2010 News for the Class of 60
50th Reunion
The News from the reunion committee:
January 25, 2010 Planning Meeting
We all seemed to work well together this evening to come up with a great set of plans for the reunion weekend. Thanks for your preparation, participation and commitments to accomplish the remaining tasks. Oh, and thanks for the sense of humor that everyone seemed willing to share. Many laughs. We agreed that we should have one more meeting before sending out the information/registration packet. That meeting will be Monday, February 22. Same time, same place, 6:30 p.m. at Six, 6 E Franklin St, Downtown Liberty.
Here were the attendees for the meeting: Jim Anderson, Kathy Drummond Aytes, George Barber, Danny Barron, Donna Armstrong Bogue (and Ron), Eddie Carter, Sandy Spencer Carter, Bob Crisler, Darrell Glendening, Richard Groves. Carolyn Hudlemeyer, Sarah Ponder McKinley, Joyce Cowan Norwood, Karen Hall Russell, Bill Skaggs, Sandra Moore Villarreal and Alan Welles
Here is a recap of my recollection of what we discussed and agreed to: (Be sure to correct me if I have mis-remembered anything.)
1. We will continue to plan for this to be a Class of 1960 event only (plus spouses and significant others). Class members will be urged not to invite people from other classes, but if someone from another class insists on participating because of a close friendship they will be expected to make reservations and pay the same price as class members to attend the Saturday night dinner. Other activities are much less structured and will not be very expensive, so nothing will be charged.
2. If there are any corrections to the list of class members, please e-mail them to me so I can update the database. Many of us have had some great experiences already, connecting with classmates we haven’t seen or talked with for many years
3. We agreed that we should charge $30 per participant for the weekend. That enables each individual to participate in any or all of the events. That basically covers the cost of the Saturday night dinner event but is expected even if they choose not to attend the dinner. All other costs will be covered by donations. This should allow most people to feel like it won’t be a terribly expensive event. Obviously, any one who comes from out of town will have significant other expenses for transportation, hotel and other meals not included in the reunion.
4. We currently have a treasury with $480 available from donations. That’s amazing! Karen is expecting at least $200 more based on phone calls she has had. Hopefully the e-mail I sent last week will yield additional donations to help cover all the costs. If necessary, we will make additional solicitations for donations.
5. An information packet with schedule, registration forms, instructions for ordering t-shirts, hotel information and other information will be prepared to be sent out by March 1. A draft will be reviewed at the February meeting. Hopefully, pages of the draft will be e-mailed to planning committee members before the meeting.
6. The Friday night event at the Christian Church will begin at 6 p.m. and conclude by 10 p.m. We will be expected to clean up the area before we leave. We will give a love offering of $50 for the privilege of using the church. Volunteers will bring snacks and drinks. Some purchases for napkins, paper plates, plastic ware and cups may be necessary but should not exceed $50. A “Welcome” table will have name tags, t-shirts that have been ordered, and a copy of the memory book for each participant. We hope to have name tags showing 1960 Spectator photos of each attendee.
7. The Saturday morning breakfast event at the Fairfield Inn “Liberty Room” will begin at 8 a.m. and conclude before 10 a.m. Anyone not staying at the Fairfield Inn will be expected to pay $5 for breakfast. Totally casual, no program.
8. We will participate as a unit in the Liberty Fall Festival parade with walkers carrying a banner and handing out candy,1 or 2 trailers and perhaps some 50’s vintage automobiles. Sandy will make sure we get registered as early as possible to get a preferred spot in the parade (close to the front with EMT’s right behind us, according to Alan J). Darrell has arranged for trailers with hay bales to sit on. A simple banner will be prepared. Rock and roll music will be played on a portable boom box. (Alan and Bev will demonstrate how to dance like we did in the 50’s???). We will plan to be at the parade line-up at the old high school building at 10 a.m. for the 11 o’clock start.
9. The Fall Festival will provide lots of food choices for lunch.
10. A tour of the old high school will be set up to begin at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
11. The Saturday night event at Liberty Hills Country Club/The Tuscan Ballroom will begin at 6 p.m. We have the facility until 11 p.m. Sandy, Sarah and others will put together a program. The dinner will include the mid-level (gold) buffet alternative. We will bring a portable p/a system. Counting setup fee, food, service/tip, tax and a modest amount for decorations, the total cost will be $30 per person. We will have a Welcome table similar to the Friday night event for those who hadn’t yet received name tags, t-shirts and memory books.
12. The Sunday afternoon at Danny Barron’s farm will be from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. with hayrides, hot dogs, etc. If the weather forecast is not good we may have to borrow some easy-up tents or move indoors.
