should be noted that we did last just over an hour before our first and only break. WOW!! A big improvement from the fifteen minutes from ’04 Summit. Also, it continues to amaze me how dedicated, strong, committed, and unified “THE ELDERS” are towards the annual James reunion. It’s also time we, as the decedents of the elders, to step up and contribute towards the continuation of this great tradition.
This summer’s reunion in St. Augustine was discussed and some changes made prior to the flyer’s being sent out. It was soundly approved for a new site and all were very excited about having a fresh and upgraded hotel.
That was pretty much it, the meeting lasted a couple of hours and all were kind of drained from the discussions, and ready for a much needed food break.
Sincerely,
Deva S Khalsa