Bellingham High School

Class of 1968

Red Raiders
Bellingham, Washington

 

Minutes from February 8, 2008 meeting.
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In attendance: Gary Byron, Ray Moore, Janet Oiness-Kennedy, Terry Lehmann, Linda Birman, Steve Birman, John Patton, Jim Wallace, Trudy Benson, Dave Burns.

I. The committee met at Terry Lehmann’s house at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, February 8, 2008. The minutes from the meeting of January 4, 2008 were unanimously approved.

II. Terry Lehmann gave the Treasurer’s report. Terry reported that we have $414 in savings. $960 was spent on 72 hats. The hats will be sold for $20. Nancy and Bill Jones advanced the savings account $1,300 for the deposit on the Lakeway Inn. Gary Byron will bill the account for $50 for scanning costs, and Linda and Steve Birman $60 for decorations.

III. The cost for the reunion was set at $68 per person. The committee discussed that for those who might not be able to afford the full cost of the reunion can come for the music and dancing portion at a cost of $20.00. The committee thought it would be best to advertise this by word-of-mouth only. Others thought this might not be good idea and complicated matters way too much. This was tabled for further discussion.

IV. Terry reported that he has secured a hospitality room at the Lakeway Inn for the Organizing Committee from 10:00 a.m. the day of the reunion through the night til next day. The cost of the room is $179.00. The committee also discussed posting a “traveler’s link” on the website listing some area hotels and room rates. Janet will gather some information and report at the next meeting. Trudy will register on classmates.com directing classmates to our BHS ’68 website. It was noted that we will need to have a cash box at the registration table.

V. The committee discussed setting up the video in the coatroom and putting the registration table in the alcove. The timeline for reunion is as follows:
a. 5:00 – no host social
b. 6:30 – buffet dinner
c. 7:30 – program/presentation/group picture
d. 9:00 – music/dancing - one band member has moved to California so there is some uncertainty if the band will be able to replace him.

VI. The location for the Friday, classmates-only get together still needs to be determined. The Greek Orthodox Church is not available. The committee discussed having the get-together at Ray’s house. The Elks and the Legion Hall are the other possibilities. Terry reported that the new BIA building is another possibility, but the building may not be completed in time.

VII. A post-reunion get-together with Sehome will be on the Sunday following the reunion at Fairhaven Park from noon to 4:00 p.m.

VIII. Dave will put together a draft of the program presentation for the next meeting.

IX. Gary reported that he finished scanning the yearbook. It will be available in PDF format or for sale on CD. Gary also reported that he will send out postcards regarding the reunion to people who do not have email via an online United States Postal service. The cost is approx .75 per postcard but is all designed online and the USPS does all the mailing work (stamps, printing, addressing, mailing etc.). He will keep track of the cost and submit a bill.

X. Areas of responsibility:
a. Terry has the class banner.
b. Nancy recommended Trish Loop to do the class photo. Her fee is $50 an hour.
c. Ray’s son-in-law will do the videotaping and his brother will take digital photos.
d. Russ and Jeannie Dorr will do the hospitality table.

XI. The painting of the rock was tabled for discussion at a later meeting.

XII. Several committee members made phone calls trying to locate classmates. Results were submitted to Gary who will incorporate into online directory.

XIII. The next committee meeting will be Friday, March 14th at 6:00 p.m. at Terry and Jackie’s Lehmann’s house. Their address is 3811 Gala Loop.