13. George Barber and Alan Welles presented recommendations for t-shirt design and source. Solid blue with Liberty High logo on the front and Class of 1960 on the back with lettering and logo in white and black. A nonprofit organization that Alan is familiar with (ArtsTech in KCMO) will prepare the t-shirts. We plan to charge not more than $10 for a t-shirt. Alan will find out the cost of offering sweatshirts and hoodies. Orders and payments will be made directly by class members to ArtsTech (online for those who can use the internet). Alan will make sure the t-shirts are available by Friday night. The information packet to be sent out March 1 will contain information about how to order t-shirts.
14. A memory book will be put together using input from each contributing class member by Kathy Aytes and others. Guidelines for submitting “what have you been doing the last 50 years?” will be a part of the information packet. Responses will be expected by June 1 to allow compilation of the book. There will be no charge to class members because the cost ($250-350) will come out of the donated treasury. The book will be black and white and perhaps as large as 70 pages, depending on how many people provide input and how much they say.
15. Registration forms will be sent to Donna Armstrong Bogue. She will coordinate with Karen to deposit the money that is sent in.
16. Bill Skaggs urged us to begin calling our circle of friends to encourage them to participate in the reunion. Overlapping of calls is not a problem. We will have follow-up calls in the summer if necessary to make sure everyone knows about the event and has the opportunity to say “Yes, I’ll be there!”
17. Here is a recap of expected costs that the donated treasury will cover:
$50-100 for Friday night
$100 for the parade
$100 for Sunday afternoon
$250-350 for the memory book
$100-150 for paper and postage for the information packet
$100-200 for other expenses not anticipated
18. Here is a recap of optional expenses for individuals:
$5 per non-guest person for Saturday morning at the Fairfield Inn – to be paid by individuals
$10 for a t-shirt, more for a sweatshirt (to be determined)
19. One idea that wasn’t discussed tonight is how to help out of town classmates reduce their overall cost. Would it be possible to determine who might be able to provide spare bedrooms and transportation? Without some assistance like this it will probably cost out-of-town people who have to fly in more than $500 for the weekend, in addition to the $30 per person we will be charging. Many won’t want or need this assistance, but it might make the difference for others. What do you think?
Keep warm! See you on February 22.
Richard
November 30, 2009 Planning Meeting
Here is a recap of what was discussed tonight.Next meeting: Monday, January 25, 2010 6:30 p.m. at Six, 6 E Franklin
Go it alone rather than with Classes of 61 and 62, but OK to invite/include people from other classes as long as they pay what Class of 1960 members are expected to pay
Weekend of Sept 24-25-26, 2010, same weekend as Libertys Fall Festival and parade
Send Save the Date cards before the end of November, done, a big THANK YOU to the committee who did this, Karen Hall Russell, Joyce Cowan Norwood, Sharon Hudlemeyer Dingus and Carolyn Hudlemeyer
Invite any faculty members from 1956 though 1960 we can locate, done, invited 6 we knew of, but may discover others to invite
Special t-shirt or sweatshirt, healthy discussion about whether to offer t-shirt and/or sweatshirt, color, send suggestions to George Barber and John Deberry so they can work it out
Block rooms at local hotels at reduced rates, Sarah Ponder McKinley blocked rooms at 4 local hotels and got good rates
Friday night get together at the Christian Church, local folks will bring pot luck for snacks and soft drinks
Saturday morning breakfast/brunch get-together, at the Fairfield Inns Liberty Room before the parade, car pool to Downtown Liberty
Participate in the Fall Festival parade, Darrell Glendenning can provide a vintage Ford tractor and wagon for a simple float to ride on, may also have 50s cars
Saturday evening activities at The Tuscan Ballroom at Liberty Hills C.C. Committee is working out the details, want to have a program that acknowledges all those who attended, remembers those deceased and honors those who have served in the military or who have sons/daughters currently serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Also want to do some fun stuff, skits, awards, etc
Sunday activities at Danny Barrons farm. Danny and Darrell can provide tractors and wagons for hayride, wood for bonfire, offer as an option for those who are still in town and interested on Sunday
Website and Facebook. Lois Henderson Beedle has already set up both and plans to re-design/update the website
Scrapbook Committee will request input from all members of the class to include, plan to prepare low cost hard copy version, can send contents by e-mail to those who do not attend or send copies of hard copy if they request
Will send details/invitations sent to all class members and teachers in March and request info for the scrapbook by May, can order teeshirts and specify what portions of the weekend they want to participate in later
Plan for a tour of the old high school building (now Liberty Jr High), discuss with school officials to ask for an invitation
Compile and send helpful information for out of towners about available hotels/motels/B&Bs, places to eat, traffic, parking, current Liberty news, major changes since 1960, will be a part of info sent out in March
Follow-up calls. Sandra Moore Villarreal volunteered to chair this activity, hopefully others will help
Special hospitality arrangements for those from out of town, offer to pick up at airport, provide transportation for those who do not want to rent a car
New participants: Sandra Moore Villarreal, Kathy Drummond Aytes, Carolyn Hudlemeyer, Alan Welles
Returning participants from the first meeting: Jim Anderson, George Barber, Danny Barron, Donna Armstrong Bogue (and Ron), Sandy Spencer Carter, Eddie Carter, Sharon Hudlemeyer Dingus, Darrell Glendening, Richard Groves, Joyce Cowan Norwood, Karen Hall Russell, Sarah Ponder McKinley
Others interested but unable to attend: Bill Skaggs (ill), Bob Crisler (other commitment), John DeBerry (out of area), Lois Henderson Beedle (out of area), Susie Seely (on vacation), Bud Lofland (other commitment), John Dowd (out of area), Linda Sevier Craig (out of area), Ronald Herndon (other commitment)
Richard
October 27, 2009 Planning Meeting
Hey, fellow members of the LHS Class of 1960 . . .We’re off to a great start planning the 50th year reunion for the LHS Class of 1960! Thanks for coming to the meeting tonight and for bringing ideas, enthusiasm, a willingness to help and money to help cover anticipated expenses. We had 15 from our class at the meeting, plus a few others who also contributed good ideas.
