Sharing Reunion Photos

Want to share your photos? Want to view others? The nice thing about using Flickr to share reunion photos is that all "group" members can post images to the same page. So, theoretically, you'd be able to look at everyone else's submitted photos at the same time, picking and choosing which ones you want to view or download, instead of emailing single albums like with some other photo sites.

To Post Photos to Flickr

• You'll need a Yahoo! log-in (from email, fantasty sports, etc.)
• Then you register on the Flickr site
• You'll want to join the WHS 97 "group" provided in the link on the side bar
  
• Next, upload your photos
• Click on the photos you want to submit, and "send" to the group
• They will then appear on the group site

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Screen Shots Starting from Flickr Home
(Click to Enlarge)

Tonight

Kimera (19530 Jamboree Rd) is near the intersection of Jamboree and MacArthur and sits nestled near the base of the Google building.

What to Wear ...

A few people have sent email inquiries about attire. Which leads us to think others out there might want be wondering, too. The venue has a "loungey" atmosphere and somewhere before we had mentioned "after five" attire. To help explain what we meant, we'd say that means what you would wear on an evening out to a nice dinner or nice bar. Maybe not so much what you would wear to a dive bar. But it's not a club, either. Three of the committee members happen to plan on wearing dresses. Cocktail-ish. It's a cocktail party, after all. One says black, long sleeve, knee length. Another says hers is bluish, knee length. And the other says hers has some rouching at the neck. And we hear a few gentlemen plan on nice jeans, collared shirts, maybe a sport jacket. Feel free to dress it up a little if you want. But not mandatory, please wear what makes you comfortable. Does that help at all?

More Prizes!

Wine!
Wait until you see the amazing labels on the bottles of South Coast Winery and Thornton wines – the labels were made with Labeltronix products or services, and a bottle of each donated by Jill Brofman. From design, to labels and printers, to labeling and printing solutions, find out how to make great impressions with Labeltronix (www.labeltronix.com). Perhaps you'll even have a glass of wine while you're at it!

Almost 100 Classmates!!!

We have received payments from almost 100 classmates as of today! We're not even including guests in this count, so get ready to mingle!

Awesome Classmates, Awesome Prizes!!

LRG
Lifted Research Group, LRG, was ranked by Entrepreneur as the #5 fastest growing clothing company out of 500 American clothing businesses (August 2007), and is constantly featured both locally and internationally. Known for their innovative clothing and the unique messaging of each garment, LRG blurs the line between street wear and skate wear, with a broad responsive audience. Both men's and women's clothing will be in the prize line up. Check it out at www.l-r-g.com.

***

Healthy Chocolate!
Heard about the beneficial qualities and healthy properties of unadulterated chocolate? Visit www.paulschocolate.com and explore! There are no artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives, nor sucralose. Also read and learn more about the high antioxidant content and balanced nutritional profile of Xocai.

At the reunion, you might be the lucky winner of one of two boxes of chocolate that Paul Barlow has graciously donated, valued at $25 each. Take home the ultimate antioxidant treat!

***

Tomorrow's post ... What to wear (we've been getting questions)
and answers to any other questions you send us.

Reunion After Party at Fury?

Thinking you might want to head across the street to Fury after the reunion? If so, email David Castle (Scheme036@aol.com). If enough people are interested in getting tables, he may be able to set up a private section. This involves committing to bottle service. Check out Fury, click here!

Payment Deadline Extended

If you have not yet paid:

We’re extending the payment deadline! Do you know someone who has not RSVPed on the evite or paid yet? It's not too late to pay for the Saturday night event! Please send payments to mdrouse5@yahoo.com via www.paypal.com. Tickets are $50/person. Last day to pay via PayPal is Thursday, November 1st at 6pm

We need everyone to sign up early so we can give an accurate head-count to the venue to ensure we have enough food, name tags, memory books, prizes, and so forth. Please encourage your friends to pay before Thursday.

If you have paid:

...Then you should have received an email from Michelle Drousé indicating that “your payment has been received.” Rather than receiving your receipt via email (as previously indicated), it will be available at the registration booth when you check in on November 3rd. If you thought you paid and didn’t receive an email indicating that “your payment has been received,” please email mdrouse5@yahoo.com.