Minutes from January 4, 2008 meeting.
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I. The committee met at Ray Moore’s house at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, January. 4th. The minutes from the meeting of Nov. 9, 2007 were unanimously approved. Committee members present: Ray Moore, Gary Byron, Terry Lehman, Ted Sealy, David Burn, Nancy & Bill Jones, Steve and Linda Birman, Bev Olsen.
• Connie Adler, representing the Sehome Class of 68 was present to help us explore the possibility of some joint activities during the weekend of the reunion, since both schools are holding their reunion at the same time. A joint picnic is the most likely event. Ray will work with Connie on the joint picnic between the two schools.
• Terry confirmed the additional portion of the main ballroom would be available, but the cost is an additional $1,000. He also verified we will have two bars set up. We are responsible to insure each generates at least $100. Admission was set at $68, matching Sehome’s.
• There will likely be no memory booklet.
• We need to work on who will take the class picture. The photographer will charge $50 an hour to take pictures throughout the evening. The group shot would likely be done around 7:30.
• Cut off time for the main room will be midnight.
• We are exploring having a banner made “Welcome Class of 68”
• Janet, Linda, Bev and Trudy will work on wall posters, grad pictures, team pictures etc, which can be derived from the Annual.
• Russ Dorr will help us again with the registration table, where we will also have pictures taken and a video camera. Will need volunteers to help Russ.
• A Friday evening event for grads would likely be at either the Elks or the Legion Club. GMB working on the location.
• We discussed using post cards to communicate the event as it progresses in development to those without email. We could do these ourselves, or through the USPS online service.
• Gary assigned everyone a certain number of names to follow-up on. These are grads for whom we have no E-Mail addresses, possibly no current phone or mailing address either.

The next committee meeting will be on Friday, November 9th at 6:00 p.m. at Janet Kennedy's house. Minutes by Dave Burn.

Minutes from November 9, 2007 meeting.

Not available

Minutes from September 14, 2007 meeting.
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I. The committee met at the Birman’s house at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 14th. The minutes from the meeting of May 18, 2007 were unanimously approved.

II. Further discussion on the details of the Lakeway site. Reviewed the contract and developed questions for Terry L. to take back to them, including the use of extra area that will be curtained off and the use of a hospitality suite by the pool from noon to midnite or later.

III. Laid out basic schedule for the reunion night:

5:00 pm - Social Time starts
6:30 pm - Food -> Buffet
7:30 pm - Program/Presentation
After Program - Band music and dancing.

IV. Friday Night: Bill and Nancy Jones checking on it; time 6 to 11 pm at Greek Orthodox Facility.

V. The next committee meeting will be on Friday, November 9th at 6:00 p.m. at Janet Kennedy's house.

Minutes from June 15, 2007 meeting.
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I. The committee met at Ray Moore’s house at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, June 15th. The minutes from the meeting of May 18, 2007 were unanimously approved.

II. Terry Lehmann gave the Treasurer’s report. After receiving cash donations from committee members for the 40th reunion, we have approximately $800 in the class account. Kent Holsather donated $50 and is challenging at least 10 other people to donate $50 as well. Terry also reported that Paypal is up and running.

III. After a discussion regarding three different sites for the 40th reunion, the committee voted to have it at the Lakeway Inn. Terry Lehmann was authorized to make the deposit.

IV. The committee decided to table discussion of a post-reunion get-together on the Sunday following the reunion until a later meeting.

V. The committee decided to have a live band for the reunion, starting at approximately 10:00 p.m. Ray will look into booking the Imposters. The cost for the band will be around $500.

VI. Terry had a red and white hat printed with the Class of ’68 logo on the front. We can sell the hats through Paypal. If we decide to sell hats, we will need to purchase around 200 of them. The white hat will sell for around $15 and the red hat for $20. Committee members signed both hats and will give the white hat to Christi McClellan and the red hat to Cheryl Patten. Terry was authorized to pay for the hats out of the treasury.

VII. Several committee members and other classmates have donated $130 to the treasury to help pay for the reunion, and several committee members pre-paid $50 towards a deposit on their tickets. The donations and deposits totaled $480.

VIII. Areas of responsibility: Terry has the class banner; Nancy volunteered to do the booklet; Ray’s son-in-law will do the taping; and Russ and Jeannie Dorr will do the hospitality table.

IX. The painting of the rock was tabled for discussion at a later meeting.

X. Ray’s annual summer party will be on Saturday, July 21 at 6:00 p.m.. Please bring an appetizer to share and your favorite beverage.

XI. The next committee meeting will be on Friday, September 14th at 6:00 p.m. at Linda and Steve Birman’s house. Their address is 6000 Rainbow Road in Ferndale. Head north on I-5 and take Exit 262. Go 5.7 miles and take a right on Rainbow Road. Their house is the 2nd driveway on the right. Their phone number is 312-9495.

Minutes from May 18, 2007 meeting.
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I. Minutes from the previous meeting April 27, 2007 were approved.

