NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2024 🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃The Reunion Wrap Up!
It Was Great!
With Thanksgiving upon us, I want to say how thankful and grateful I am to everyone who attended our reunion to our hardworking reunion committee for making it happen.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, had a fantastic time and the proof is in the smiles in all the pictures. The weather was perfect! Three days of sun and 80 degree weather. The hotel was just the right size for our Destination Reunion. The rooms were great and the food was fantastic at the event, at the hotel's Patio Bar & Grill and in the surrounding area restaurants.
Denise Dreher Rose came the furthest from our class from Colorado, followed by Chris Damarodas Lowry and Paul Salacain, both from Maine! Colleen Raps Freckleton ('71) flew in from California to attend and she and her husband Brad joined me, my husband Ron, sister Bonnie and her husband Roy on the add-on cruise to the Bahamas from the 18th to the 21st. I needed to decompress and got myself a 75 minute massage while onboard!
Allow me to thank all your committee members for their dedication and commitment these past two years. As it turned out, each of us had different and complimenting skills that contributed to the resounding success of our combined reunion.
Charlie Deitch - He is still working as a professional D.J. here in Florida and he did all of the Music & Trivia for us for FREE! He insisted that this was his gift to our reunion and you can ask anyone who attended how fantastic he was.
Barbara Lachick Dworkin - was our treasurer and my boots on the ground on Long Island. We planned a few Long Island Pop-up reunions every time I went to see my Dad in Port Jeff. Once it's ready, she'll be posting our reunion group photo in Newsday.
Karen Madaffari Theise - is in Florida and we spent time early on in the process scouting out venues together. Karen worked with me to phone and text missing classmates and was by my side assisting with whatever needed to be done.
Rich Kuester - was never without a few tall tales that sucked you in to the joke at every zoom committee meeting. Rich decided to take on the task of our Centerpieces and he clearly had a vision. They are truly works of art and were coveted at the end of evening raffle.
Ann Marie Del Pizzo Martin - Chair 1971 was instrumental in obtaining the deepest discounts and coordinating the menu and exceptions on all that we did at the hotel. She was relentless in helping us find so many more of '70's missing classmates.
Susan Kropat Ferrill - 1971 supplied Ann Marie with the information she was able to glean from the internet about our classmates. She did all the badges, the Welcome Packet documents and marketing to her class and she and husband James provided and assembled the twinkle lit globes surrounding the dance floor.
Frank Gaccione - 1971 treasurer and the Golf Activity Host. Frank got the ball rolling by putting $1500 of his own money in a bank account for the reunion funds so we'd avoid those pesky monthly fees.
Honorable Mentions and Special Thanks
James Ferrill (Sue's husband) volunteered to be our photographer. He and Sue are focused first on getting a good group photo together and then another 400 pictures that need sorting and editing.
Peter Stegemann - and his wife Liz graciously hosted a reunion After Party in their oceanfront suite. He and Liz bought a case of wine that day and I dragged up all the extra desserts from dinner! We really tried to be quiet so no one got in trouble during hotel quiet time!
Bonnie Blackwood MacDonald - (my sister) took several trips to Deerfield Beach with me to meet with local restaurant managers to set up the Activities and check on the renovations and management changes at the hotel and construction on the pier.
Roy MacDonald - (her husband) is a retired golf superintendent and provided input for Frank on different golf courses in the area.
Jackie Vero Moramarco - helped me reach and encourage the 1970 cheerleaders to attend and you'll see what fun they all had in the reunion video on our website.
CENTERPIECES
We had 13 Centerpieces and incredibly, four of the centerpieces went to cheerleaders, Joan Scott, Jackie Vero, Jane Urce and Jackie Sedore. We know Bonnie Blackwood MacDonald ('71) got one along with Betty Smith, and Howard Spier.Rich would love to know who else got one. PLEASE LET ME KNOW! Here follows Rich Kuester's symbolism and creative process in his own words;
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
