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Well "The Mother-to-End-All-Mothers-of-All Reunions EVER!" is now class
history and what an event it turned out to be!!
I know that Mike wants to send a message with his comments, observations and ideas on where we are headed next, so I will try not to steal too much of his thunder. But I just cannot contain my excitement over how well it turned out and how much class spirit and genuine affection was on hand everywhere for two solid days. I want first to congratulate the committee on putting together the school tour, golf and tennis events, lunches, Mixer and Dinner Dance. People kept complimenting me on the web site but that is only one of the tools that was used by Mike and the others to relentlessly track down and invite all of you to attend. They deserve the full credit for putting this event together. I especially want to thank all of you who were able to attend for being there. Believe me without you it would have been a lot different! A year and a half ago we worried that it might be only Mike, Joan, me and a six pack on the banks of the Chenango. For those of you who could not be there in person we really did miss you and expect to see you the next time. Fortunately Bill Pomeroy provided a professional videographer to film the entire two days. Bill estimates there to be a total of eight hours of material that will eventually be carefully edited down to a summary of highlights for us all to enjoy. Thanks, Bill! Best wishes to all and KEEP IN TOUCH!! Dick "Thunder Thief" Martz After 72 hours of recuperation and 12 hours of windshield time (driving home), I am unable to capture the words to describe my take on the reunion weekend. It was well beyond my wildest expectations and searching for adjectives to describe the "class spirit and genuine affection" is difficult. It was a hell-of-a-reunion! That sums it up in a few words. When you consider that we had nearly 60% participation, and the distances people came, it�s just overwhelming. Carole Wheeler summed it up in a brief phrase "this is who we are", and we are OK! To see the sparkle in Sally Ferris�s eyes and the enthusiasm from so many people was worth all the hours and work. From David Almy and Jill Atwater to Howard Yasharian and Donna Young a good time was had by all (Except for Dick Totman who always had his hand out hoping to win a golf bet.) We had 5 guests, 6 teachers, 31 spouses, and at least 70 classmates at the Friday evening cocktail party/mixer. On Saturday it was at least 73 classmates and 51 spouses. We had only 2 classmates that signed up and couldn�t make it. Bonnie Rogers and Craig Thomas we will look for you in 2007 at the 45th. Yes 2007! Mark your calendars now. Mike O'Loughlin A SUPER production, thanks to you (and RJ & Joan) and I want you to know how GREAT it was...You guys did a fantastic job and THAT made it all the more enjoyable... Everything seemed to fall into place...AGAIN, thanks to you for a memorable weekend... and of course, thanks for Wanda....Made my day...Enjoy your fall. Carol Birmingham Just want to let you know that CAROL (Birmingham) and I really en- joyed the reunion and you and the others did a remarkable job of coor- dinating this and how much we APPRECIATE what you all did...It was a wonderful gathering and I think I enjoyed it as much as Carol...Thanks for another great memory to put in our book...YOU DID GOOD, RJ... Carl And Carol Orimenko Yes. it was a WONDERFUL reunion!! I felt like we were all one big happy family. It seemed like we were all brothers & sisters...well, at least cousins!! It was so great to see all of you folks!! For many years now, we have truly shared a special place in time and have been through many similar experiences together...even if not "physically" in the same location. We are a special group and I hope that we continue to foster and appreciate the unique community of people we are as the CV '62 graduates. Thanks again to Mike, Dick, Willie, Joan, Faith, Jim & Larry for all of your hard work. Count me in on the committee for 2007. Love ya' all, D. Joy Cooper Well I have to tell you what a let down I have had after our wonderful weekend. All of you did a tremendous job creating such a wonderful time. It was fun from the beginning moments to the very end. Thank you for all of your efforts. I cannot wait to see you all again. Best Wishes - Diane O'Brien Hi everybody, It is hard to think of how the reunion could have been improved. Even the weather cooperated (hell, for Binghamton that was super weather!). All the organizers did amazing work and I am glad that Noel and I were there to be part of it. Jim Murphy What a great weekend. It was so wonderful to see everyone. At first sight you could pick some people out and others gave you a bit of a challenge. However, after you were with everyone for a while the changes disappeared and it was like old times. Those who were not able to attended were certainly missed, and as you said we must continue to locate the missing. Again a sincere THANK YOU to Mike, Joan, Faith, Willie and yourself...a work of love well done. Judy Bigart Hi Mike! I just bought five Thank You notes to send to you and the rest of the "Gang of 5" and I hope to get them off this weekend. You really did do a marvelous job and I can't thank you enough for all the hard work and effort