II. Terry Lehman’s treasurer’s report indicated an unchanged account balance of $695.95.

III. It was decided at the April meeting that we would try for the Hotel Bellwether subject to costs approval with the Casino being a backup location. However, the Bellwether costs came back too expensive for most people’s tastes and so we are back to considering other locations. The front runner now appears to be the Lakeway Inn where our first two major reunions were held. Lakeway is currently being remodeled, its costs are more reasonable, access is best in terms of being in-town, next to freeway, easy to find, it has a large room, it has an elevated stage for speeches, other rooms available across the street and nearby, etc. It just seems to have more of all the items we are looking for and at a more reasonable cost. We are also checking the Casino to see if we can have direct access to the room instead of having to go through the Casino. This was considered a major drawback for the Casino. We hope (again) to make a final decision at the June meeting.

IV. The Friday night pre-function location is basically tabled for the time being. The Greek Orthodox Church will not be scheduling for 2008 until after the end of this year. Discussion included inquiring of the Elks Club as a back up. Terry indicated the Builders Industry Association will be building a new facility, which may be available.

V. It appears that Ray’s band may be available for the reunion after all. He is checking costs and we will decide between having a band vs. just setting up a good stereo and playing oldies via mp3.

VI. Wally will be working on Sunday picnic activities, including softball, golf and food.

VII. We have been slowly getting more updates to our classmates database but have a long way to go. Everyone is encouraged to continue to read the directory online and see who you can help us locate. We are also looking at sending out a postcard mailing this summer to those for whom we have addresses but have not been able to reach otherwise.

VIII. The Garage sale idea was more or less tabled for now until we can be assured that enough people will contribute to make it worth our while. It was decided that the best way to raise money to help defray costs and reduce the cost to attend the reunion, is to ask for donations from classmates. The committee kicked off the donation drive by raising $100 from committee members donations at the meeting.

IX. Terry has opened the Paypal account so we hope to soon be able to do online purchases of the video and any other items. Watch the web site for their availability.

X. The classmates businesses advertisements page is up on the web site. If you have a business you would like to list send the information to Gary at admin@bhs1968.org .

XI. Terry brought sample BHS 1968 alumni baseball caps with the Raider logo. Everyone liked them except wanted the color to be red instead of white. Terry will bring some red samples to next meeting. These caps will potentially be sold at the reunion and online on the web site as well.

XII. The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, June 15th at Ray Moore’s house at 4161 Irongate Rd in Bellingham. Please bring an appetizer to share and your favorite beverage.

Minutes from April 27, 2007 meeting.

The April Reunion Committee Meeting was rescheduled at the last minute because of a conflict with the Alumni Band Concert. A meeting of the core group was held on Friday, April 27th, in order to reach some consensus on the location of the reunion. We were able to decide on the Bellweather as the #1 choice, subject to getting costs firmed up and then finalizing the decision at the May meeting.

Minutes from March 10, 2007 meeting.
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I. Minutes from the previous meeting February 17, 2007 were approved.

II. Terry Lehman’s treasurer’s report indicated an unchanged account balance of $695.95.

III. An update on progress in evaluating possible event locations indicated little additional progress. Janet Oiness Kennedy reported that the Bell Weather rates would run about $199 per room, with a 20% discount if we guaranteed 10 rooms. Added to the previous list of Bell Weather, Silver Reef, Hampton Inn, Lakeway Inn, Northwood Hall and Country Club, was Fox Hall . The Country Club was dropped from the list. Gary Byron suggested a list of questions to ask each possible facility, insuring some consistency of information from each, thereby insuring our ability to better evaluate each facility.

IV. The Friday night pre-function location is basically tabled for the time being. The Greek Orthodox Church will not be scheduling for 2008 until after the end of this year. Discussion included inquiring of the Elks Club as a back up. Terry indicated the Builders Industry Association will be building a new facility, which may be available.

V. Rick indicated some committee members are re-considering whether any type of music and dancing is necessary or desirable. It was suggested using E-Mail to gauge people’s general response to questions about music. Gary will do an email poll. Bill Jones can set up a tape systems, using MP-3 files.

