warhawks78.org

Thank you so very much to the kind, generous classmates that have sent in money to help reduce the burden on the committee members. (I always thought that the people on a reunion committee went to the event for free and then had a grand dinner with the extra money). Now I know better.

Thanks to the following for helping out!

Patti (Basinger) Quinn
Laura (Costales) Morefield
Michelle (Repaci) Riley
Kimberly (Davies) York
Rusty Colby
Scott Chalmers
Helen (Alfrets) Sherman
Bruce Dixon

We’ve collected $700.00 so far!

I’ll keep you posted -

Diane (Cruger) Finley

Fellow Classmates,

If you attended the recent reunion, then you are probably aware that we ended up well short of our expected attendance. It turns out we are over $5000 in the red.

We based our estimate of attendees on a survey that was posted on the website. Maybe we should have asked for a deposit with RSVP. Maybe we were so excited about the event that we expected others to be just as excited.

In any case, the fact is that someone will need to cover our expenses, and that someone will probably be the committee members. If you attended the reunion, please consider making a donation. If you did not attend, especially if you RSVP’d that you would attend, please consider making a donation.

All donations will be noted, and any donation will be greatly appreciated.

MHS Class of 1978 * P.O. Box 501104 * San Diego, Ca 92150

Thank you.

Madison Class of 1978 Reunion Committee

We’ve added nearly 100 new photos to the Flickr group. Go to http://www.flickr.com/groups/warhawks78 and join our group to check them out.

Thank you so much to Randy Blanck, Adriene Hughes, MaryAnn (Bourland) Gregg, Yvonne (Bernal) Nordgren and Janice (Lowey) Walker for posting photos to our Flickr Group. If you’d like to post photos and/or view photos please join the group by going here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/warhawks78

Thanks!

Diane (Cruger) Finley, a member of our Reunion Committee, was kind enough to write a recap of our Reunion bright and early this morning:

The night started at 6:00 - people huddled in the foyer while the ballroom
was empty. The tables and chairs, balloons and food were all ready, but
classmates were more interested in hugging and talking with old friends.

We needed over 60 people to show up at the door (ed. to break even) - we had 23. Ugh. We had a 50/50 raffle. We earned $1200 and gave away $600 to one of our classmates - Rosalie Agundez.

The ballroom was loud with conversation - so loud that people couldn’t hear the music. But we decided to keep the music in the background because our voices were already getting strained.

Most people started to leave around 10:30 (including me and Kyle). Food was okay - a lot left over! (ed. I warned you guys about them freezing the guacamole for next time…)

Drinks were $9.00 each - which didn’t sit well with our classmates. The
tickets were expensive enough.

I think there was some drinking in the parking lot - so we aren’t sure if we
hit our bar tab minimum.

Thanks for the recap, Diane.

Thanks!

Tonight’s the night.

If you’ve been on the fence, you can still attend our Reunion tonight. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door, cash only.

We hope to see you there!

Whatever the reason, ticket sales are a bit slower than we had anticipated. So we’d love it if you would spread the word and extend an invitation to other alumni who are friends of the Class of 1978. A list of folks that will be attending is on our website. Ticket information can also be found there.

We have a great evening planned and we’d hate for the guacamole to go to waste.

So, if you’d like to join us, or have a friend you’d like to have join us, please spread the word, we’d appreciate it.

We hope to see you all on August 9th!

We’re just a few weeks away…

The precise number of twists for the crepe paper decorations has been determined.

The guacamole and other foods have been ordered (yes, there will actually be food this time).

Finally, calculations are being made for the optimal Ted Nugent-to-K.C. and the Sunshine Band ratio.

We are ready.

All we need is you.

Please join your friends and classmates at the Madison High School Class of 1978 30 Year Reunion on August 9th at 6:00 pm at the Paradise Point Resort. The resort is a great place to hangout. Several of our classmates are planning to reserve rooms and stay overnight at Paradise Point to keep things going after the formal reunion ends (take some of this with a grain of salt. One of the braggarts is Perry Wright. He hasn’t been awake to watch the 10 o’clock news for a good long time…until he discovered TiVo. Though others, I’m sure, will party on both skillfully and admirably).

So break out those platform shoes and polish them to a high sheen. Press those Angel’s Flight slacks and break out that shirt made out of…well…whatever the heck those shirts were made out of. All I know is that you don’t get those things too close to an open flame, if you know what’s good for you. For the record, the dress code is definitely casual.

The cost of the Reunion is now just $90 per person. If you weren’t such a procrastinator you could have paid a mere $75 per person before July 9 (that was, coincidentally, the same price as our 20 Year Reunion). You will find a pdf order form for ticket purchases by check on our website. You will also find a link that will allow you to buy your ticket(s) using Paypal or any major credit card. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door, cash only.