If you have any questions about paying, please email mdrouse5@yahoo.com.

Door Prizes ...

As we're putting door prizes together ... please let us know if your company would like to donate anything for the reunion. No pressure, but if you have something, it might be fun. The idea was inspired by a classmate of ours who donated some generous items. We'll post more on that later!

Last Day to Pay!! Today!

All RSVPs and payments must be received today! A payment secures your RSVP automatically, so make sure you get it in!! Remind your friends. Send payments via PayPal to mdrouse5@yahoo.com (see side bar at right and click on "how to pay" if you need more help).

Also, submit photos! Today is the last day for photo submission as well!

Happy Reunion Drink Prices!!

As you have all read by now, reunion tickets include one beverage of choice (a well drink, beer or non-alchoholic). Due to our high number of paid RSVPs, we have negotiated "happy reunion" prices for our group for the rest of the night (happy hour pricing), with well drinks and beer $5 throughout our event. So, if you decide to have another drink, hit up our private bar for "happy reunion hours."

Last Day to Pay!!!! (Is Tomorrow ... Friday)

Tomorrow is the last day to secure your reservations for the reunion!! Send payments via PayPal to mdrouse5@yahoo.com (see side bar at right and click on "how to pay" if you need more help).

Send in Photos, Send in Photos!!

Friday is the last day to send in those reunion photos!!

High School Photos
Find that snapshot of your team winning the big game. Pull out that old picture of you and your friends at those raves you used to go to. Scan them, slap the year on them (well, include the year), note the names of your classmates and email them to mdrouse5@yahoo.com

"Last 10 Years" Photos
Feel free to send in more recent photos as well. Let us know what year it was and what WHS alumni might be in the photos with you!

These are for the the slideshow and the reunion booklet. Fun, fun.

Great Response!

Lots of you submitted your Reunion Questionnaires! Great! If you forgot, you can still complete a survey and although we might not be able to get it into the reunion booklet, we may be able to include it in the electronic version to be emailed out after the reunion.

Yikes, Ooops, Michelle's email address...

bad typo on my (devon's) part on ALL those reminder emails i just sent out; michelle's email address is:

mdrouse5@yahoo.com

Everyone -- New Easier Online Reunion Questionnaire -- Due Oct. 21st

You may have seen our previous downloadable reunion questionnaire, but now it's EVEN easier!!

Remember, this is for everyone, even if you can't make it to the reunion.

**Just click here and complete the survey!!**

If don't finish in one session (it's so quick, you'll probably finish, but in case your boss comes in or such), just re-click the link and if it doesn't take you to your partially completed survey, just enter your name again, and fill in whatever you left off (we'll match it to your other answers, no problem).

Details & Reminders

The reunion is almost here (three weeks)! As you can imagine, the committee is hard at work bringing it all together. Below are a few reminders and steps for you. If you can't make the reunion, at least you can still complete a reunion questionnaire so we know where you are and what you've been up to:

1. Everyone -- Complete the Reunion Booklet Questionnaire. One Week Left. Easy, Click Here!

Everyone wants to know what our classmates are all up to! Please fill out a questionnaire whether you plan to attend the reunion or not. In fact, especially if you can't make it. We made it even easier for you by converting it to a quick online survey. If we don't get at least 50 questionnaires filled out (though you can pick and choose what answers you want to complete), we won't make a book. So if you want to read about others, help out and add your own details! Let's make this happen! We'll send it to everyone electronically post-reunion as well as having a reunion booklet at the November 3rd event. We swear, it's fun and way too easy, just click here! Due October 21st.

• Reunion Questionnaire Link
• We need 50 entries!
  

2. RSVP (Two Weeks Left)

If you haven't RSVP'd now's the time! Remember, this is a word-of-mouth (word-of-email?) campaign! We don't have even close to everyone's email address, so we NEED YOUR HELP to make sure everyone feels loved!!! if you don't see an old pal on the list, send their email address to devonlorraine@gmail.com and devon will send them the evite, or you can even just forward the evite directly to any email addresses you might have. Everyone is invited, so forward, forward, forward!! But we're getting close to capacity, so if you want someone to come, make sure to act quickly. RSVPs with Payment due October 26th.

