Reunion Meeting Minutes

The 40th Reunion Committee Planning Meeting - August 13, 2008

A planning meeting for the 40th reunion was held on August 13, 2008 at Neena Mohnani home.  The meeting was attended by June Kannigiser-Leaman, Walt Leaman (SHS 66), Mike Lynch, Ken Mertz, Neena Mohnani, Karen Pinder-Sisson, Bonnie Rogers and Tom Griffey.

The committee reviewed the contract we received from the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort.  There were some items in the contract that need to be clarified or changed.  Bonnie will contact the hotel and report back to the committee as soon as possible.  The committee goal is to make a decision on whether or not to have the 40th Reunion at the Hilton by the end of July 2009.

We also talked about the deposit required by the hotel to hold the space.  The hotel required a 25% deposit which will consume almost all of the funds in the Reunion Account.  Bonnie will try to work with the hotel to see if the deposit can be reduced.  We will need classmates who will be attending the reunion to help out by sending there money in early.  The committee is planning on set the price for the reunion so those who register early will get a break on the price.

The committee again discussed entertainment for the 40th Reunion.  To keep the cost down we decided to use a DJ for both Friday and Saturday night instead of having a Band on Saturday.  This will reduce to cost of a ticket for Saturday night by about $15 per person.  The committee is also looking at other ways to reduce the cost.

We discussed have a Hospitality Suite open during the reunion weekend.  We had a Hospitality Suite at the 35th Reunion and it was a great place for classmates and guest to get together.  We will need a room at the hotel and supplies (food, drinks …) for the weekend.  We will be asking classmates to fund the Hospitality Suite.  The size of the room and supplies for the room will be based on the funds available.

We talked about having the Friday Night Reception on the 6th floor pool deck.  Some committee member felt it would be to hot during July to have an outdoor reception.  The plan is to ask the hotel to let the committee attend an event held on the pool deck.  This will give us a chance to see how the pool deck is set up for an event and judge if it will be to hot for an outdoor reception.  Even if we decide to have the reception on the 6th floor pool deck we will have a back up space in case of bad weather.

We talked about the first mailing which is planned for September.  We will be sending out information about the 40th Reunion to all classmates that we have a street address for in the database.  We will have a second mailing in early 2009 and a third mailing a few months before the reunion.  Ken Mertz has agreed to cover the cost of mailing.  We will also be sending e-mails to all classmates that we have e-mail address for in the database.  June is working letter for the first mailing.

The committee discussed the Reunion Directory.  The directory will be given out to all classmates who attend the reunion and additional copies will be on sale after the reunion for classmates who were not able to attend but would still like a copy of the directory.  The Reunion Directory will contain information on all classmates who have provided information to the reunion database.  Classmates who would like to be listed in the directory needs to go to the website and fill out the Information Sheet on the Registration page.  The Information Sheet will also be sent out as part of the mailing and can be mailed back to the committee.  We ask classmates to fill out the Additional information box with details you would like to share with other classmates in the directory.

We also discussed if we should give out a souvenir at the reunion.  No decision was made and we will talk about it at future meeting.

The Next meeting will be held at Bonnie Rogers’ home on September 10, 2008 at 7:00.