CHSE61 – The Brainstorming Meeting 5/2/2008
The accommodations were perfect for this meeting. Classmates started arriving a little before 6:30 PM and by the time dinner was ready, we had thirty-one in attendance. I hope I have everyone listed:
Note: this list is updated as of 5/20/2008 with corrections--dick
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During dinner we talked about ideas for the 50th, looked over the missing classmates list, and the deceased list to make sure we were not on either one. The table talk was good and each of the four full tables had a great time renewing old friendships.
After dinner, we brainstormed about the following topics. Remember that brainstorming is all about listing all the ideas without judging them. When done with making the list, then it is time to think about all of them to come to a consensus. This was time to make the list and have a little discussion. Nothing was decided at this meeting.
Where
Follow the links for details about each location.
Crown Plaza, Kirkbare Country Club, a casino such as Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods, the Bay Queen, Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, Hyatt at Goat Island (or other Newport location), Venus De Milo, Alpine Country Club, the Westin Hotel, and Twelve Acres (the site of the 45th).
How much
The price depends upon many variables like the where and when and what do we want for meals and music, and so forth. We did come up with a number of between $75-$100. It was felt that was manageable by most of us and we have three years to save up for it…
The 45th was a great price, but that was because of the place we held it, the type of meal picked, and the fact that there was money in the checking account to help fund it. That money is almost depleted at this time.
The idea of holding fundraisers over the next couple of years was suggested and all were in favor of it. I suggest that I add a donation button to the Web site for anyone who wished to help out financially.
The August event will be price a few dollars over the cost and act as our first fund raiser. This event was priced at the actual cost, so we did not make anything on it.
When
We took a vote on desired dates from June through September:
· June 10
· July 0
· August 0
· September 18
I am not sure who did not vote, but this tells us that of those present the summer is out! And this coincides with a number of comments we received by email. And of course the end of June is a hot vacation time and could be costly, so it looks like September might be the best time of year.
Number of Events
With many of you coming from out of town, we discussed having something on Friday night like a cocktail hour with horderves. Perhaps a Saturday morning breakfast. Then the big event on Saturday. afternoon or Evening. Some mentioned a side trip to one of the casinos or even a night cruise on the Bay Queen and perhaps a visit to wee the water fire in Providence.
Of course the multiple events idea might work best if we book a hotel and hold everything at one place.
Dress was another topic discussed here and ranged from casual, to dress up, to formal. Someone even suggested a black tie event.
After kicking many of these ideas around, we came to a consensus on a Saturday evening event with a brunch on Sunday morning. At least I think that is what we ended up with!
Type of Food
Everyone seemed to want the 50th to be a sit down meal with a cheese and cracker cocktail hour before the dinner. To accommodate the majority of dietary needs, there should be three choices—beef, fish, and chicken.
Someone suggested food stations where we get to pick out entrees and then sit down. Kind of a multi-tasking buffet.
Music
All agreed that we want 50's music. It could be either a DJ or an live band. They just need to be able to play music from our era and be able to get us up on the dance floor. Many weddings are coming up in the next few months and classmates are going to pay attention to the music at each and pick up business cards.
The band we had at the 45th (Street Corner Serenade) was great. They get about $2,000 and DJ's are not much less.
The Next Step
After some discussion, it was decided we need the services of an event planner. Since most locations have such a person, the following volunteers will visit a location over the next two months and report back to the group at the August event.
Lou and Fran came up with a great list of "memory" questions about our High School times. Questions like who was the principle, the dean of boys, class president, most likely to succeed, and more. We actually knew some of the answers …
We will have another get together In August to discuss the results of the research done as a result of this brainstorming session.
We ended with a raffle for a bottle of wine and some scratch tickets. I did not hear if anyone winning one the big one, but they might have wanted to keep it a secret.
Hope you all have a great summer. See you in August… Dick