• Link to the Evite
• Please note in RSVP which events you'll be attending

3. Send Payment, Payment Info, and Photos to Michelle! (Two Weeks Left)

Make payments to michelle5@yahoo.com on PayPal. There will be a looped slideshow to play during reunion! But come on, do you really only want to look at photos of the reunion committee? Let's get a mixture of those old high school group photos. Let's get your awesome vacation snapshot from Italy. Building homes in Ecuador. Your honeymoon. You and your kids! Just email photos to mdrouse5@yahoo.com with a caption. We're going to need at least 30 people to submit snapshots so that you don't get tired of looking at photos of: michelle, megan, leslie, lauren, devon, michelle, megan, leslie, lauren, devon. You get the idea.

• Submit payment to mdrouse5@yahoo.com
• Send payment info to michelle & megan mdrouse5@yahoo.com (to make it easy)
  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Married Name
  • Guest Name (if you paid for their ticket)
  • Address
  • Phone Number(s)
  • Email(s)
• Submit photos to michelle mdrouse5@yahoo.com
• We need at least 30 people to submit snapshots for the slideshow

4. Check the Reunion Website Often!
Remember that you can find all the latest details and reminders on the reunion website, including information on a potential after party at Fury. Seriously, everything you need is on this page.

• Reunion Website Link (www.whs97reunion.blogspot.com)
• Potential after-party at Fury
• Fun anonymous General Class Data survey to find stats on our class ... coming soon (this is different from Reunion Booklet Quesitonnaire!)

5. Attend Reunion Weekend (Three Weeks Away)

See you Soon!

Wow, Check out that RSVP List!

You can link back to the evite site by using the link on the side bar or by clicking here ... Lots of RSVPs! Remember, that to stop receiving reminders for those attending or for those who have not yet RSVP'd, make sure to indicate you can't make it on the evite site and you won't get those messages anymore. Remember, payments are due by October 26th ... keep those RSVPs coming in and spread the word!

PayPal by Checking OR Credit Card

Please note that payments can now be collected by using Credit Cards and Debit Cards on PayPal. This should make it easier!

A Note About PayPal and Checking Accounts

Please note that if you do not already have your PayPal account linked to your checking, that it may take 3-5 days for your bank's verification. Take this into account if trying to get your payment in by the end of the day on October 3rd, before the price goes up.

Payment Due Date Change - October 26

Please note that payments must be received by October 26th instead of October 30th. Refunds will still be available until October 26th.

Please Read: Frequently Asked Questions (and see additional reunion details in previous post below)

how can i invite other 1997 whs grads that aren’t on the evite list? the reunion committee is doing their best to contact as many alumni as possible. if you have email addresses and/or contact information for anyone that is not on the list, please email it to devon at devonlorraine@gmail.com. also feel free to forward along the evite link and this webpage to our fellow alumni.

who is planning the reunion? the reunion committee currently includes michelle drouse, leslie kasahara, devon nunes, megan mcquaid, and lauren swiderski. previous participants included ryan vieau, paul barlow, sarah beth cook, christine rosenast, kyle martin, and meghan ferris (ozdogu).

everyone is welcome to join. contact devon at devonlorraine@gmail.com to volunteer for last-minute or day-of help.

where does the reunion budget come from? unfortunately, the reunion committee has no money from whs. all expenses and volunteer time have come from the committee members. the final costs of the events will be covered by the ticket sales to the events.

what does my ticket price include? Your ticket covers one included cocktail, light hors d’oeuvres, one reunion book per alum, name tags, decorations, a chance to win a door prize, our private rental space, and complimentary valet parking.

what is the reunion book? the reunion book is an update/memory book with contributions from our classmates announcing current whereabouts, an update on the past ten years, and even photos. please participate whether you will be able to attend the reunion or not! we'd love updates from everyone. just download the questionnaire from the sidebar on the right and complete as many or as few questions as you would like. submit electronically to lauren at mommylauren@yahoo.com or mail directly.

i can't come to reunion, can i still get a reunion book? yes, we will email everyone an electronic version of the reunion booklet after the reunion.

