We had a blast the weekend of September 12th starting off Friday night at the Yard House, as many classmates gathered to reminisce and catch up. Pat “Fatima” Calvin was the first to arrive -- and she came all the way from New York! This was the first reunion Fatima had ever attended and she was so worried she would not know anyone and vice versa. You would have never guessed that because by the end of the reunion, she had exchanged and collected so many email addresses of classmates. See, sometimes you have to go “where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came!” We were all glad that those who showed up at the Yard House came!

The Poly football game which followed was a lot of fun. “Go You Mighty Rabbits!” We kicked butts! Poly vs. Mayfair (31-12). Lots of changes with the breaking away of the “traditions” we once knew, but hey… we had a good time anyway. We couldn’t convince Derrick into leading in the cheers, however, Toni Forde-Hixon wanted to come back to teach a few things. (Come on down! You go girl!) A special thank you to Shawn and Sylvia Meza-Ashley for their help and for arranging for the announcement at the game that “The Class of 1973 is in the house!” All told, about 30 people showed up at the mixer and half as much for the football the game.

We couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day, than it was on Saturday for our 30 year reunion. Really, it was sweet! As the committee decorated the room beforehand, we ran into a few people wandering around the Golden Sails Hotel. Some even got in and snuck a peek at the room. I really believe people were in the right place and time in their lives to reconnect and have a great reunion! It didn’t take long to see the magic working! (Thank you Ernie and Ron for sprinkling the fairy dust on the tables!) The party had begun! It started off by the Poly High School Drum Line (17 drummers strong!) making a surprise appearance to kick everything off. It was loud, it was fun, but it was just like the pep rallies. It got people in the mood! We noted Cassandra Stipe and Irene Williams-Lewis “front and center” catching a few beats – they could not hold still!!! It was just what the doctor prescribed to jump-start the “Graying Hares” of the Class of 1973. All through the night, so many genuine hugs and “you look great!” comments were exchanged, not to mention email addresses and business cards. Networking was at its finest! We were amazed at the sense of all the invisible walls from way back when had totally disappeared. We were all so happy in Reunionland! If you didn’t make it to the 30 year reunion, unfortunately, you missed a great thing! No one wanted to leave once the reunion came to the end. It was amazing to see the room full of people when all the lights came back on and the DJ and bartender were packing it all up, calling it a night. Many continued on with post reunion parties at various locations, but as for the committee, we had one more event to tend to early the next morning.

Thank you to Charla Byrne Nuñez and Stephanie Auditor-Fujihara for coming in early to decorate the room, with photos from the Caerulea suspended from the ceiling, for the banners on the walls and decorations on the table – also to all who helped them with the cleanup afterwards. Thanks to Derrick Smith for the wonderful reflections and blessings conveyed, and to Bill Corson who graciously announced the awards and whose great humor added to the presentations! A special mention and thanks to Lisa (Shoultus) Faulkner who brought various items (all the way from Texas) to display on the memorabilia table. Thank you to those who donated door prizes. Your generous donations made this all happen! Congratulations to all who won the great door prizes, and to those who won awards and were good sports in the fun of it all! Click Here to view the awards categories and winners, as well as the list of door prizes given away. Tony Hill, it was great seeing you again! Bob Montana, thanks for bringing your laptop and sharing your video clips! And oh… Karen Davis-Cox, we hope we didn’t embarrass you too much by having the entire “30 Year Reunion - Class of 1973” sing happy birthday to you! Thank you everyone for your participation, the conversation and camaraderie. We don’t have an official count of the number of people who attended, but once we receive it, we will post it! Class of 1973 ROCKS!!!

The picnic on Sunday was at much slower pace, thank goodness! There was still quite a bit of reminiscing going on and mention of what a great time they had the night before. Some showed up with a headache (gee, I wonder why), some stopped by to say hello, and others just enjoyed the quietness of a cool and peaceful setting, bonding with classmates and families one last time before hitting the road to go back home. Although the group was small, it was nice to huddle around three picnic tables and get to know each other all over again. A special treat… two time award winner Debbie Lynch-Crooks, “Brady Bunch Award” (most kids) and “Latest Addition Award” (youngest child born closest to the reunion date), brought the living proof to the picnic. Way to go Debbie!

Hey, we’d love to hear your “feedback” about the reunion events. Click Here to view current Feedback and Comments.

Also, don’t be shy about the photos taken at the reunion. Please share them for posting on the web site. Don’t worry and think that camera lenses always make you look wider. That’s just a myth! You all looked marvelous! There were so many flashes going off, it seemed that the room was filled with celebrities and the paparazzi were in a frenzy! Weren’t the photo sessions a lot of fun? Send Stephanie Auditor-Fujihara (saudihara@mindspring.com) photos you would like to share, so that we can build the 30 Year Reunion photo album. Digitally and emailed to her works best. If you need to send her the actual photos, that will work too. Keep checking the photo albums to see any new photos posted.