Mini-Reunion November 2010
Our third mini-reunion in Kissimmee was the best of the mini-reunions. We had the most attendees, most first-timers and the largest group for our golf tournament. We met on Friday night for socializing and dinner at Logan’s. We returned to the Hospitality Room till late hours and catching up with friends and we welcomed first timers.
Our Saturday Night Pizza Party turned into a Gala. Barbara (Pickle) Nichols and Don Gentry decorated the party room on Saturday and it was “cool”. It was all 50’s. Our tables were formally set with linen table cloths, napkins and silver (to eat Pizza). There were replicas of 50’s cars on each table and the walls were covered with records (45’s) with songs we all knew the words to. Kay Whiteside was our DJ and she played all of our favorite songs till midnight.
The reason for the big celebration was most of us became 70 years old sometime in 2010. The celebration of our birthdays was enjoyed by everyone who came to celebrate. Ken Philbrick baked two cakes and we had pies and Janet Kilgard baked two cakes. We had seven in all and we put 10 candles on each and we sang Happy Birthday to everybody. Entertainment was provided by Janet Kilgard with games and nostalgia questions.
Saturday morning was the golf tournament and we had the biggest and best turnout we’ve had in the 3 years that we have been at Best Western. We had 50 “golfers” participate and all completed the course. The list of participants will be on another page along with the names of all the attendees to the reunion.
Sunday we had an early breakfast for those leaving and a Brunch for those who slept in. We also had a boat trip which Janet arranged. Twenty-six classmates headed to Winter Park for the Scenic Boat Tour which was truly enjoyed by all who went.
The most significant result of these mini-reunions is the one-on-one with classmates some of us haven’t seen since we were in school and also met classmates we hadn’t known in high school. It is so much easier to visit with a smaller group in such a relaxed atmosphere. We did have some cool weather this time but it didn’t seem to slow us down at all.
Maryannette Larson and Sherrill Rigot worked in the Hospitality Room and the selection of food and snacks were delicious. Maryannette and her volunteers made breakfast and lunch on Saturday and cleaned up, set out more snacks, then cleaned up again in time for those returning from the party Saturday night to visit the Hospitality Room before bedtime. All the Hospitality volunteers were up early Sunday to set up for the brunch. Late afternoon we still had a full Hospitality Room waiting for the folks returning from the boat trip. Finally, on Monday, we closed down the Hospitality room, cleaned up, then packed up what was left and went home.
The hospitality Room is the heart and soul of the reunions because it’s casual, comfortable and unstructured so we’re totally relaxed and share photographs and stories about high school and life after school.
We also talked about our 55th reunion. Everybody there voted to have one so Kay Whiteside booked The Colonnade in Coral Gables and got the price of the rooms ($129) and the food for the same price as the Class of ’61 who is having their 50th this year in May. Kay has worked on every 50th class reunion after ours. That is how she got these prices. So our 55th will be in May of 2013. We’ll have a whole news letter on the details. Mark your calendars for May, 2013.
We had a wonderful, fun filled time at the Best Western and hope to have another mini-reunion sometime in the future. The Reunion Committee wants to thank everyone for attending and especially those volunteers who brought snacks and helped in Hospitality Room. See you in 2013!
