Before we started our search for a venue back in spring 2019, we set up a few surveys to get a better sense of the interest from our classmates.
We could tell from those that responded that there seemed to be interest in attending – though that far out and without a location, date and price, people were understandably reluctant to commit.
Of course, all that was pre-COVID-19 which is clearly a concern right now. But the surveys, emails and this website has helped committee members track down more classmates and we hope that October 9, 2021 will be a better time and a pandemic won’t be an issue.
Respondents were pretty evenly slit on bringing a guest with a slight advantage to attending alone.
We also asked about things like music (DJ was preferred over a band), photographer, and even a sense of what kind of food arrangements we should price at venues.
Please follow the blog (there a place to put in your email to automatically get updates on the website sidebar) and click Polls and Surveys to see all our posts about them.
The Reunion committee will be polling classmates as we get closer to date in 2021 about some of the finer details about our event and even the day before and after for those traveling from a distance or staying over. We will do some simple polls here but also others on our survey site at SurveyMonkey. We hope you’ll give us feedback.
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I hope this communication finds you and your families safe and well. It’s hard to believe that almost 6 months have passed since we last updated you on our 50th Reunion. We are now just a little over a year until the event. That’s exciting, and with what has been going on in the world, I think we can all use a little positive excitement.
Just to refresh everyone we will be celebrating on October 9th, 2021 at the APA Hotel in Woodbridge NJ.
Since our last email we have contracted with a DJ. We have yet to find a photographer at a price that will not unnecessarily inflate the cost of the Reunion. Since most of us have cell phone cameras, I’m sure we will collectively have plenty of digital memories to share with each other. But, it would be nice if we had someone outside of the class with at least amateur skills and a decent camera that could take the large group photos and grammar school group photos. If you have any family or friends that might be willing to do that for us, please let us know.
Of course,the big question that is probably on everyone’s mind right now is what impact COVID-19 will have on the Reunion, if any? That is a question that nobody can really answer yet, but we are all hoping that by October of next year we will be in a much better place than we are today. The contracts we have with the Hotel and DJ allow us to get out of the contract as long as we give 3 months notice. So, we are moving forward with the hopes that by June of next year we will have a much better picture of the situation and make a final determination to hold the Reunion on 10/9/21 or defer it until a later date.
We expect the cost of the Reunion to be approximately $115 per person. In January of 2021, we will send out an email with more event details and start collecting for tickets. If by chance the event is cancelled due to the situation in June, we will refund all monies that we’ve collected.
The DJ will work off a list of bands and songs, if we provide one to her. So, start thinking about what music is on your must-have list. We will be polling you for your favorites other questions n the near future.
Are you on our mailing list? Then this update was emailed to you along with an EXCEL file and WORD document with the latest class list and reunion attendance as known at this time.
Stay safe and be happy.
The best antiques to collect are old friends.
for the IHS Class of ’71 50th Reunion Team, Michael Emanuele
Manny Fernandes, Rhonda Goldberger, John Manning, Terry Masucci, Laura Krampetz Mueller, Karen Long Rohe, Ken Ronkowitz, Vita Venturi Stohler, Karen Mericle Suter, Tom Trokan, Doris Woitowicz Wendell )
The Reunion Team on Zoom for the September meeting.
Hello Classmates
Irvington High School Class of 1971 