you put into the whole weekend. It was absolutely delightful! I just got my pictures back and they are great. If there is anything I can do from Cleveland to help with the 45th, let me know. Love you guys! Peg Michael It was wonderful to see you again Peg! You can count on hearing from us much more often and yes------we will definitely be calling on you and many others to help us with the 45th reunion. They are a ball to work on but as with all things the work is reduced with the help of more hands and more great minds. We can use some fresh ideas and some fresh hands so we will count on you to be part of the group. I will talk with you again soon. Joan Dear Mike, Thank you again from "the bottoms of ALL our hearts" (as well as Joy Cooper's BOTTOM!) for being just the right person to bring us all together again!!! hugs, ^..^ Steve and I had a stellar time over the weekend venturing into the past with truly warm and wonderful people, thanks most especially to the hard work and perseverance of you SPECIAL FIVE! I hope everyone felt some of the good vibes emanating from the Chenango Valley last weekend. On another note, Willis, please forgive that I somehow missed thanking you in person. Being the person to handle all the money, we could argue that YOURS was the most important job! Thanks again, it was a great end! --tennis "girl" (ha, ha) Sue Canders Dear Mikee, I'm still speechless... and very proud to be a member of the class of '62. Very simply, thank you... all of you. I'll be back. Love, Carole Ann Wheeler ditto---2007 will be here soon---and my (golf)game will-- oh well who knows----kudos to you and your team. Ed Miner Mike I haven't had that much fun with my clothes on in years! Just a great time, I just wish that I had been able to talk with everyone, but I sure did try! It certainly was the "mother of all reunions". . . I just can't wait to see you guys again. It was just the greatest time and I think, as a group, we are just great! Thank you so much for making all of this happen-and it continues to happen! regards, Howy To all, We had a fantastic time (Donna and I) - thanks again for all your hard work and efforts. It was great to see everyone again - for us it was the first time in 40 years. Thank heavens for the name tags. Ronald L. Briggs It's been almost a month since the reunion and I'm still buoyed by the air of genuine affection and appreciation that prevailed everywhere. To have been a part of such a wonderful scene is truly a privilege. Again, thank you to all of you, who worked so well to bring us together for this memorable occasion. Kathy Weug Hi all! I haven't seen too much on our web page because I haven't looked, but I did want to join the others that have written in expressing my feelings regarding our reunion. I had a wonderful time getting reacquainted with everyone again. I know I wasn't really close to anyone in high school but I always felt like everyone was my friend and this reunion just reaffirmed that feeling. I'm very good at procrastinating but I really hope I change over this winter and contact a few of you by e-mail to keep up our long-distant friendships. Those in town I hope to call on the phone and gab a while. Anyway - thanks all for such a good time. Happiness and health to all! Love, Ellen Knapp Mooney Dear Mike: I want thank you, Dick Martz and the entire Reunion Committee. I had a better time than I could have imagined. Between the Web site, the E mails, and your phone calls, even those of us perpetually inertial had to take notice. The result of all this was an amazing turnout where we could not only renew old friendships but make some new ones. I met some interesting classmates whom I barely knew 40 years ago. Of course they were probably interesting then too, if we'd only taken the time to know them better. The Committee's hard work made for a wonderful reunion weekend. Thanks Again. Bob Krivanek Dear Faith, Joan, Dick, Mike and Will, I thought you all would get lots of thanks right after the reunion. I've waited to say thank you to spread out the accolades. After attending the Saturday night event, I only wish I could have attended more. It was a wonderful --truly memorable -- gathering!!!!! You all did an absolutely fabulous job. Margie Axtell Many Thanks for all of your hard work! Also, kudos for your continuing attempts via email to keep us together. As I look back on the event itself, I found it, at times, overwhelming. There were many people to greet and catch up on and little time to do so. I regret that I was unable to speak with everyone in the way I might have liked. It was great to see so many of our classmates and to know that great effort was made by most to be there. I came back home to a very busy schedule at school and already it's almost Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a peace-filled new year. Take care. Sincerely, David Lord Mike, Thank you and all of the folks who worked so hard to make our reunion so successful and so meaningful. There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't think about or outright mention to someone how much fun those few short hours were. May you and all of the Class of 1962 have a very happy Holiday, a Merry Christmas, and may 2003 bring you the happiness that the reunion showed us all is alive and well in this old World. take care, Paul Williams |