I think we all share the goal of having EVERY member of the Class of 1960 want to attend the 50th year reunion if at all possible. There was a commitment to offer something for everyone and to make sure that even those who think they can’t afford it will know that somehow we will make sure any event fees are taken care of so they can attend. We don’t want “can’t afford it” to be a reason for not participating. We have almost 50 weeks to save for the event.
Remember: Our next meeting has been scheduled for Monday, Nov 30, same place, same time – Six, 6 E Franklin, 6:30 p.m. Before I left I asked the management at Six to put our meeting on the schedule for the same room. At that time we will review progress on the following:
· Set up a bank account for LHS Class of 1960 – Karen Hall Russell – and deposit the money that was donated tonight to cover the cost of the “Save the Date” mailing and other upfront expenses.
· Create and send a “Save the Date” mailing – e-mail for most, snail mail for others, maybe snail mail for others if the committee thinks that is appropriate – Karen Hall Russell and Sharon Hudlemeyer Dingus. Others?
· Make a recommendation about how to best use a website or Facebook – hopefully Lois Henderson Beedle will offer a suggestion
· A special T-shirt/sweatshirt for our class – George Barber and John DeBerry (who has already done some research on this). Others?
· Parade plans/float – Sandy Spencer Carter. Others?
· Dinner at The Tuscan Ballroom set up – Donna Armstrong Bogue and Sarah Ponder McKinley. Others? We don’t plan to have a band, dancing or anything to distract from visiting and sharing.
· Scrapbook and/or e-scrapbook – Joyce Cowan Norwood and Kathy Drummond Aytes (someone volunteered you, Kathy) Others?
· Friday night activities – Sarah, John DeBerry, Joyce, Donna – hopefully at the social hall of the Methodist Church or the Christian Church
· Sunday activities – Bob Crisler, Darrell Glendening and Danny Barron – casual outdoor afternoon, BBQ?, hayride? Others?
· Block hotels – Sarah and Richard Groves
Anyone whose name does not appear above who can help with one or more of the committees, please let me know.
At a future time, we will make assignments to make sure everyone in our class that we can find is contacted by phone or in person at least once.
The consensus was that we would not have a Fall Festival booth, but plan to come and go at a downtown restaurant or coffee shop. Ginger Sue’s (12 W Kansas, near Harvey’s Barber Shop), By the Book Coffee Shop (4 N Main, on the west side of the square), Just Desserts Bakery (113 W Kansas), Los Compas Mexican Restaurant (on the square at 5 E Kansas) or Six (6 E Franklin on the square).
Saturday and/or Sunday morning, perhaps gather at an area restaurant at or near the hotels that will be most frequently used. More details to follow on this.
For the record, attendees at this meeting were: Sharon Hudlemeyer Dingus, Bill Skaggs, Sarah Ponder McKinley, Richard Groves, Donald Scott, Jim Anderson, Sandy Spencer Carter, Eddie Carter, Danny Barron, Darrell and Nancy Mason ’61 Glendening, George Barber, Karen Hall Russell, Joyce Cowan Norwood, Bud and Amanda Lofland, Bob Crisler, Donna Armstrong Bogue and husband.
I think it is going to be great fun for us as we prepare for this event. We only get to have a 50th year reunion once!
But as one of our classmates said, in addition to sharing our stories about where we have been for 50 years, let’s plan to share our stories about what exciting things we are doing now or plan to do in the future.
See you soon!
Rich
We now have a group on FaceBook. Sign up and find a classmate now.