A Refresher, Reminder, and Ready Reference on our reunion event plans!

The event is being held in the “Sun Court” room of the HyattOur tables will not be as shown in the picture, they will be cocktail height and wrap around a large dance floor in the rear center of the room in front of a stage. This reception/cocktail party style should leave lots of space for mingling, dancing, and moving around the room.
As classmates arrive, they will be welcomed by greeters outside the Sun Court where they will receive their name badges. A DJ will be spinning tunes from the late 70s and early 80s. 30 years – Time to Celebrate! (click here)Heavy Hors D’ouerves will be served from 7pm – 10pm buffet style and passed hors d’ouerves from 7:30-8:30. A full cash bar will be available throughout the evening with non-alcoholic beverages (tea, soda, coffee) available at no charge. A dessert and coffee bar will be served for the last hour of the event. In one area of the room, a memory show will be projected throughout the evening with photos from classmates lives… then and now. Throughout the evening, we’ll give the DJ breaks and some of our talented classmates will offer live “open mic” performances! Where does your ticket price go? The vast majority goes to the Hyatt to pay for the space rental, tables, linens, dance floor, food, drinks, self parking, and tax. The balance will pay for the DJ, decorations, invitations for those who require print invites, name badges, and miscellaneous expenses (bank fees, etc). Your reunion committee has begged, borrowed and cajoled to keep the price as low as possible and still host what promises to be a GREAT REUNION!  The following day, classmates can use their name badges from the event to enter Todd’s Point FREE! Badges can then be place don the dashboard to serve as free parking passes for the Point.  We’ll have a very casual “BYO” picnic in one of the grill areas overlooking the Sound from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Join the Party

Saturday August 13th from 7 to 11pm
at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich CT

Thanks to VIVIAN HOWELL FOR putting this post together for us!!

REUNITING IN THE INFORMATION AGE

REMEMBER THIS ?

 

Remember those grueling “typing” classes on Hillside Road?  The IBM Selectrics lined up in a row… and those little folding drill books you propped open to take timed QWERTY keyboard tests?  I seem to recall that class was required for graduation from GHS, wasn’t it?    a a a a s s s s d d d d f f f f         Ugh!    I remember thinking how utterly pointless this all was.  I didn’t want to be a secretary or office assistant.  So, why did I have to learn to type?

Here I sit thirty years later at my keyboard… How could I have predicted that same keyboard would play such an important role in bringing us all back together again thirty years later?

Our 10 and 20 year reunion announcements came via US Mail.  And  now, we send a Facebook or email message.  Times have changed.   We’ve posted information on www.classmates.com and www.GreenwichAlumni.com

Graduates are talking electronically.  We’ve located over 700 members using our keyboards – online locater services and social networks.  Our committee isn’t local – classmates who live in Texas, Florida, and Canada are working hard right alongside classmates from the tri-state area.  We  share class lists and planning documents via “the cloud”.  Andrew “Nuccio” Tunnera (who graduated with the class of 1981 and then obtained his masters in computer and aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical) put together a website for the class where we can sell tickets online through Paypal, linked through the new website.  And we have this blog – linked to our website and Facebook group and event.

The event location was even scouted remotely.  Classmate Michelle Tichauer Fanwick and Jane Millard Clark previewed the available clubs, ballrooms and event halls via internet and presented the options to the committee digitally. The Suncourt Pavilion at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich was ultimately chosen after viewing their online virtual tour.

Yep, when we reunite on August 13, we’ll owe a lot of thanks to those typing classes at ole’ GHS!

 

Do you remember Joe…I mean Joseph?

We’ve taken a break from reunion blogging… sometimes life just gets too busy!  But, we have so many classmates to feature, that it’s time we get back online.

As we began putting together this reunion committee, one of our first volunteers was Joseph Deruvo.  Though he insists that he doesn’t recall ever being called Joe, we all know that Joseph was “Joe” in high school.  He was the funny, always smiling, incredibly friendly guy.  Didn’t everyone know Joe?  Maybe it was just his photography for the yearbook that made it seem like he was everywhere… talking to everyone!

Yep, it seems like everyone remembers that smiling face so boldly displayed on our reunion invitation inviting us to cocktails,  hor d’oeurves, music & dancing!  But did you really know Joe?  Well, it turns out that most of us didn’t know the extra learning challenges Joe faced in high school. Well… we’ll let Joseph tell his story…

My wife and I returned to Greenwich from Boston with our six month old son.  We were using one of my Parents old cars during that time.  She opened up the trunk and saw a length of 2×4 laying there; scratched into it was a lengthy order from McDonalds (from when I was in high school!).  I had to laugh when I thought back on how the waitstaff would look at us when we would walk into a restaurant with a hunk of wood and start reading off our order.  You see, that is how we would do things in the Greenwich High school Theater Department, and that is the group I most considered myself to be a part of.  While most people in high school are concerned about grade point averages and SAT scores, with their parents channeling them into extra curricular activities that might look good on college applications, my parents were just happy that I felt comfortable enough to be part of a group.

