Please read Bennie’s latest update if you haven’t already. We’ve got 3 weeks left to the reunion and that should give you enough time to read this one (just joking Bennie!).
Ok, you really need to pay attention here please…
This final broadcast email is going out to everyone who has supplied us with their email address. It has a two-fold purpose.
1. To give you some more details on the events themselves for those of you who are coming, and
2. To make one last shameless plea for sign-ups, missing people info and money!
Here goes the fun stuff for all you attendees…
If you have signed up and paid your money we are going to send you a personal email within the next 10 days just so you have a confirmation of your attendance. We are not sending out tickets, but will have you listed on sign-in sheets at the events.
The details of times and locations are on the web site…
There are MapQuest Links on the event descriptions so you can get directions to the events.
The Friday Cocktail Party at Mote Marine is a casual affair that just screams out for your finest Hawaiian shirt or whatever else makes you feel comfortable. We are actually going to be set-up around there Shark Tank (How Cool Is That!) under their outside pavilion so you know our great Florida humidity is going to come into play. We do have a roof over our heads so rain won’t be a factor. Although billed as a Cocktail Party, we should have enough to eat so that you don’t have to worry about going hungry. We have complete access to all of Mote’s inside and outside displays so you can commune with the fish and your classmates at
the same time.
The Saturday Dinner/Dance is your time to shine! We are going to dress-up and Trip-The-Light-Fantastic amidst the Red, White and Blue background of our Spirit-Of-76 celebration. “True-Pseudo” is a hot dance band that will help us get in the groove and break-in those new dancing shoes you bought just for the occasion. Don’t worry about becoming a Wall-Flower if you are coming alone, as we have lots of single guys and gals who are attending. Dance partners will be the least of your worries. Your biggest concern will be which of the food stations to tackle first! The folks at Palm Aire Country Club have a wonderful array of food presentations set up to please any taste. You can pull-up to the event and leave your car with the complimentary valet
parking staff and leave your cares behind.
On Sunday, we are having an Old-Fashioned Bar-B-Que out at Oscar Scherer State Park. We’ve still got some of yours kids coming, but on a new twist, as we all begin to settle into the sunset in our old-age, we will have a few Grand-Children join us as well. Yes, you read that right, we have more than a handful of Grand-Parents among us now and that is quite possibly the most bitter of pills that we have to swallow. In just 2 short years we will actually be eligible for our AARP cards. Oh the joys of getting old.
Now for the “I Really, Really Mean It This Time Stuff”
WE HAVE A LOT OF MIA’s
There are quite a few of you who made entries on the web site about how you were going to have a good time seeing your old classmates at the reunion and we have not heard from you about an RSVP or Buying Tickets. NOW IS THE TIME! We need to give the caterers our final counts in two weeks. There are also a few of you who have RSVP’d but not sent in your payment yet. These catering folks also want there money in advance! You need to send in a check or go on-line on the web site and buy your
tickets NOW.
We also just have not heard from a lot of folks. If you know how to contact any of your classmates, please do so and let them know how they can get all the info and sign-up by going to the web-site. We now are over 150 for the event which is still a great crowd, but we would love to have more. So help us out and do some digging. We plan on posting a guest list on the web site at the end of next week so you can see if there are people missing that you know you can contact and convince to come. We need
everyone’s help at this point to make one final push to get the word out.
Here’s one more incredibly shameless plug for donations. The ticket prices for the events, although appearing to be a good amount of money, don’t begin to show the depth of expenses that a weekend like this incurs. Just to give you an idea of expenditures, here’s a sample of the cost of things besides food and drink.
Custom Web Site Utilization and Hosting with 5-Year usage fees: $500
Hot Dance Band: $2400
Web Search Company fees for finding folks: $250
Souvenir Name Tags: $285
Souvenir Program/DVD Presentation: $525
Mote Marine Rental: $2000
Audio/Video Equipment Rental: $260
That’s just 7 line items from a list that is much longer than you care to know…
Hence one last request for anyone who has the means to contribute to the cause, to please give what you can by either going to the web site and making a credit card payment which can be found in the BUY TICKETS section or by sending in a check made out to “RHS Spirit of 76” at the address listed on the mail order section on the web site.
Again, many thanks to quite a few of you who have already given some extra to help us out. Your contributions are really helping us out and making the Reunion a better event for all.
In our last final push to make this the best Reunion it can be, I would not be surprised if some of you got a call from the committee this next week as we are meeting on Tuesday to get our final details in order and to make an effort to reach out to those who we know should be here but have not yet heard from.
To all who are on their way to the Reunion from the local area, across the great State of Florida, throughout the country, and around the world, we wish you the best in your travels and we await your illustrious presence with all due respect and humility due such a fine and outstanding group of misfits from the 70’s.
See you all real soon!
Your Never Tiring Reunion Committee…
Nancy Tatom, Melody Sweetsir (Kelly), Sue Farrington (Obenauer), Bennie Barton