i can't download the questionnaire form, what can i do? just email lauren at mommylauren@yahoo.com and she will email a form to you.

what if circumstances change and i can't make it to the event? you have until october 26^th to request a refund.

what is the dress for the saturday night event? cocktail. after-five.

can i bring my kids to the saturday night party? please leave children at home for their safety and your sanity. you can invite the whole family to the friday night homecoming football game.

is anyone taking pictures? we will not be hiring a photographer for the reunion. instead, bring your camera and take lots of snapshots, then upload them to our flickr reunion page (see side bar for link). anyone can upload photos or download photos, so you'll be able to view, download, or purchase everyone else's photos, too!

how do i buy tickets? make your cocktail party payment now with PayPal to mdrouse5@yahoo.com. if you have any problems using paypal, please contact Michelle Drousé at mdrouse5@yahoo.com or (949) 510-2742. print your receipt from PayPal. refunds are available until october 26th. tickets cannot be purchased at the door. tickets for the football game can be purchased with cash at the gate to the stadium.

Details are Here!

who? you and your guest!
join us for one or both reunion weekend events!!

saturday night cocktail soiree
saturday, november 3rd, 2007
kimera restaurant and lounge

that's right, we're real grown-ups now. we go to cocktail parties, galas, soirees even. among us will be alumni who are activists, settling down, on the prowl, corporate hounds, family people, freelancers, travelers, etc., etc. and we're coming together to see who's who, how we've changed and to reminisce on the days that shaped our lives, the days of glory, of awkward teenage angst, or whatever else it might have been...

we'll gather "grown-up" style to sip cocktails and pop a few light hors d'oeuvres on the patio reserved just for such very swank high school alumni. it's an affair, an event, and we hope your busy calendar, blackberry, or treo has scheduled you in. you busy grown-up, you.

ticket prices and payment details

for tickets to the cocktail party, go to the PayPal site and direct payments through a checking account (no credit cards please) to mdrouse5@yahoo.com (or email Michelle with any difficulties). Just click on “send money.” All payments must be received by october 30 in order to process reservations. Refunds will be available until October 26. See side bar.

cost:
$40 per person if paid before october 3rd
$50 per person after

the ticket price covers:

• one included cocktail (yumm)
• delicious light hors d’oeuvres
• name tag
• one reunion book per warrior
• decorations
• door prize
• private space rental
  
• complimentary valet parking
  

***

added reunion bonus
friday night lights
friday, november 2nd, 2007
irvine stadium
7:00 pm (kick-off)

we're meeting up at irvine stadium the night before cocktails to watch the warriors overtake their opponents in homecoming football game glory. listen to the cheerleaders, "go, fight, win!;" watch the classes compete in half-time skits, see the homecoming court crown a queen, and stay to experience the quintessential post-game show replete with dancers and flags flanking marching band members' sides. yes, it will be a friday night like no other. at least, not since high school. we'll save spots on the bleachers. total high school style.

Save the Date!

Save the Date! November 3, 2007

As alluded to in previous emails and posts, we have solidified November 3 for our reunion event.

For those of you who can make it, we'll also be rooting for the Warriors the night before, at the Homecoming Football Game.

More details to come soon...

Planning

The reunion committee is working together with Creative Reunions, a planning company we have found to be more flexible in accommodating our needs.

It turns out that reunions are not inexpensive!!

We are going to be taking measures to keep ticket prices down as much as possible. But please keep this in mind on your way to Starbucks. A coffee is much cheaper than a latte. And you can start pocketing the change to save up for reunion tickets. We will keep you updated on pricing.

Next, we will be contacting some of those later-coming volunteers...

Survey Says....

Thanks to you all for participating in the survey to help guide our reunion planning. We had 88 participants, and there is an overwhelming consensus to have a 10-year reunion to reconnect with each other! Based on the survey, we’ve created a committee of interested volunteers to help plan the reunion, and we are on our way. This email will bring you up to speed with the survey results and some items the committee is working on.

1. Survey Results:

• August, September, and October were the most popular months for the reunion. Therefore, we are considering holding the event in conjunction with Homecoming Week, which is the last week of October and first week of November.