You see I am, and always had been, severely Dyslexic – with at least one foot firmly planted in the Autism spectrum.
So the whole idea of socialization had been a rather foreign idea to me.  Even to this day I notice how differently I process and experience things around me.  I believe that I have virtually no emotional memory, no real memory of my childhood or school years, even my children’s births seem as if they belong to someone else.
So you can imagine being asked to reflect on my high school experience is really no easy feat for me.

It was really only through the camera that I began to make the connections with people that others take for granted…  All of you were so willing to open yourselves up to me.  Sure, you might have just wanted your picture in the yearbook.  But, without knowing it, you were throwing me a lifeline… 

I do believe it is a Loving and Merciful God.
I have spent my life doing those things that I have been so perfectly made for.

Who knew all this about our wonderful Joe?

Joseph married his beautiful wife, Lini Ecker, almost 25 years ago.  They have two adult children in college.  Together, Lini and Joseph are DeRuvo Photography.  As professional photographers, they capture images in two different ways – Lini works in color and rectangular format, while Joseph works in black and white and square format.  Their incredible work can be seen on their website www.DeRuvoPhotography.com   

In addition to photograping weddings and events and creating portraits, Joseph teaches photography and has done some industrial design and prototyping work.  Joseph and Lini are volunteering their services in three incredible ways for our reunion.  First, they are compiling a “memory show” full of photos from high school and beyond.  The show will be projected during the reunion and play in constant rotation for all to enjoy.  Then, Joseph and Lini will be photographing throughout the event.  They will both be shooting in their own chosen formats and capturing all the reconnections and happenings of this once in a lifetime event.  Finally, they will be transferring these photos to a digital memory book.  Classmates will be able to purchase a copy of the memory book on CD at the cost to produce it. All we can say is…. WOW!  Joseph, you and your lovely wife are awesome for volunteering to do so, so much for us.  Thank you!

Joe has a message for all of his classmates:

I Thank God for each and every one of you.  And, I could not thank you all enough… I do believe if it were not for all of you being who you were, I would have never been able to be who I am.
And every day I wake, I am thanking God for this perfect life that I have been entrusted with.
Thank You All!

Help Needed to Plan the Reunion!

The 30 year reunion committee is looking for input from ALL classmates! We’ve already gotten some great responses!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9DTXWH3 (cut and paste this link to get to the survey)

We want to know…

What music do you associate with your high school years?  What songs MUST we put on our “playlist” for the reunion?  Are there any musically gifted classmates out there who we should ask to sing a song or two for the reunion? (keeping in mind that they may decline our request     )

This is YOUR reunion.  If you want to hear particular music, see particular photos, reunite with particular people… you MUST tell us!

Take just a few minutes to fill out this simple 10 question survey.  Then, email your photos for the slideshow to GreenwichHigh1981@gmail.com

LAURIE ROGERS – ALWAYS ENTERTAINING

SRO… Seniors Only … For many classmates, this is one of the fondest high school memories.  A musical production full of hundreds of classmates from all corners of Greenwich High School.  What an event!  We fondly recall huge opening and closing numbers with hundreds of high school seniors belting out “Celebration” and “One”…. But do you remember the conductor of this “really big show”?  It was our very own Laurie Rogers.

Conducting SRO may have been Laurie’s first big production, but there have been many more since.  Following graduation, Laurie attended Tufts University and then went on to study at the New England Conservatory, where she received her Master’s Degree in Vocal Accompaniment. Over the past 20+ years, she has been working in opera as a pianist, coach and conductor.  Her credits as a conductor are too numerous to iterate, but include several world and US premieres.  A skilled artist herself, Laurie provides master training for singers and accompanists.  She is currently on the music staff of Dallas Opera and is Head of Young Artists for Opera Saratoga, and is on the faculty of Professional Advantage, a singer training program in Italy.   In addition, Laurie does freelance work, with recent productions with the Atlanta Opera and Utah Opera.  Wow!  Our Laurie is one accomplished lady!  Amazing!

Between all of her professional travels and accomplishments, Laurie finds time to be a wonderful mother to two beautiful children – Christopher, 15 and Katie, 12.  They’re currently living in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Laurie recalls conducting SRO as one of her fondest memories of high school.  She is “thrilled” about coming to Greenwich for the reunion and seeing so many people from a great time in her life.

When the reunion committee needed an entertainment chairperson, Laurie was the obvious first choice.  Despite traveling constantly and working 12 hour days, Laurie has volunteered to help.  She’s working to put together a few entertainment surprises for our reunion event.  Though we’re going to have a DJ spinning tunes from our high school era, Laurie will be “orchestrating” some special performances….  we’re sure this time it will be STANDING ROOM ONLY!