If you’re planning on attending, we’d appreciate it if you could purchase your ticket(s) as soon as possible. A very generous classmate, whom we’d love to reimburse sooner rather than later, has fronted the deposits for our reunion (otherwise, we’ll need to start figuring out who on the committee will be getting a paper route versus a weekend job making smoothies at Jamba Juice to pay back the deposit loan).

However, just think about it:

Won’t it be great to see what your old friends and classmates have been up to? (It will)

Don’t you wonder if our Homecoming Queen is still hot? (She is)

Do you wonder if Dave (Ferg) Ferguson will be there? (He will)

Don’t you want to know if Perry Wright has gotten fat and bald? (Not yet, but give it a few years. In the meantime, he’s a CPA. That’s a good, solid 10-15 minutes of merciless ridicule to be had right there. That’s good ROI, as those accounting types are fond of saying).

For those of you that enjoy golf, Steve Davis may still be able to squeeze you in for the tournament being held the morning of August 9th, if you ask really nicely. His email address is Mt1biker@aol.com .

We’ve done our best to plan a fun and memorable evening to accommodate all classmates that wish to attend. If we come up short on attendees, hey, that’s life. But I just want to warn you. I know these people. They’ll freeze the leftover guacamole and break it out at the next reunion, so it’s in our collective best interest to make this reunion a success.

I’m just saying…

We hope to see you on August 9th!

Wow! Time flies.

Our 30-year Reunion is less than 3 months away. Remember that the cost of attending goes up to $90 per person on July 9, so if you’d like to save a little money (and who wouldn’t these days) purchase your spot(s) sooner rather than later. Your early purchase will also be appreciated as it will help us pay the upfront costs associated with putting on our reunion event (those of you that have taken part in organizing a wedding or other fancy shindig know what we’re talking about).

There is a pdf order form on the homepage of our class website: warhawks78.org, if you’d like to order your reunion tickets by mail with a check. You will also find a link that will enable you to order your tickets using a major credit card or Paypal.

And please, spread the word.

We hope to see you on August 9th!

For those of you interested in the Golf Tournament to be held on the morning of Saturday, August 9 at the Cottonwood Golf Club, please be aware that the registration deadline is July 4, 2008.

Our reunion is just over 3 months away, we hope you plan to join us. Reunion tickets are $75 per person until July 9, thereafter tickets will be $90 per person. For more information, check out our website.

The order form to purchase tickets for our 30 Year Reunion is now available on the homepage of our website.

We also offer the option of purchasing tickets using Paypal (see the link on the homepage), which includes the option of using most major credit cards. (When using Paypal there is a $3.00 Service Charge per ticket to offset Paypal transaction costs).

You do not need to be a member of Paypal to use this service.

We look forward to seeing you on August 9, 2008 at Paradise Point!

We’ve just sent an email to all the classmate email addresses we have requesting that you join the MHS Class of 1978 Reunion News announcement list. Eventually, all information regarding our reunions sent by email will be via this announcement list.

The announcement list will simplify our ability to send out reunion information while also giving you control over whether to opt in to the list or not. The list will also help us weed out incorrect or out-of-date email addresses.

So, if you’d like to receive emails with reunion information, please subscribe to the announcement list. If you did not receive an email inviting you to join, please go the to homepage of our classmate website, warhawks78.org and sign up there.

Thanks!

Our 30 Year Reunion will take place on Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 6:00 pm at:

Paradise Point
1404 Vacation Road
San Diego, CA 92109
858.274.4630
800.344.2626

Casual attire
Ticket price is $75 before July 9th; $90 thereafter.
Heavy appetizers will be served

A golf tournament on Saturday morning will be spearheaded by Steve Davis ( Mt1Biker@aol.com )

Unfortunately, the hotel will be charging $429/night with a 1 night minimum. The committee is researching “travel” websites in order to find a better rate. Our event planners will be providing the names and rates of other hotels in the vicinity.

Please spread the word to our classmates.

Check back for more details as they become available!

Class of 1978 Warhawks-

You will most likely experience a delay in response to requests made via warhawks78.org.

I am currently in the process of relocating to Northern California from Southern California and will not be able to respond to you all as quickly as I would like.

I apologize in advance. I appreciate your patience.

Rick Okuni

Thank you to all who took the time to answer our reunion poll question.

It looks like most of us are wanting a reunion that’s “just right.”

Not too fancy nor too simple.

With the holidays almost upon us, it looks like a date and venue will not be forthcoming until the New Year, but hopefully, we’ll be able to announce reunion info shortly after the beginning of the New Year.