• Your personal schedule (work and other commitments) may hinder your ability to attend the reunion. Since your budget will also play a factor, we have decided not to have a “destination” reunion and have it in the Irvine/OC area.

• The most popular types of reunions include having one casual event at a local restaurant/bar. Other popular types included a casual weekend with “drop-in” events and/or having a banquet-style dinner.

• Most preferred having drinks at a bar or having food/drinks at a bar/restaurant in the OC area. A BBQ/picnic was also a preference.

• Most were interested in having a local reunion rather than a “destination” reunion, but just for kicks, people selected Vegas as the destination of choice if we went out of The OC.

• It looks like you all still have high school friend connections. Please share this information with them and encourage them to come!

2. The following alumni are serving on the Reunion Committee: Devon Nunes, Michelle Drouse, Lauren Swiderski, Ryan Vieau, Meghan Ferris (Ozdogu), Leslie Kasahara, Christine Rosenast, and Paul Barlow. If you would like to join the reunion committee or would like to share your ideas, please let us know. (Or if you have already expressed interest in volunteering but aren’t able to help at this time, keep an eye out for future emails on ways to help.)

3. We plan on working with a reunion planning company to help locate alumni, send out invitations, secure a venue, and handle the event planning logistics.

4. Keep your eyes peeled for a "Save the Date" announcement. We are shooting for the weekend of Homecoming (November 2nd/3rd), though details have not been confirmed. Inevitably, the exact reunion date (still to be selected) will not fit everyone's schedule, but we will do our best to provide you advanced notice to make plans.

5. Don’t forget to visit http://www.whs97reunion.blogspot.com for reunion updates! Also, you may want to consider registering here and keep your information current to ensure that you are kept apprised of alumni-related events: http://www.woodbridgealumni.com/.

Thanks for reading! Let us know if you have any questions.

Survey Results

A small committee has gotten together to review responses from over 80 surveys. Results coming soon!

Survey Closed

The survey is now closed. I left it open a few extra days as responses were still coming in. More to come.

Survey Update

Great news! Since two days ago, over 50 people have responded to the survey. Looks like there is going to be enough interest for a reunion. Thanks to all those who have given feedback and to all who have said they can help out (this is especially helpful since I am in Chicago).

Keep circulating the survey. I'll keep it open through the weekend. Then we'll see what people have the most interest in doing and when. I'll contact those who said they'd like to help and also send out a little "results" email to everyone on the list next week. We'll keep the mass emails to a minimum so as not to clog the inboxes of all you busy, busy people out there.

Also, Sarah Rubin said that Marni (Bregman) Reinhardt pointed out there is a Woodbridge Alumni Webpage for all graduating classes ... See link on sidebar.

Class of '97 Reunion Website

Ok class, here's a blog page so that if we start planning something, we can post details. We'll use it if it proves useful.

To Reunion or Not To Reunion?

Woodbridge High School Class of '97,

I don't think that anyone else has started planning a reunion. Or maybe someone has. Or already did. In which case, I totally missed that. But I don't think so. That being said, and since I think I somewhat assumed the responsibility back in high school with the whole "sr. class president" thing, I am going to give it a shot. Or at least see if there is interest.

Oh, and Leslie (Kasahara) is going to help. Don't worry, there is plenty more room for others to help if this thing starts rolling.

I talked to Paul Ledesma, who helped plan the Class of '96 reunion. Their class met at Newport Beach Brewing Company on a Friday night, I believe, and then did Dave & Buster's the next day. They had about 100 people turn out!

It sounds like the Class of '96 contracted Great Reunions, a reunion planning company that WHS uses...but before we go there, I just thought I would get some feedback on whether our class is interested in a reunion in the first place, and if so, what kind. Details, contracts, etc. can come later.

Perhaps we weren't the most school-spirited class that WHS ever saw, but it's been ten years. Please take a moment to entertain the survey below. We'll take the responses that I receive back as representative of the class.

And also please FORWARD the link along to more WHS Class of 97ers. Keep in mind the survey will be kept open only for about a week though, so hurry up and fill it out before you completely forget...

Take this reunion survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=424193573730

[Someone more clever would probably sign off with
a quote from our school song or something. Sorry.]

-devon nunes