ONE STEP CLOSER !

We’re ONE STEP CLOSER!

As our first month of ticket sales comes to a close, the reunion committee is CELEBRATING!  Classmates responded to our plea that they make their plans early and support the event by purchasing “early bird” tickets.   As of this morning, 80 tickets have been purchased through just our online option.  We don’t have a tally yet of the snail mail registrations, but are already well over our goal for early bird sales.  Our minimum to meet our Hyatt contract is a total of 230 attendees, and we’d hope to sell 25% (58) of those tickets in this first month push.  We’re well over 35% and ticket purchases are coming in every day.

To all classmates who stepped up to purchase early bird tickets; we say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!  We understand that it’s hard to plan months ahead. Our lives are busy with career, family, and other commitments.  Sometimes it’s hard to know what you’ll be doing next week, much less plan ahead 5 months!  We sure appreciate those who have prioritized making the trip and committed well in advance.

Planning this reunion is a HUGE endeavor for our volunteer team!  One of the most challenging parts is working from a $0 starting budget.  This awesome response has resolved A LOT of stress about making budget minimums and meeting our deposit deadlines.  We’ve easily made our first scheduled payment to the Hyatt and will soon be making deposits with other vendors.

Now we’re ONE STEP CLOSER!

EARLY BIRDS (cardinals) FLYING IN !

Today is the final day for early bird ticket sales for our reunion at the $81 per person price.   With just 15 or so hours remaining, ticket sales are coming in at record paces this morning.  Al Ottley and Scott Dresser bought their tickets this week and will be flying in from Colorado.  And, Amy Reichard Beard is going to be flying in all the way from San Francisco !  Then, of course, there are lots and lots of people who live in the Northeast; CT, NY, NJ, RI, MA, and PA.

August will be here before we know it!  Can’t wait to see  you all when we fly back home.

A return to the center

THE STUDENT CENTER – A central gathering place, a social space, a transitional space, a place for coming together, a place of union.

What was the student center for you?  What memories are stirred by these photos?

Was it about the room?  Or was it about the people… the union?

All shapes and sizes… all backgrounds and interests…all groups and cliques…came together in one room.

We have all traveled so far from this central starting place.

Will you be returning?

NEW DISTANCE RECORD SET!

The distance record has moved…

Up until now, our longest planned journey was from Arizona at 2500 miles…

But, Aimee Abbruzzese has now topped that and added another 500 miles to the record.  She’ll be flying in from San Francisco for the event!

So, Aimee is not going to want to hear ANY excuses from those who live within 500 miles and are dragging their feet about making the trip to Greenwich!  There’s also no excuse for those who say they’ll be on vacation in Florida, the Hamptons, the Vineyard or wherever!!!  If Amy can fly in from San Francisco… if Beth Russell Berry  can fly in from Dallas, if Beth Johnston Goodwin can fly in from Arizona…. then you can surely jump on a plane or in a car and zip back to Greenwich from your vacation!  You go on vacation EVERY YEAR, but this is a once in decade opportunity to see some folks you’ve known for 30, 40, even 45? years!!!

The airports will be filled with Greenwich High Class of 1981 alumni !

MARCH MADNESS BRINGS REFLECTIONS!

Our own March Madness will come to an end in just one week!  Early bird reunion tickets have been for sale online and by mail now for 3 weeks for $81 per person, with just one more week to go before a scheduled price increase on April 1 to $101.  Most tickets have been purchased online through our amazing website created by Andrew Tunnera – www.GreenwichHigh1981.com    Others are saving the $3.00 per ticket processing fee and mailing in their registration forms (also available for download from the website) and checks to our P.O. Box where Cathy Derleth Eidson is receiving and recording reservations.
It’s exciting to see the energy building.  Some classmates will be traveling thousands of miles to “come home” to Greenwich and visit old friends, old hangouts, and sift through resurfacing old memories.  Many will have only a short drive to the Hyatt.  We’ve heard from several who have never attended a reunion before, but feel that it is time for them to “come home” as they approach midlife.  We love to read the emails from classmates;

“I was thrilled to hear that Kim was able to work a deal with the Town.  Going to the Point will be the highlight of coming home for me!”

“Thank you all for working so hard to put this event together.  I can’t wait to see those who I’ve lost touch with over the years… who’ve moved across the Country.”

“Can’t wait to catch up with old friends… I’m embarrassed to have lost touch with so many.”

“I’ve known some of these people since I was 6 years old.  It’s like coming to a family reunion rather than a high school reunion!”

It is a rare opportunity to reconnect with so many people at one time.  To recognize that our individual journeys to “now” all started at the same place.  We were children together…