Mission
To come together as families and friends to celebrate life, enjoy fellowship, share adventures, laugh, play, and collectively experience new and exciting things. We will hold a reunion at least biennially for the purpose of camaraderie, having fun, participating in spirited competition with games and sport, uplifting our spirits, and edifying our faith.
History
“Hicks and Slicks,” originally known as “Country Hicks and City Slickers,” has always been a reunion of families as opposed to a family reunion. Although participants are not all blood related, they all consider each other family. The original gathering was born from a casual conversation among friends on Labor Day 1969 in Manassas, Virginia. The family friends involved in this conversation were Marguerite Stone, Esther and Joe Gaines, Henry and Josephine Stewart. The plan was to return to Manassas in the spring of the following year for a gathering of New York City families and Manassas families for a weekend of fun, an outdoor cookout, entertainment, and games.
Everyone who attended the 1970 gathering had so much fun that it was decided between Marguerite Stone and her nephew, Paul Odems, that this get together should be an annual happening. Marguerite and her other nephew, Eric Stewart, came up with the group name Country Hicks and City Slickers since half of the families participating resided in New York and the other half lived in Manassas which was at that time a relatively rural country town in Virginia. The 1971 gathering took place in New York City and in 1972 it returned to Manassas. From the very beginning there has always been a natural competitive rivalry between the country and city family members when competing at card games, board games, horseshoes, and other athletic events.
Over the years, the friendly rivalry has continued between the country and city participants. The Hicks and Slicks group has always been comprised of all ages and generations, from infants to teens to great grandparents. The family event has been a gathering held every couple of years for over four decades. The format of the event has taken on many forms. Gathering venues have been weekend barbecues, backyard cookouts, camping in tents, cabins in the mountains, cross country road trips, island getaways, lakeside retreats, Caribbean cruises, vacation resort lodges, and state park picnics. Regardless of the venue, the reunion usually consists of certain elements: friendly competition of games, a talent show, bingo, Christian fellowship, birthday recognitions, honoree presentation, and commemorative t-shirts.
Marguerite planned and coordinated the Country Hicks and City Slickers reunion for many years and was the heart, soul, and face of the organization until she passed away in 2001. Often she used the gathering as a means of providing an enjoyable vacation and education opportunity for underprivileged kids who she sponsored to participate from within her church community and around the neighborhood. Marguerite Stone was Country Hicks and City Slickers’ first lead reunion coordinator. In 1990, Marguerite passed the torch to her grandson, Darren Skinner, who has coordinated many of the reunions since. A few reunions were also planned and hosted by other lead individuals: Hess Moore and Shiree Skinner. There were also committees formed in recent years to make destination, format, and other reunion decisions. In the years to come, Hicks and Slicks hopes to continue their long-standing tradition of reunion gatherings with plans for international trips and other exciting events.
Everyone who attended the 1970 gathering had so much fun that it was decided between Marguerite Stone and her nephew, Paul Odems, that this get together should be an annual happening. Marguerite and her other nephew, Eric Stewart, came up with the group name Country Hicks and City Slickers since half of the families participating resided in New York and the other half lived in Manassas which was at that time a relatively rural country town in Virginia. The 1971 gathering took place in New York City and in 1972 it returned to Manassas. From the very beginning there has always been a natural competitive rivalry between the country and city family members when competing at card games, board games, horseshoes, and other athletic events.
Over the years, the friendly rivalry has continued between the country and city participants. The Hicks and Slicks group has always been comprised of all ages and generations, from infants to teens to great grandparents. The family event has been a gathering held every couple of years for over four decades. The format of the event has taken on many forms. Gathering venues have been weekend barbecues, backyard cookouts, camping in tents, cabins in the mountains, cross country road trips, island getaways, lakeside retreats, Caribbean cruises, vacation resort lodges, and state park picnics. Regardless of the venue, the reunion usually consists of certain elements: friendly competition of games, a talent show, bingo, Christian fellowship, birthday recognitions, honoree presentation, and commemorative t-shirts.
Marguerite planned and coordinated the Country Hicks and City Slickers reunion for many years and was the heart, soul, and face of the organization until she passed away in 2001. Often she used the gathering as a means of providing an enjoyable vacation and education opportunity for underprivileged kids who she sponsored to participate from within her church community and around the neighborhood. Marguerite Stone was Country Hicks and City Slickers’ first lead reunion coordinator. In 1990, Marguerite passed the torch to her grandson, Darren Skinner, who has coordinated many of the reunions since. A few reunions were also planned and hosted by other lead individuals: Hess Moore and Shiree Skinner. There were also committees formed in recent years to make destination, format, and other reunion decisions. In the years to come, Hicks and Slicks hopes to continue their long-standing tradition of reunion gatherings with plans for international trips and other exciting events.