Hi all!! For those of you who attended the reunion, I hope you had a great time!! I thought I would send out a follow up email to everyone - those who attended and those who didn't - to wrap things up and make sure that we have all the information we need for the next one (although it is a far way off right now, this one seemed a long way from high school and the time flew by so I know the next one will be here before we know it!)
First, I have already heard a lot of great feedback on the reunion itself, but I would like to know from everyone what they thought about the whole process. Any opinions, good or bad, on anything from the time I started collecting names a year and a half ago right through now we would love to hear. Any criticisms and/or compliments we get will help us make the next reunion even better!!
Second, the pictures are in from the reunion picnic and evening affair. You can view the individual pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pancake56/sets/72157607463224853/ or slideshow at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pancake56/sets/72157607463224853/show/ .
You can save the pictures and print them or upload them to your favorite photo service (I use kodakgallery, I know a lot of others use snapfish) and have them printed from there. If you have any issues, let me know. I will likely be putting them all on kodakgallery myself along with my pictures in about a week, so if you want me to just send you a copy of the album, let me know (you just have to sign into kodakgallery - totally free, just sign up, you only pay if you order pictures from it). I will also have the slideshow that was being shown at the reunion on kodakgallery within the week. If you want me to send you that via kodakgallery album, shoot me an email and I can do that. If you want it sent to you on disk, I can also do that - just pay for the disk and shipping please! (probably $1 or $2).
The reunion website will also remain open. Deb (Percival) Dragon will post updates on the website every so often for us and we will continue to accept donations towards the scholarship for this year's senior. We only have $90 so far, so please donate to help make this a worthwhile scholarship. (the format of the website pay area has been changed to accept any denomination for donation - located on the right hand side of the site). The address for the site is http://ravena-98reunion.blogspot.com. Since myspace and facebook are so popular these days and there are more people from our class joining all the time, I am going to make a myspace and facebook page for the class in the coming weeks to help us all stay connected. If you don't get a request from me in the next month, search for the nickname RCS class of 98. Hopefully it won't be another ten years before we all reconnect!!
Finally, if you have not yet sent me your updated information (email, phone, mailing address) and the info of someone close to you that we can use as a secondary contact - in the case that we cannot locate you in ten years - please do so asap.
I want to thank all of you who responded to all of my emails and phone calls and especially those who came to the reunion. We ended up having a great time and it was soooo good to see so many of you! Please stay in touch....I am even thinking of having an informal meeting at a restaurant or bar or something in five years just so it won't be another ten before we all see each other again. Then in ten years (well, I guess nine until we start planning), look for more emails and phone calls from the reunion committee. Until then enjoy yourselves!!
**Reunion committee - so I don't have to send another email, will you please get in touch with me and let me know when would be good to get together to go over final numbers and comments and such. Thanks!!
Melanie (Relyea) Potter
melpotter22@yahoo.com
756-6282
728-5170
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
REUNION SCHEDULED: SEPTEMBER 20th
The 1998 Class Reunion has been planned. Here are the details:
Saturday, September 20th
11am: Things will kick off at Mosher Park with a Potluck Picnic. Alcohol is allowed in the park, but it will be BYOB. If the weather is bad then, we can cancel without any costs to a caterer that way. When you respond to the invitations, you'll be asked what you will be bringing to the picnic.
7pm: The evening portion of the reunion is being held at Yanni's Too in Coeymans.
Open bar: 7-9pm
Appetizers 8-10pm
Desert & Coffee 10-11pm
There will be a DJ & some activities. The overall event is relaxed and informal.
Prices: We are estimating that the price will be around $60 for a single or $110 for a couple, with a discount for making your reservation and sending your money ahead of time. (this is obviously subject to change slightly pending our final committee meeting and all final details).
We also decided that we will be doing a 50/50 at the reunion. Half of the money will go to a drawn winner and the other half will be donated to the school in the form of a scholarship for one of next year's students going to college. If you do not wish to go to the reunion but wish to make a donation towards this gift, please contact Melanie to make the donation.
If you have any objections to the plans, let Melanie know ASAP as it is still in a stage where there could be changes made. The committee will meet within a week to make final plans and get invitations prepared.
When you receive your invitation, please respond as quickly as possible so we can get a head count. If you know now that you will be attending or will not be attending, send an email to melpotter22@yahoo.com so a headcount estimate can be started.
Also, if you are coming from out of town and do not have friends/family still in the area, please let Melanie know and arrangements for a place to stay and we can help arrange rides to the events.
There are a few issues that need to be dealt with following this email. First, we have some people still missing:
Jonathan Barrett Josh Bradley Nicole Conrad
Becky Curless Tom Martone Ryan Merritt
Edwin Pounds Ray Quick Lauren Radliff
Erica Roll Cristal Seibert Jose Vasquez
Charles Wilsey Michelle Wright
A few of us were also going through old yearbooks. Just because someone did not actually graduate with us does not mean that they are not included in this reunion. If you know anyone (or come across anyone looking through old yearbooks yourself) who you would like to see from our class in years past, let me know and we can add them to the list of people we are searching for. I will put out an email dedicated solely to missing people in a week or two, just after the rest of your invitations go out.
