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Keith Hodges (1967)
This in reference to posting about a 2023 reuniin by Pete Ramierez. I think he intends a reunion only for the clases of the 60s.
My view:
I have been intimately involved in the execution of several successfully 60s reunions. (Joe has done more than I.)
I think the below plan will NOT work. The original reunion format worked just fine. Not broken, don’t fix.
1. 5 days in Las Vegas, and the weather is brutal even in the spring. Other than visit with other SAHSians, what to do other than gamble, drink, or attend $100 shows?
2. Unless everyone stays for 5 days, how many days do I have to stay to see those I came to see?
3. No hospitality suite? We have to have our own place to meet, talk, laugh cry, and share stories. How do I hook up with other SAHSians? Call them up? Troll the lobby? If a bunch of us wanna chat, where do we go? My room? Your room? A restaurant. How do we connect to plan dinner or outings. There are hundreds of places to eat in Vegas but none of them will allow staying around forever, switching seats or doing what we could do in a suite.
4. There should be a dinner dance. The dinner is your insurance you saw everyone and got to hug those you needed to.
5. Most of us don’t have regular jobs any more but those that do work M-F.
6. The past plan worked. Arrive Friday (or if you want, earlier). Hospitality suite open Friday evening through Sunday AM. Fee pays for:
* The suite plus non-alcoholic beverages, finger food, early Sunday continental breakfast.
* Sat evening meal, sock hop room (if there is a separate charge-depends on venue).
* DJ for sock hop. We have done without but would need a volunteer plus music and equipment.
7. In the several reunions I was intimate with, the reunion fee was never over $100. But, the fee was set artificially low to encourage people to come and then relied on donations at the reunion. Some years, donation plus fees covered expenses. But several years didn’t and I and a few alum paid out of pocket.
If this new plan is to avoid a reunion fee, forget it. You’ll save the fee and have no suite, no dinner, no dinner dance, and a lousy time. You will pay for 4-5 night rooms instead of two and 4 evening meals and lunches. Construct a fee that will cover expenses. It won’t be that much and how many years until we can’t do reunions anymore?
In the past, getting a special rate with the hotel with some guarantees gave us the suite gratis. Joe has always been our hotel negotiator and good at it.
I offer my assistance in doing the following.
A. I can send emails to those on sahs-reunion.com by class year. (For whom is this reunion directed – in the past it have been classes of the 60s only. Lets not send emails to all SAHS alum.
B. I can post a general announcement on the front page of www.sahis-reunion.com and send update emails per Item B above.
If someone will compose a posting for this reunion and then the web page or person to contact for more info, I will post. Please don’t make me write it. It is your post.
Keith Hodges ‘67
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