VI. Wally will be working on Sunday picnic activities, including softball, golf and food.

VII. Gary encouraged everyone to continue reviewing the class list and figuring out ways to get information on as many people as possible where we have no current contact information.

VIII. Gary reported on initial class garage sale details, including costs. Using a professional firm would cost 40% of sales. In exchange, they do the storing, sorting, pricing, selling etc. Unusual items would be marketed for us on eBay. The firm will give us ideas on the types of items best suited to sale. It was suggested we do one sale in June and gauge results before attempting another.

IX. The 1988 20 year reunion video has been re-mastered and converted to DVD, and is now available for sale for $15. Terry is opening Paypal account to allow online purchases of the video and any other items. Watch the web site for their availability.

X. Terry reported that Mr. Gilda is no longer doing photography. He is looking for an alternative photographer. There was also discussion about making available digital shots from the reunion that attendees could later download.

XI. Gary suggested adding an advertisements page to the web site, which would allow for class members to post “business card” ads. It was decided these would be free ads. Send your business info to Gary via the website.

XII. Terry is looking into having alumni baseball caps made, with the Raider logo.

XIII. There was some discussion about class of 68 memorabilia available - such as grad announcements. Trudy is going to see what she has.

XIV. Ray will be working up a teacher/others invitation list.

XV. We discussed using a newspaper ad to find other grads.

XVI. The next meeting is scheduled for Sat., April 21st- again at Janet’s house. Please bring an appetizer to share and your favorite beverage.

Minutes from February 17, 2007 meeting.
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I. The minutes from the meeting on November 10, 2006 were unanimously approved.

II. Terry Lehmann gave the Treasurer’s report. After remitting payment to Gary Byron for the website fee, we have $699.95 in the class account.

III. Janet contacted the Bellwether and the fee for their Ballroom is $1,200-1500 for the evening. The cost for catering, including tax and gratuity, is approximately $38.50 per person. The cost per person to rent the facility would be approximately $13.00 (based on 100 attendees). The total for food and rental would be approximately $51.50 per person. Janet and Wally both looked into renting the Silver Reef Casino Pavilion. The Silver Reef waives the cost of the facility if they do the catering. Both facilities do set-up and clean up and allow for a band or DJ. Terry agreed to look into the Lakeway Inn.

IV. The committee also discussed room discounts at the Bellwether and Silver Reef Casino. Janet will check with the Bellwether to see if they offer special room rates, and Steve and Linda Birman will check with the Silver Reef Casino.

V. A discussion took place regarding possible dates for the reunion. The consensus of the committee was to have the reunion on Saturday, August 16th as the first choice, August 23rd as the second choice, and August 9th as the third choice.

VI. The committee discussed the Friday night classmates-only get-together. It was decided that Bill Jones is an honorary member of our class since he is a 1968 graduate of BHS (Blaine High School). ? Bill and Nancy Jones will contact Speedo Southas to see if we can use the Greek Orthodox Church for the get-together on Friday, August 15th.

VII. The committee discussed a post-reunion get-together on the Sunday following the reunion. This item was tabled for further discussion

VIII. The committee discussed having a live band or DJ for the reunion. Ray will look into booking the Imposters. The cost for the band might run $400-$500. The cost for a DJ would be around $350-$400; however, the general consensus of the committee was to have a band.

IX. Gary Byron encouraged committee members to check out the list of classmates to find updated addresses, phone numbers and email addresses for classmates. Gary gave us the login and password for our website but felt we should not post it in the minutes as it will appear on the Internet for all to see. Please contact Gary for the login and password if you need it.

X. A discussion took place regarding the idea of having a garage sale as a way to raise funds to help defray the cost of the reunion. Gary knows a man who will conduct a garage sale for 30-40% of the proceeds, plus a disposal fee if items are not sold and donated to charity. He also sells items over the Internet if they are more valuable. Gary will check into the garage sale and the donation site.

XI. Terry and Gary will look into PayPal for people who would like to pay for the reunion online or buy items, such as the 20th reunion DVD, which is on sale for $15.00. People can also pay with a check and use the cancelled check as a receipt. If people pay with PayPal, they will receive an online confirmation.

XII. The committee discussed having the 40th reunion videotaped, similar to the 20th reunion. Gary will contact Russ Dorr to see if he would serve as the greeter and/or set-up a camcorder on a tripod to tape people as they enter the facility.