Second, we would like to put together a slide show to be shown at the reunion. In order to do that, we need your help. Please send me - via email or snail mail - pictures old or new. We would like to have a mix of elementary through high school years and college through now pictures. Send me pictures of you and your family now or you and friends goofing off in HS. All are welcome and will be included (if you send me hard copies via snail mail I will make sure to get them back to you - please include your address so I can return them or they will be returned at the reunion).
Thank you all for being patient with this process. It has been a learning time for all of us on the committee and we can only hope that the next reunion will be that much easier to plan!!
Talk to you all soon!!
Melanie (Relyea) Potter
(518) 756-6282
melpotter22@yahoo.com
Saturday, September 20th
11am: Things will kick off at Mosher Park with a Potluck Picnic. Alcohol is allowed in the park, but it will be BYOB. If the weather is bad then, we can cancel without any costs to a caterer that way. When you respond to the invitations, you'll be asked what you will be bringing to the picnic.
7pm: The evening portion of the reunion is being held at Yanni's Too in Coeymans.
Open bar: 7-9pm
Appetizers 8-10pm
Desert & Coffee 10-11pm
There will be a DJ & some activities. The overall event is relaxed and informal.
Prices: We are estimating that the price will be around $60 for a single or $110 for a couple, with a discount for making your reservation and sending your money ahead of time. (this is obviously subject to change slightly pending our final committee meeting and all final details).
We also decided that we will be doing a 50/50 at the reunion. Half of the money will go to a drawn winner and the other half will be donated to the school in the form of a scholarship for one of next year's students going to college. If you do not wish to go to the reunion but wish to make a donation towards this gift, please contact Melanie to make the donation.
If you have any objections to the plans, let Melanie know ASAP as it is still in a stage where there could be changes made. The committee will meet within a week to make final plans and get invitations prepared.
When you receive your invitation, please respond as quickly as possible so we can get a head count. If you know now that you will be attending or will not be attending, send an email to melpotter22@yahoo.com so a headcount estimate can be started.
Also, if you are coming from out of town and do not have friends/family still in the area, please let Melanie know and arrangements for a place to stay and we can help arrange rides to the events.
There are a few issues that need to be dealt with following this email. First, we have some people still missing:
Jonathan Barrett Josh Bradley Nicole Conrad
Becky Curless Tom Martone Ryan Merritt
Edwin Pounds Ray Quick Lauren Radliff
Erica Roll Cristal Seibert Jose Vasquez
Charles Wilsey Michelle Wright
A few of us were also going through old yearbooks. Just because someone did not actually graduate with us does not mean that they are not included in this reunion. If you know anyone (or come across anyone looking through old yearbooks yourself) who you would like to see from our class in years past, let me know and we can add them to the list of people we are searching for. I will put out an email dedicated solely to missing people in a week or two, just after the rest of your invitations go out.
Second, we would like to put together a slide show to be shown at the reunion. In order to do that, we need your help. Please send me - via email or snail mail - pictures old or new. We would like to have a mix of elementary through high school years and college through now pictures. Send me pictures of you and your family now or you and friends goofing off in HS. All are welcome and will be included (if you send me hard copies via snail mail I will make sure to get them back to you - please include your address so I can return them or they will be returned at the reunion).
Thank you all for being patient with this process. It has been a learning time for all of us on the committee and we can only hope that the next reunion will be that much easier to plan!!
Talk to you all soon!!
Melanie (Relyea) Potter
(518) 756-6282
melpotter22@yahoo.com
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Reunion Update, Feb 2008
Hi all!! Most of you know, the kids and I have been sick pretty much this whole new year and I am dealing with some physical issues, so I have not exactly been putting my all into the reunion planning. I did want to give a brief update to you all to see what you think and see if maybe we can make a few decisions and get an email out to everyone else for their opinions.
I got several quotes and menus from all around Albany (STILL haven't heard back from a couple of them though!). Basically, we are looking at around $10-$20 per person for food and $20-$30 per person if we want to include an open bar. Keep in mind that does not include DJ or any favors, pictures, etc. It also does not include the picnic earlier in the day. I didn't expect it to be that expensive just for appetizers, but apparently, I am wrong!!! I figure by the time we add up everything for just the evening affair, we will be talking about $120 per couple - WAY over what people said they would be willing to pay.
So, we can do a couple of things. First, we can find ways to cut down costs, like not including an open bar (which personally I wouldn't mind being that I plan to be pregnant at the time and won't be drinking anyway!!), not doing favors or pictures, or seeing if there is somewhere we can find better prices.
