Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We have received several questions related to the reunion so I thought we should address them in a FAQ.

Memory Book - missing names

We received several calls from people who did not realize that the book is set up in two sections: the front part includes people who sent in their biographies; the second section includes contact information for those who did not send in their bios. You will need to check both sections.

We did find that we had omitted all of the names after Tom Warner (the last name listed). There are about 30 people missing. We will send out an addendum shortly with those missing names and contact information.

Ed: They have now been sent out to everyone who attended the reunion.

Memory Book Corrections

Since we will be sending an addendum, anyone who noticed an error in their listing, please E-mail me as soon as possible and we will include any corrections at that time.

Ed: The corrections have also been sent out to those who attended the reunion.

Reunion Photo Website - Snapfish.com

We have selected a commercial website for our reunion pictures - Snapfish.com. We sent an E-mail and an invite so that you can post your pictures, view other classmates pictures, and even purchase reunion pictures directly on the site.

However, we have discovered that there is a problem reaching the reunion group photos when people register directly with Snapfish.com without first responding to the invite. It seems to work fine if you follow the link from the invite you received. So go back to the E-mail that includes the invite and it should work. If you can't find the E-mail with the invite or are still having problems, contact me and I will try to assist.

Ed: As of February 6th, 29 albums have been posted to the Snapfish site and 244 people have visited the site.

Art Berkowitz
E-mail: artbcpa@aol.com
Tel: (949) 362-9940 - Pacific time

Extra Reunion T-shirts

We still have lots of the Coral Gables High 40-year reunion t-shirts. They are really beautiful, but I guess we overestimated the number we purchased. Since we don't want them just sitting in a garage, anyone who wants one should contact Karen (kcmccmmon@msn.com). We will send them out for only the cost of the shipping.

Who Attended the Reunion - Final Stats

Here are the FINAL stats regarding our January 12-14, 2007 reunion weekend:

Number of people in our class: 1111

Number of classmates we found: 553

Number of classmates who sent in their memory book information: 236

Number of people who attended the reunion: 358

***For a list of those who attended, go to:*** www.gables66.blogspot.com

It's Over

So here I am - 2:00 AM - sitting alone in my hotel room after hearing for the zillionth time how successful the reunion was. But I ask you, "How can any single guy feel that it was a successful event if he didn't get even one indecent proposal." I understand I don't have a wife to lend for $1 million, but that's not enough of an excuse for me.

Anyway Karen and I are truly happy that so many of you thoroughly enjoyed yourselves.

Here are a couple of preliminary notes:

1. The 40-year reunion was the largest reunion that our class has ever held - attendance was over 350.

2. After a minor audit and a bit of renegotiation, we should end up with a nice "excess of revenues over liabilities" a/k/a a net profit. We intend to leave a small amount to the next reunion committee and also make a donation to the high school.

3. As we were cleaning up, we found an additional box of Memory Books. We understand that a few people "misplaced" their copies. After we mail out the books to those who purchased the book, but didn't come to the reunion, we should have a clearer picture of what is still available.

4. If you are still interested in purchasing a reunion T-shirt, we still have a few available. Contact Karen and we will arrange a "special price."

5. According to the company we purchased the mortarboards from (that's the graduation hats), no one has ever done a recreation of the graduation processional before...and then to have the same person, Mr. Jim Simpson, give them out again 40 years later - well that was very special.

6. Stan "the man" Blake - thank you for adding a special humorous touch to our evening.

And finally for those who asked if I will be happy to see it all come to an end, I say NO, emphatically NO.

It has been a blast.

Too excited to sleep

It's 5:00 A.M. and I am too excited to sleep. The first night of our reunion weekend has ended and I couldn't be more pleased.

It wasn't the number of people who came up to me and Karen to thank us for all the hard work we had put into this reunion (though we did enjoy that too), it was the wide smiles on people's faces and the number of people who told us what a fabulous time they were having.

What was especially pleasing were the number of people who were attending a reunion for the very first time. Karen and I had made a special effort to reach out to those who felt rejected or neglected in high school. Forty years is a long time to carry negative memories. We wanted to help them remember the fonder thoughts that may have been buried beneath all the rest of the junk we carry around with us. From our conversations, the number of first timers was over 50. We hope we were able to help you reconnect with some of those more positive experiences.

And for those of us who are reunion junkies, it is so satisfying to reconnect every five or ten years with people who had such a large impact on our lives as we were growing up. Whether it was at a vacation you took together, a birthday party, cotillion, or just school time interaction, those memories bring a huge smile to our faces. For those who say that we "live in the past", I only wish them as many wonderful thoughts from their current experiences.

Tonight will generate a whole flood of different memories as we get the opportunity for extended conversations at our dinner tables. We may even have mixed memories as we dance to the 50's and 60's music with our classmates from those days. (How many of you can connect a special person with a particular song?)

Some of those memories may not be joyous. (Kathy Nelson and I had a special song that we shared together. Unfortunately Kathy is no longer with us). But others will remind us of happier times and for me, songs that still had words and a beat that you could dance to and sing - like "I told the Witch Doctor".

So If I am up again tomorrow night, I will reflect on day 2 of our our reunion weekend. Have a great weekend and a great lifetime.