XIII. The committee recapped areas of responsibilities and plans to recruit others to serve on these committees as well:

Grads-Only Facility: Bill and Nancy Jones
Entertainment: Ray and Janet
Memorabilia/Decorations: Jim Wallace
Photographer: Terry and Gary
Program/Invitation: Linda, Gary, Dave Burns
Booklet: Bev, Nancy, Linda
Golf Committee: Wally
Slide Show: Gary

XIV. The next meeting will be Saturday, March 10th at 6:00 p.m. at Janet’s house at 4508 College Street. Please bring an appetizer to share and your favorite beverage.

Minutes from November 10, 2006 meeting.
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I. The minutes from the last meeting were unanimously approved.

II. Due to the absence of Terry Lehmann, the Treasurer’s report was tabled until the next meeting.

III. The committee discussed the location of our 40th reunion. Possible sites are: Elks Lodge, Northwood Hall, Fox Hall, and the Bellwether. Ray Moore looked into Northwood and Fox Hall. Northwood Hall does not charge for the facility if they provide the catering for at least 100 people or more. The cost of catering would be approximately $22.00 per person, plus a 25% gratuity. Fox Hall charges approximately $1,700-$2,000 to rent their facility and approximately $20.00 per person for catering. Janet Oiness agreed to contact the Bellwether about the cost to rent their facility. The Silver Reef Casino was also mentioned as a possible location. Janet agreed to look into that site as well. Wally is going to check into the country club costs as well.

IV. The committee discussed the Friday night pre-reunion for classmates only. Possible sites mentioned for the pre-reunion were the Elks Lodge or the Greek Orthodox Church, where it was held for the 30th reunion. The advantage of having the pre-reunion at the Greek Orthodox Church was that people could bring their own alcoholic beverages (Elks has a bar but doesn’t allow alcohol brought in).

V. The committee also discussed having a post-reunion picnic on the Sunday following the reunion. There was some discussion about eliminating the Sunday picnic due to low attendance. It was also felt that activities scheduled for just Friday and Saturday night were sufficient. It was decided that this could wait to be decided, This item was tabled for further discussion.

VI. A discussion took place regarding music for the reunion. The committee discussed having a live band or DJ. Some committee members wanted a band while others felt it was too difficult talk to people with band music. A DJ could lower the volume so people could listen to music and visit at the same time. It was decided to get estimates for both and discuss further at next meeting.

VII. Gary Byron asked for authorization to renew the website fee. The site fee is up for renewal in April at $35 per year, but if we renew now for two years the cost is only$50.00 (saving $20). The committee unanimously agreed to reimburse Gary out of the class funds for the two-year fee when he renews it this month.

VIII. The committee discussed whether we should formalize our group as a nonprofit 501c. The committee felt this was too formal and respectively declined.

IX. A discussion took place regarding ways to raise planning funds for the reunion. We talked about selling t-shirts, the 20th reunion DVD, pens and having a garage sale. The garage sale idea (sometime next spring) was well received. We talked about the feasibility of making the DVD available on the website and at the reunion. The DVD should sell for around $15.00.

X. The group talked about locating more of our classmates and making special efforts to contact as many of classmates as possible and inviting them to our next reunion. It was pointed out that everyone should make an effort to check out the directory info on the web site and look for people they can help locate. We have many people without current contact info.

XI. Linda announced a fundraising event for Kristie McClellan on Saturday, November 25th from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at the Elks to raise funds for research into Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

XII. The next meeting will take place on Saturday, February 17th at 6:00 p.m. at Janet’s house at 4508 College St.

Minutes from April 8, 2006 meeting

Planning has begun for the 40 year reunion in 2008. A meeting of the organizing committee was held on April 8th to discuss plans. It was decided the reunion will be held in August. It will be semi-formal and held on a Saturday, with a Friday night classmates only (no spouses, etc.) casual get together, similar to the 30th reunion.

Four possible locations are being considered for the main event:
Elk's Lodge
Northwood Hall
Hampton Inn
The Bellweather

Discussed, and tabled to next meeting, whether to have a band, DJ, or no music.

 

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