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I'm currently working on my 50th Reunion. September of 2021. I'm the Chief Recruiter.
We've had about a dozen reunions since 1971 but mostly local people. If a classmate moved out of the area, we usually lost contact.
Now that I live 3000 miles from my high school, I took it upon myself to find old classmates that none of us have seen in a while. Imagine talking to someone you haven't spoken with in 50 years. Luckily I'm a sales guy and I'm good on the phone.
I did not marry my high school sweetheart. Here name is Terry. Terry wanted the traditional 3 kids and white-picket-fence lifestyle. I wanted to see the world, live a lifestyle of fun and travel with no kids. It would have never worked.
As part of learning my classmate recruiting skills, my first call was to find and talk with Terry, my HS sweetheart. I found her. She did have 3 kids and her husband just died. Terry asked me to fly to her home in CO and discuss the future. "There won't be a future for us Terry. My wife of 44 years and I have had no kids. We traveled the world. And are now comfortably retired in San Diego." She still wanted to go to the reunion. So I sold her a ticket.
I'm not a great looking guy, so finding a wife in the early 70s was not easy. I finally found a girl in the Air Force in 1975 that was willing to live what I now call the Hart-to-Hart lifestyle. Her name is Sue. Sue and I had a great life. We now live near the beach, own several sports cars, have 2 dogs, and a Max (watch the video below).
I spent most of 2020 calling the names on my 1971 graduation list. Class size = 165. Discovered 25 deaths and 10 MIAs. Talking with someone who you haven't spoken with in 50 years is quite an experience. Once an old classmate figured out who I was they always asked "Did you marry Terry?" No, but we're still good friends.
I was hoping to make the 50th HS Reunion a blow-out event. We are all at the retirement age of 66-67. But it's not working. Money and health are the big problems. Coronavirus is not helping either.
Anyone else ever work on a high school reunion? It's fun but it's not easy.
Btw... here's the lifestyle I was looking for in 1971. No local girls were interested. I was lucky to find Sue in 1975. We lived it with no regrets.
My HS class is also planning a 50th reunion. We're doing a lot of planning via Zoom. Like you, I'm far away -about 800 miles. Originally we wanted it to be in June but we're having another meeting Sunday and may have a Plan B to move it to September or October. Our concern is that even with partial rollout of the vaccines (we hope), many won't want to fly or would be reluctant to attend a large gathering. I know I'd make it a road trip rather than fly if I weren't immunized, but the prospect of a masked, socially-distanced event with a pretty high price tag isn't all that exciting.
We have one guy who's trying to track down "lost" classmates. He's circulated his list several times and we've been able to get contact information on some. Don't try and do it all yourself.
Can't do much about health concerns among your classmates that restrict their attendance but we're giving people the opportunity to pay extra for their ticket to help fund some who might otherwise not be able to afford it. That would be just the event, not transportation, hotel, etc.
I'll try to remember to post an update after Sunday's conference.
Geez, cruitr, get off the phone and watch or read the news a little. :Smack: The idea of getting on a plane to hang around with 100+ people (which is currently ’illegal’ in many states) is crazy to most people right now.
And nobody would be able to recognize you behind your mask.
Geez, cruitr, get off the phone and watch or read the news a little. :Smack: The idea of getting on a plane to hang around with 100+ people (which is currently ’illegal’ in many states) is crazy to most people right now.
And nobody would be able to recognize you behind your mask.
OP states planning is for September 2021. I think things will be a bit different by then.
Speaking from personal experience: If I haven't kept in touch in 50 yrs, I didn't see the point of attending my 50th HS reunion.
I had 1 person write and invite me claiming a desire to catch up. So much so that she never responded to any of the letters I sent. Just trying to get me to go to the reunion for some reason.
No, I can't imagine talking to someone after 50 yrs. I can't imagine wanting to.
That's only eight months away, so probably not. We'll still be wearing masks then, from what I've been told.
8 months...I sincerely doubt Americans will have had both their shots in 8 months.
And, as you posted, we still need to wear masks and social distance.
I read that Fauci and other medical experts think this will go into 2022 for getting shots to everyone.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Our 50th was virtual due to COVID but I've been in touch with several high school friends via Facebook for several years. More interestingly, I recently joined a Facebook group for people from my hometown, and actually connected with my first and second "girlfriends", from 4th and 6th grade, that was and 63 and 61 years ago in California. As it turns out all of us are still married, with grandkids, and living in different states now.
8 months...I sincerely doubt Americans will have had both their shots in 8 months.
Yes, but this is a group that's over 65, and probably many with co-morbidities. Most states are putting them right after healthcare and other front-line workers.
I helped organize our 40th. Very small class of 50 but we invited those that we knew that were once part of our class. They either moved away, got married, dropped out etc. Still consider them classmates
We had a decent turnout. There were some that do not want to be "found" - lol
It is easier to track people now through social media.
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