History of the National Panamanian Friendship Reunion, Inc.

The National Panamanian Friendship Reunion (NPFR) was created in 1986 in Columbia, SC by a group of friends who had three things in common: they were Panamanians, they were U.S. Army soldiers, and they had been stationed in Panama together between 1970 and 1976.

At a New Year’s Eve party in 1985, the group decided to create a venue to reunite with friends and family who had also immigrated to the U.S. It would bring together those who had been active duty soldiers in Panama in the ‘70s, and who were living on military bases throughout the United States.

The following summer (’86) over 200 people attended the first Friendship Reunion in Columbia and Fort Jackson, SC.

In 1987 the reunion was held in Fort Bragg and Fayetteville, NC, and the following year in Fort Benning, GA. and nearby Phenix City, AL. By 1989, interest in and awareness of the event began to grow beyond the original group of soldiers and their families. Panamanians traveled from El Salvador, Honduras, Barbados, Germany, New York, Texas and the entire Southeast to attend the event, which was once again held in Fayetteville and Fort Bragg, NC. In 1990 and 1991 the reunion was held in El Paso, TX and Miami, FL. respectively.

During the first six years, the reunion was organized and run by the original group of soldiers and their friends, but by 1991 it became apparent that the event appealed to Panamanians all around the country. In 1992 the founders of NPFR decided to collaborate with Panamanian associations that already existed in various cities, as a way to accommodate growing interest in the event. The founding NPFR members stopped organizing each reunion and instead, awarded the weekend to the local Panamanian associations, who planned and implemented the event.