Our Story

 

In 2010, Gabrielle Alexis, may God rest her soul, decided to start a class reunion gathering  for her classmates of the 1971-72 promotion that entered the College Saint Louis de Jérémie, Haiti. Since we were a very close group of friends, she felt that it was time that we got together every year to reminisce, have a good time, and mostly age gracefully among close friends. The first gathering was supposed to take place in 2011 in South Florida until it was cancelled at the last minute of preparation.

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Tragically, on September 20, 2011, our pioneer, Gaby, succombed to a long illness valiantly fought. A few months later, once our pain had begun to subside, our resilient group composed of Alex Apollon and Garry Florestal, decided to make sure that her dream continued to live on. We were convinced that time was racing against us, but was not going to beat us to the finish line. The prevailing feeling became very clear; it was of the utmost importance to assure that funerals would no longer be our occasional opportunities for gathering.

 

We put the idea in motion and began to spread it on Facebook among friends. Garry received a call from Michel Paisible from Ottawa, Canada, who suggested that we called the group, "Les Amis de la Place Dumas de Jérémie". The whole process was in motion and the logistics were put in place. Alex and his wife Carine graciously offered their home in Palm Coast, Florida as the venue. As a result, May 25 - 27, 2012, the three days of the Memorial Day weekend, marked the First Annual Gathering of “Les Amis de la Place Dumas de Jérémie. Consequently, that said weekend had become the official weekend of the annual gathering and festivities for years to come. Please look at our Photo Gallery to drown your eyes in our slew of festivities and moments of joy.

 

Thank you for visiting us and enjoy!