Happy Late Birthday, little Brother! and Happy Late Canada Day, everyone! My brother was born in Canada on Canada Day (July 1st), so it's a great day. Every year (almost every year), we spent his birthday up in Alberta with family. The trek to the Great White North was always met with elation...and still is. Unfortunately for me, this year will pass without my annual trek. ~sigh~ I can't wait to make it next year. :)
Okay, now that the catch-up is over, let me continue with the synopsis of the 10 year reunion. It was a happy reunion, and we had loads of fun...but MAN! am I glad it's over...
FRIDAY JUNE 22nd: My friend "D" and I shop all day getting ready for the reunion. Centerpieces, balloons, crayons, face paint, snacks, drinks, more decorations, thank you flowers, bank stops, etc. All of that to get ready for the...
OPEN HOUSE: From 6-8PM, the alumni were able to come with their families, sign in, pay (if they hadn't already), get their packet (included survey, raffle ticket, CD of music from 93-97, and itinerary), wander the high school, and see the new auditorium and gym that were built after we graduated. The turn out was not quite what we wanted, but oh, well. We knew that there was not going to be the amount of people we really wanted/needed going into it, so whatever...
SATURDAY JUNE 23rd: We woke up nice and early, got to JENSEN'S GROVE, set things up, and were greeted by: WIND. At least it was sunny, eh? Families arrived and it was a great day of sand, sun, boating, volleyball (even though whoever thought that creating a volleyball net on a sloping beach next to the water was a smart idea must not have been thinking...), face painting, balloon animals, coloring, swimming, eating, playing, etc.
It was a long day, though.
So, am I glad I did the reunion? I guess the answer is yes. It was fun to plan and I've learned so much on how to make the 20 year even better. But it was so hard. The worst part? Some would think it was the hours spent, the money spent, the details, the coordinating with three separate venues, but that wasn't it. The absolute worst part was only being able to find 131 people out of 326 (249 actually graduated), and then out of that 131, only 42 alumni (plus spouses) coming. It was almost humiliating to me, especially since a lot of my own friends refused to come because they claim they've "moved on" since high school. I have to remind myself that it wasn't a personal attack on me; people were just busy and the reunion wasn't high up on the radar. Oh, well. Hopefully in ten years people will care more...
Okay, now that the catch-up is over, let me continue with the synopsis of the 10 year reunion. It was a happy reunion, and we had loads of fun...but MAN! am I glad it's over...
FRIDAY JUNE 22nd: My friend "D" and I shop all day getting ready for the reunion. Centerpieces, balloons, crayons, face paint, snacks, drinks, more decorations, thank you flowers, bank stops, etc. All of that to get ready for the...
OPEN HOUSE: From 6-8PM, the alumni were able to come with their families, sign in, pay (if they hadn't already), get their packet (included survey, raffle ticket, CD of music from 93-97, and itinerary), wander the high school, and see the new auditorium and gym that were built after we graduated. The turn out was not quite what we wanted, but oh, well. We knew that there was not going to be the amount of people we really wanted/needed going into it, so whatever...
SATURDAY JUNE 23rd: We woke up nice and early, got to JENSEN'S GROVE, set things up, and were greeted by: WIND. At least it was sunny, eh? Families arrived and it was a great day of sand, sun, boating, volleyball (even though whoever thought that creating a volleyball net on a sloping beach next to the water was a smart idea must not have been thinking...), face painting, balloon animals, coloring, swimming, eating, playing, etc.
It was a long day, though.
ADULT DINNER: After a few more shopping trips for last minute details and mass panic as how to do my hair, it was off to the dinner! We had it at the new Shilling House Reception Center. The food was incredible! We had a raffle, and thanks to another friend, every single person (alumni) won a prize. Another friend put together an amazing slide show of high school days, and we also did "awards" for a few people. We also had a digital photo printer, so for anyone who wanted pictures together could have their photos printed off right there. The only downer was how short the night seemed to be --and a lot of people left earlier than we anticipated. But it was all good.
So, am I glad I did the reunion? I guess the answer is yes. It was fun to plan and I've learned so much on how to make the 20 year even better. But it was so hard. The worst part? Some would think it was the hours spent, the money spent, the details, the coordinating with three separate venues, but that wasn't it. The absolute worst part was only being able to find 131 people out of 326 (249 actually graduated), and then out of that 131, only 42 alumni (plus spouses) coming. It was almost humiliating to me, especially since a lot of my own friends refused to come because they claim they've "moved on" since high school. I have to remind myself that it wasn't a personal attack on me; people were just busy and the reunion wasn't high up on the radar. Oh, well. Hopefully in ten years people will care more...
7 comments:
I do think that more people will be interested in 10 more years. It seems like people get more nostalgic as they get older.
It sounds so great! I am curious as to what songs you had on the cd? I might need to snag me a copy of it somehow! It sounds like you put a lot of work into it and it sounds like it was fun. Good job!
BTW -
My mom grew up in Alberta (Magrath) so we have been there and usually have a picnic or something for Canada Day. We didn't this year, but Happy Canada Day to you!
I was disappointed by how few came to our 10-year also. Who cares if you've "moved on"-- haven't we all? It is still fun to see old faces and catch up.
I was hoping to see pictures of the people who were there?!
amanda-
AWESOME! I love Magrath. My grandparents all come from Glenwood, Raymond, and Stirling. My grandparents (both sides) live in Lethbridge now (where my parents grew up).
sara-
I didn't have very good pictures of everything, plus I don't want to post pictures to the web without their permission. But if you go to www dot classreport dot org, you can find our website and see all the pictures there. :)
Sounds like a fun time! I would have gone to my reunion if there were that many fun activities! Ours was a boring dinner that cost too much and there was not anything to bring family too. So I'll probably go at 20 years. I think more people go then too. 10 years is a long time, but it isn't at the same time.
I'm impressed with all the effort you put into it! I didn't go to my 10 year, mostly because it was way up in Canada and also because I have kept in touch with everyone I liked. With a graduating class of almost 1,000, it was easy to get lost in the shuffle!
P.S. Thanks for the Canada Day reference. :-)
P.P.S. My mom hails from Raymond...
Sounds like you did a great job! It sounds like it was a lot nicer than our 15 (we didn't have a 10). I was bummed that some people didn't come that I was looking forward to seeing, but oh well. We did have a great time.
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