In attendance:
Linda Partsafas-Guches
Cindy Brothers-Rayburn
Shannan Milich-Johnson
Darrin Thornton
Renee Latchford-Bowne
Andrea Lewis-Polk
Not in attendance:
Paige Lanfear-Holt
Valerie Judd-Charles
Jeff Andrews
Kim Fuller-Lewis
Veronica Clevidence
Jodee Perdue-Smith
Alicia Boe-Sage
Sheri Lichtenstein
Marcia Winter-Gohman
Susie White
The Meeting
Once we all blew in off the street (nasty wet, cold weather this weekend), Shannan, Linda, Renee, Cindy, Darrin and I went over what is currently in place and chatted about what's still in 'flux' for the 25th class reunion.
The Friday evening event that was held at he Hungry Woodsman for the 20th is a priority. The venue for this year's event is still being researched. Over 75% of the survey respondents said that the Friday event was their favorite - except for the extremely loud band- so we want to make sure we are taking your comments into account when choosing this year's venue to make it the best it can be considering the limited offerings in the area.
Wanting a place that is both big enough to accommodate 150+ people and their vehicles, is the first priority. Mr. Smith's would be free to us, which is a definite bonus, but its location and size are a concern. There are a few places in downtown Medford that would be fun, but all are pretty packed on a Friday night and it would be ideal to find somewhere that would be 'just us' to facilitate a relaxing place to socialize where we didn't have to shout over loud music.
Some classmates have mentioned Ashland as a possible venue. We'd like to limit travel for those coming in from out of town, especially since the next day - if they go on the jetboat trip - there will be travel back and forth to Grants Pass. Linda and Shannan are checking into a couple other options, which will be discussed more fully at the next meeting. One is the Roxy Ann Winery. We do have some money left over from the 20th reunion to rent a space, which opens up options, but we all agree the less spent on space rental the better.
If you have any suggestions or have a contact you think we could use to set something up, please email me at blacktornado85@yahoo.com or post it on the Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=67097660796 wall. (Thanks!)
The Saturday events are coming together nicely. In the morning, the fields at North Medford are open to us; thinking about a softball game, and Cindy's husband has keys to the gym, which offers up shade and a place to take a group photo.
We plan on setting a specific time for a group photo, giving people ample time between visiting and getting their picture taken to get ready to load on to rented school buses to make the trip to Grants Pass for the jetboat dinner cruise. Shannan is looking into having a hotdog vendor come out to the ball field that morning and we are tossing around the idea of providing drinks. Concerns on this one have more to do with the availability of shade, as an August morning could be damn hot, and the proper timing of everything.
Saturday eve in Grants Pass will be spent on the Hellgate jetboats and at Galice Resort. The costs associated with this trip will be posted on Facebook, Classmates and here, with links to enable you to pay via PayPal - when the prices (boat trip, dinner and bus fare) are established. Time-wise the trip usually takes from 4 to 8:30pm (when the boats dock in Grants Pass), which for those traveling on the buses will mean a 2:30pm departure from Medford and a return of about 9:45pm on Saturday.
We are still bouncing the idea around of making this an 'adults only' trip. I know there are some people who would not attend if this were so, and I don't think it's necessary, despite there being all you can eat AND drink (beer and wine) at the Galice Resort. When loading the boats the captains usually put families on one boat and couples on the other, and I'm sure we could request it. I also think that while some choose to drink and may even drink a bit too much, there should be no problems. I do think that kids should be driven by their parents to the venue and back, versus being on the school buses however. The drinking issue was the main reason for the bus rentals, but obviously people can drive their own vehicles if they prefer, but for safety sake if you plan on drinking, the bus is your best option.
Following the jetboat trip we are looking into meeting at a Medford pub like 4 Daughters downtown, to socialize. (I've got to be honest though, I'll probably skip that part as after a lot of food, a boat spinning me around and chattering with friends all day, I'll probably want to go to bed. "Getting old and my stamina ain't what it used to be, even for old friends!") The post-boat fun probably wont' get rolling until 10-10:30 and my hat is off to those who do it.
Sunday morning/early afternoon, Holmes Park for a family picnic. This worked out well at the 20th as a 'bring your own lunch' conclusion to the weekend. Many people will already be on their way out of town so the numbers for this one are usually down, but it's still fun to see each other's families and visit a bit more.
Darrin has linked up with 3 or 4 local hotels to get discounted room rates for reunion attendees. I'll be posting that information soon so you can make your reservations well in advance.
Renee will be helping with web-related things including working on setting up the PayPal payment link which will directly deposit your payments into the reunion account, managed by Linda.
Shannan and Cindy are working on venue related issues, and I'm managing the blog and helping with classmate announcements on Facebook and Classmates. I also have asked Sheri, Marcia and Veronica to look into finding 'missing' classmates. (That portion of the blog needs to be looked at and revised, and will be as my time allows and information changes.)
Kim wasn't with us on Sunday as originally planned: "Feel better Kim and we'll look forward to seeing you on March 7th, the next meeting date, at The Brick in Central Point."