Steve Ross' fiance also called me the other day (her name is Kirsten). She just went to her 10 year reunion and she called to tell me everything that she thought went wrong there (it was at Jillians and they had the bare minimum of everything and it didn't keep the class together, etc.). I told her that we had wanted to have something that families could come to during the day if they wanted but that there would also be a time to have just couples time out in the evening for those of us who desperately want that adult only time!! I also told her we had wanted to have it someplace close to other bars so that we could go out afterwards if we wanted to. She suggested maybe having it at the Coxsackie Yacht club instead. I know it is not close to bars (which is something I had really wanted personally), but she made a few good points....we would have the place all day and all night. There are places to camp out right there (if I understood her right), so that people could come and bring families during the day, bring them home and come back for the evening if they wanted to or they could just come for a full day and evening out. We could have a DJ if we wanted for a few hours and then just use radios afterwards, or we could see if anyone has decent enough equipment in the class and then we could have things going all day and all night.....we could have a large meal catered in the late afternoon and then we would have leftovers to snack on later....we could do bring your own drinks or supply so many kegs and wine and then bring your own or whatever. Face it, most of us are hicks or still college kids at heart and a lot of our class would really love this kind of reunion.
I want totally honest opinions.....what do you all think. I asked Kirsten to look into prices and everything, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet. We don't have to do it necessarily at the Coxsackie yacht club, but someplace where we can drink, have music, have a large enough covered area to include everyone, and preferably have some place where people can camp out near it. (Someone had mentioned someplace in Guilderland, but they didn't think that the place allowed beer, so that won't work - you do know our class are drinkers!!)
I still really like the idea of getting dressed up and going out on the town for a night, despite the cost (we have a mortgage and two kids, so we aren't exactly swimming in money, but it would be worth it to me for a reunion, but I know a lot of other people don't feel the same way I do.). Ultimately, it is up to the group of us. We aren't going to be able to please everybody, but I think we should find what the majority of the class will want to do.
I know that rambled a bit, sorry!! Let me know your opinions and as soon as I get word back from you I will send out an email to the rest of the class and then we all can plan to get together (hopefully it will really work this time!!) to hammer out some details (I was going to send you menus and price sheets, but I just tried to open them and I realized that I didn't save many to my hard drive, just printed them out, so I have the copies here!!)
Alrighty, talk to you all soon!!
Mel
I got several quotes and menus from all around Albany (STILL haven't heard back from a couple of them though!). Basically, we are looking at around $10-$20 per person for food and $20-$30 per person if we want to include an open bar. Keep in mind that does not include DJ or any favors, pictures, etc. It also does not include the picnic earlier in the day. I didn't expect it to be that expensive just for appetizers, but apparently, I am wrong!!! I figure by the time we add up everything for just the evening affair, we will be talking about $120 per couple - WAY over what people said they would be willing to pay.
So, we can do a couple of things. First, we can find ways to cut down costs, like not including an open bar (which personally I wouldn't mind being that I plan to be pregnant at the time and won't be drinking anyway!!), not doing favors or pictures, or seeing if there is somewhere we can find better prices.
Steve Ross' fiance also called me the other day (her name is Kirsten). She just went to her 10 year reunion and she called to tell me everything that she thought went wrong there (it was at Jillians and they had the bare minimum of everything and it didn't keep the class together, etc.). I told her that we had wanted to have something that families could come to during the day if they wanted but that there would also be a time to have just couples time out in the evening for those of us who desperately want that adult only time!! I also told her we had wanted to have it someplace close to other bars so that we could go out afterwards if we wanted to. She suggested maybe having it at the Coxsackie Yacht club instead. I know it is not close to bars (which is something I had really wanted personally), but she made a few good points....we would have the place all day and all night. There are places to camp out right there (if I understood her right), so that people could come and bring families during the day, bring them home and come back for the evening if they wanted to or they could just come for a full day and evening out. We could have a DJ if we wanted for a few hours and then just use radios afterwards, or we could see if anyone has decent enough equipment in the class and then we could have things going all day and all night.....we could have a large meal catered in the late afternoon and then we would have leftovers to snack on later....we could do bring your own drinks or supply so many kegs and wine and then bring your own or whatever. Face it, most of us are hicks or still college kids at heart and a lot of our class would really love this kind of reunion.
I want totally honest opinions.....what do you all think. I asked Kirsten to look into prices and everything, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet. We don't have to do it necessarily at the Coxsackie yacht club, but someplace where we can drink, have music, have a large enough covered area to include everyone, and preferably have some place where people can camp out near it. (Someone had mentioned someplace in Guilderland, but they didn't think that the place allowed beer, so that won't work - you do know our class are drinkers!!)
I still really like the idea of getting dressed up and going out on the town for a night, despite the cost (we have a mortgage and two kids, so we aren't exactly swimming in money, but it would be worth it to me for a reunion, but I know a lot of other people don't feel the same way I do.). Ultimately, it is up to the group of us. We aren't going to be able to please everybody, but I think we should find what the majority of the class will want to do.
I know that rambled a bit, sorry!! Let me know your opinions and as soon as I get word back from you I will send out an email to the rest of the class and then we all can plan to get together (hopefully it will really work this time!!) to hammer out some details (I was going to send you menus and price sheets, but I just tried to open them and I realized that I didn't save many to my hard drive, just printed them out, so I have the copies here!!)
Alrighty, talk to you all soon!!
Mel
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