Dear Classmates, there are only TWO months to go before our 50th reunion, and our planning activities are in high gear. So don’t delay – now is the time to:
1. Buy your ticket(s) to the Saturday night event—before the price increases on July 1st
• The cost is $50 and will increase to $60/person on July 1st.
• You can pay online or send a check. Details are here: https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72/tickets
• As of today, we’ve already sold more than 160 tickets to about 120 classmates and 40 guests.
2. Plan to attend one of the activities we’ve organized for the weekend
Check out the details at: https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72/reunion-details
• Friday activities
o Picnic on Picnic Point – 11 AM to 3 PM*
o Boat ride on Lake Mendota on the Betty Lou – 12 noon to 2 PM*
o Golf outing at Blackhawk Country Club – 12 noon to 5 PM*
o Evening on the Memorial Union Terrace – 5 PM to 10 PM
• Saturday activities
o Farmers’ Market on the Square – 8 AM to 10 AM
o Tour of West High – 11 AM to 1 PM
o Evening event at Blackhawk Country Club – 5 PM to 11 PM*
• Sunday activities
o Picnic at Bob (Bear) Phillips – 12 noon to 5 PM
*Note that some of these activities have an additional cost and require an RSVP.
3. COVID update
Our committee has heard from a few people with questions and concerns about COVID, especially the risk of getting infected during indoor activities. We have discussed this and consulted with public health experts and will continue to monitor the situation. Our current recommendations include:
• Spend time outdoors. The risk of transmission of COVID is extremely low outdoors. All our activities can be enjoyed outdoors—including Blackhawk Country Club. We are looking into a tent in case of rain.
• Get vaccinated. Vaccines are safe and effective at reducing risk of infection and serious illness.
• Test before any indoor activity. If you are not vaccinated, please test before attending any activity during the weekend.
• Wear a mask. Masks reduce the risk of getting—and transmitting COVID. Everyone should feel free to use them as needed. They will be available at Blackhawk.
• Self-monitor your symptoms. If you experience any symptoms of COVID, please respect the health of others, and do not attend any activities (refunds will be provided).
4. Please add your “profile” to the MyEvent website
We are planning to produce a pdf booklet with profiles 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 profiles from 124 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
Finally, here are a few additional updates:
• Visit our reunion website at: https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72
o Please register and add your profile
o 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
o We have received over $5,800 from 39 donors to help pay the planning costs (e.g., website, postage, supplies) and keep the event affordable for all to be able to attend.
o To donate, go to: https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72/donation.
• Please help us find the emails for our missing classmates
o 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.
o See: https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72/missing-classmates
• Add a tribute on our memorial page
o Please visit our memorials page and add a tribute to classmates who you knew: https://myevent.com/westhighclassof72/memorials
• Keep in Touch
o There are several other ways for you to keep in touch as the reunion approaches
o Email us at: westhighclassof72@gmail.com
o 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.
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:
1. Go to “Menu” in the upper right corner and select “Classmates” and click on “Register.” 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.
2. 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” page.
3. To help connect with your classmates, please answer the four questions about your:
a. Work life,
b. Family,
c. What you are doing today, and
d. What is on your bucket list?
4. 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.