alum & I
Mar Vista High School Class of 1967 50th Reunion by Lynn McCurdy Robinson
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Sunday brunch at the Mar Vista High School Cafeteria.
hen a few alumni from Imperial Beach, California’s, Mar Vista High School’s Class of 1967 were deciding whether to plan a 50th reunion, we had questions. A key issue was whether we could form a committee who had the time and interest to plan this milestone celebration. In addition, we wanted to be sure the reunion would be exciting enough to attract a large number of fellow Mariners. It was important to keep the registration fee reasonable, knowing that many of our classmates could be on fixed incomes and not necessarily anxious to attend a dinner at an upscale/overpriced hotel ballroom.
dinner menu, and negotiated the cost so attendees paid only $25. We recruited a very talented amateur DJ (a committee member who used Spotify to create a wonderful 1967 era playlist), which minimized entertainment costs. We had the Sunday brunch at our high school cafeteria! We thought it would be a fun place to conclude our reunion weekend, and the school administration was amenable. A local restaurant catered the food and used the school kitchen’s food warmers. The total cost for all three events was $50 per person, which seemed extremely reasonable.
A DIVERSE COMMITTEE
REACHING ALUMNI
Based on email communication starting more than a year in advance, we knew there were enough classmates willing to help organize a 50th reunion. We soon had a committed group from New York, North Carolina, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and California. Several had experience working on reunion committees; others were first-time volunteers. We divided key assignments: researching alumni addresses, contacting potential venues, coordinating mailings, arranging entertainment and decorations, and organizing an auction. For the next 10 months, we interacted by email and phone calls. This long-distance approach and inability to meet face-to-face wouldn’t work for all reunion committees, but we found it to be quite effective, albeit challenging at times.
Of course, a key challenge was to inform alumni of our plans. We used snail mail, email, and social media. We also used some assistance from school administration and previous reunion committee chairs. We used the Been Verified database to find some classmates. Two committee members worked with previous reunion rosters and additional information to develop the best possible mailing list. Classmates shared the most recent addresses they knew for other classmates. We announced the reunion with a flyer mailing, followed by several email updates; some snail mail was still necessary. We set up a private Facebook page and featured the list of classmates attending, posts about reunion events, and weekly photos (which often included humorous captions) to generate interest. We shared information with several Facebook sites that had ties to Imperial Beach. A week before the reunion, there were 140 reservations, including spouses. We knew several others would show up for specific activities.
REUNION EVENTS
We agreed it should be a full weekend so alumni would have options. We hoped a majority would attend all three events – the Friday night “meet and greet,” Saturday dinner dance, and Sunday brunch. 6 REUNIONS v reunionsmag.com
Our goals were to have venues that were close by and in familiar locations, and to keep costs low. After much deliberation, the committee decided the Friday welcoming reception would be at Fleet Reserve Pub in Imperial Beach, a popular local gathering place. Their kitchen facilities and helpful staff ensured we could have a frequentlyreplenished selection of hors d’oeuvres at a cost of $15 per attendee. The Saturday dinner dance was at the Chula Vista Elks Club, also not far from our alma mater. Someone on our committee was a club member, so we got a reasonable rate. We performed due diligence, checking with friends and work associates who had attended events at the Club, to be sure the dining and dancing areas were suitable. We worked closely with the manager/staff to develop the
