Dear Classmates, there are only three months to go before our reunion, and our planning activities are starting to pick up. Here are a few things to do, you’re planning to attend:
- Buy your ticket(s) to the Saturday night event: The main reunion event will be on Saturday, August 27th, from 5 PM - 11 PM at Blackhawk Country Club. As of today, we have sold 120 tickets ($50/person) to 90 classmates plus 30 guests. If you’re planning to attend, buy your tickets now, as the prices go up after June 30. For more information and to purchase them, go to: https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72/tickets
- Register for other events: We have several other events planned for that weekend (see schedule below). Two of these events cost and require advance registration:
- Boat ride on Lake Mendota (Friday, August 26th from 12-2 PM). See details below, and RSVP to our Reggie Regent email address (westhighclassof72@gmail.com) if you would like to come. There are only about 15 spots remaining.
- Golf outing at Blackhawk Country Club (Friday, August 26th from 12-5 PM). See details below, and RSVP to Bob Emmerich (Bobemmerich1@gmail.com) if you would like to come. There are about 10-15 spots remaining.
- Please add your updates to the “MyEvent” website: We are planning to produce a pdf booklet with updates of all our classmates (similar to the book made for the 25th reunion), with answers to these four questions:
- Work life? (e.g., education, first job, occupation)
- Family life? (e.g., spouse, kids/grandkids, friends, places lived)
- Doing today? (e.g., where do you live, working or retired, hobbies, travels)
- Bucket list? (e.g., plans for the future, travel)
So far, we have updates from 115 classmates. Please go to: https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72/classmates, register, and answer these questions. If you don’t want your profile posted online, but only shared with classmates in the reunion book, email us with your information at: westhighclassof72@gmail.com
Schedule of Events (as of May 31, 2022)
Friday, August 26th
- 11 AM – 3 PM: Picnic on Picnic Point
- 12 noon – 5 PM: Golf outing at Blackhawk Country Club. See below.
- 12 noon-2 PM Boat ride
- 2 PM – 4 PM: Nap time…
- 5 PM – 10 PM: Gathering on the Memorial Union Terrace
Saturday, August 27th
- 8 AM – 10 AM: Farmers Market on the Square
- 11 AM – 1 PM: Tour of West High and presentation of the plans for the renovation project
- 2 PM – 4 PM: Nap time…
- 5 PM – 11 PM: Reunion at Blackhawk Country Club
Sunday, August 28th
- 8 AM – 11 AM: Open time to meet with classmates for coffee/breakfast
- 12 noon – 5 PM: Picnic at Bob (Bear) Phillips’ farm in Verona (directions to follow)
Finally, here are a few additional updates:
- Visit our reunion website at https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72 and register. We will use this website to communicate about the reunion, to sell tickets for the Saturday night event, and to connect with other classmates.
- Consider donating to the reunion: We have received over $4,500 from 35 donors to help pay the planning costs (e.g., website, postage, supplies) and keep the event affordable for all to be able to attend. To donate, go to: https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72/donation.
- Please help us find the emails for our missing classmates: Our email list has grown to almost 400, but we’re still looking for emails for more than 200 others. Please help us invite them to the reunion. See: https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72/missing-classmates
- Add a tribute on our memorial page. Please visit our memorials page and add a tribute to classmates who you knew: https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72/memorials
- Keep in Touch: There are several other ways for you to keep in touch as the reunion approaches:
-Email us at: westhighclassof72@gmail.com
-Join the Facebook Group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/104938602940042
Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions—or if you’d like to join us in our monthly planning meetings.
Lake Mendota Boat Trip
- What: Betty Lou Cruise on Lake Mendota
- When: Friday, August 26th, 2022; 12:00 noon – 2:00pm
- Where: Mariner’s Inn Boat Dock
- Food: Deluxe Appetizer Buffet (see menu below)
- Beverages: Cash Bar
- Bathrooms: Two
- Handicap/Wheelchair Accessible? Unfortunately, no.
- Estimated Cost per person: Approximately $65 (depending on the number of participants).
- Capacity: Grand Mariner Yacht – 42 persons, or the Excellabella Yacht – 50 persons.
- Menu: Assorted chips and dips, Gardetto’s snack mix, vegetarian variety platter, Wisconsin cheese & cracker platter, mini artisan sandwiches, pesto chicken skewers, spinach stuffed mushrooms, Cajun meatballs, pot stickers, bacon wrapped water chestnuts
- The Betty Lou Cruise is the only boating option on the Madison Lakes that would be suitable for our group. The cruise requires food service (on a per person basis), so there is not an option to do the ‘cruise-only.’
- RSVP to our Reggie Regent email address (westhighclassof72@gmail.com) if you would like to come. Indicate the number in your group including your spouse/partner/significant other, or guest. About 30 people have already confirmed, so there are about 20 spots remaining. We do not need payment at this time, but based on the response, we will determine the final cost and contact you all with the payment details.
Gold Outing at Blackhawk Country Club
- Location: Blackhawk Country Club in Shorewood
- Date: August 26, 2022
- Time: 12:00 pm start of tee times. Tee times between 12:00 pm and 1:00 PM
- Cost: $95/player– Includes 18-hole golf, cart (2 golfers per cart), practice range in advance if desired. Refreshments will be available on a cash basis.
- Format: 4-person team/2-person Best Ball. All four players will play their own ball. The two lowest scores per hole will count toward a team score.
- Each player must play their own clubs. Since this is a private country club, club rentals will not be available. We are working on some small prize for the winning foursome. We expect that some people will want to play with others. That can be arranged on requests, but we would like to try to make each team’s overall skill level fairly even. If you have a registered handicap or you can give me an average score for 18-holes, we may try to handicap the teams. But all skill levels are welcome.
- The outing is capped at 24 players with a possibility of one additional foursome. So, it is on a first come first serve basis.
- Please respond back if you want to be on the outing list. Payment for the outing will be due by August 15. I will be handling those payments. I will provide details about payment later. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing all of you at the reunion.
Bob Emmerich
Madison West HS Class of 1972
Cell – 608-220-7952 Bobemmerich1@gmail.com
How to register on our reunion website (https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72)
We will use this website to communicate about the reunion, and for people to pay for the costs of the event. To register, simply follow these four simple steps:
- Go to “Menu” in the upper right corner and select “Classmates” and click on “” It will ask you for your first and last name, an email address, and a secure Password. Please note that emails and contact information won’t be shared publicly.
- Once registered you will be asked for optional contact information. If you give a city location, it will show on the map on the “Where Are They Now”
- To help connect with your classmates, please answer the four questions about your:
- Work life,
- Family,
- What you are doing today, and
- What is on your bucket list?
- Finally, upload a “now” photo (headshot). After you finish registering, we will upload a “then” photo using your headshot from the West 1972 Yearbook.
Your 50th reunion planning committee: Bob Curry, Betsy (Payton) Duren, Bob Emmerich, Ellen (Roenneburg) Emmitt, Laurie Levin, Bob Lucas, Sue (Greene) Meyer, Linda (Connelly) Peterson, Bear Phillips, Kate (L’Heureux) Remington, Pat Remington, Ginny Rohlich, Sandy Rotter, and Ken Saiki.