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year!

Well, time just keeps rushing by…

Our reunion committee meeting in October was pushed back a week because of conflicting schedules. The following week, Santa Ana winds postponed the committee meeting by setting large portions of San Diego ablaze. (We hope that you and yours made it through safely).

A few weeks went by as we let things settle down, the next thing we know it’s Thanksgiving.

So, it’s time to get things moving again.

We’ve posted a poll on warhawks78.org asking what type of reunion you would prefer: a fancy one, a casual one, or something in-between. (We’ve included some estimated prices, too).

There is only one question, so it should take less than a minute to let us know what you think. We already know that we won’t be able to please everyone, but we’d like to please as many folks as we can, so please, take the poll.

We would like to have a date, a venue, and a cost in place by the end of the year, so that we can all plan ahead.

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!

Diane obtained the following info from the Hotel del Coronado:

Okay – here is the ‘high-end-super-deluxe-reunion-event-at-the-Del’

So we’re looking at about $170.00 pp minimum

Ric found some information about a local reunion planning company, Reunion Specialists. Here is Ric’s synopsis:

“In a nutshell, they do everything. At least they make it sound that way. Browsing around their website, it looks like they charge between $70-$80 (per person) for early registration, and around $100 for late and walk-in registration.

It sounds pricey, but I don’t know what the going rate is. Feedback from recent Madison reunions would help gauge the price. Considering we have a lot of contacts already, they may be flexible on the pricing.”

Steve got some information about reunion coordinators, Couture Event Consulting. They appear to function more like wedding planners. It sounds like they can coordinate the event but do not handle collection of money, just charge a fee for their services.

Brian reported this additional info and suggestion:

“…reuben e. lee is now a scooby-doo mystery location - it’s all boarded up and i hear old man withers lives there now

for those non-golfers, how about an ultimate frisbee game at the old home field - olive grove park ?”

We got together for a meeting last night to discuss possible locations for next year’s 30-Year Reunion (Man, it sends a shiver up my spine just thinking about the fact that we graduated almost 30 years ago…)

From those that have given us feedback so far, most seem to indicate that they are in favor of a casual reunion vs. a formal affair. We’d love to know what everyone else thinks. Now, with the benefit of the internet, this should be much easier to accomplish. So, within the next couple of weeks we’re going to be putting a survey question up on our website:

What type of reunion would you like to have?

We’re going to propose three types of reunions, not unlike Goldilocks dilemma in “The Three Bears.”

1. A formal reunion at the Hotel del Coronado (or similar swanky location)
2. Something in the middle (not too hot, not too cold)
3. A casual get together (perhaps something outdoors, this is San Diego after all)

We’ll also try to get ballpark costs for each option.

We’ll be sending out an email to our classmate list when the survey is up. Please let us know what you think. This is OUR class reunion, we’d like to do what the majority thinks is best.

Thanks!

OTHER NOTES FROM THE MEETING

- We’ve had 207 classmates let us know their preliminary thoughts on attending our reunion. 156 of our classmates say that they would like to attend. Counting guests, our preliminary headcount for the reunion is 264 people. Right now we’re planning our reunion based upon about 300 folks showing up (Marlene’s notes show that we had about 400 people at our 20 year reunion).

- We’re still targeting August 2008 for the reunion. Not over Labor Day weekend as most will probably have other plans that weekend.

- We are thinking that because the reunion may be more casual in nature that we should forego the picnic next year.

- Mission Bay Yacht Club, Reuben E. Lee and A Sculpture Garden venue in the Encinitas were suggested as possible locations for the reunion.

-The idea of a golf tournament on the reunion weekend was suggested (actually stolen from Cynthia’s husband, Rusty’s reunion).

- We are thinking that the emphasis of the reunion venue should be good circulation amongst all the attendees to maximize mixing and mingling. While we think there should be music, we are thinking that background type music is preferable to entertainment type music.

- Audrey reported that we zeroed out and closed out our reunion checking account at the conclusion of the our 20 year reunion.

- We discussed the possibility of using a reunion planning company and/or a company to manage the reunion events. Ric has a lead on a planning company and Steve has a lead a management/planning company. Ric will be passing the url of the planning company to Marlene who will evaluate it. Steve will try to obtain info from his management/planning company lead.

-Rick and Sheryl will work on the program and class survey for the reunion

-Our next reunion committee meeting is Tuesday, Oct 23. If you’d like to participate, please let us know, we’d love to have you.

Please give us your feedback.

Our classmate, Karen (Johnson) Ware, has submitted a profile from her home in Sweden which is now up on our website.

Clairemont to Sweden…

Cool.