MARCH 2010 MEETING MINUTES

BHS Class of ’78 Reunion meeting Wednesday, March 10 at TAllen.
In attendance:    Stephanie Busser, Dave Domenick, Rich Dyke, Mike Franklin, Tracy Hamilton, Rick Majesky,  Bernard Neeley, Jean Proctor,  Denise Savisky, Anne Siloy.

Topics of discussion:

TREASURER’S REPORT
We have a balance of $5,103.67 in our account.  This includes $1,638 raised at the Oktoberfest and $1,630 from the Wing Night.    Reunion costs, including a gift to the city of Berea, and offsetting a portion of each ticket price, are expected to be around $3,000.


GOLF OUTING
The outing will be Friday, July 16. -- time and format to be decided. 
Jack Woodards will contact John Knezevich at Briarwood to finalize details.


FRIDAY NIGHT EVENT
An “All Class Reunion” will be held at the Polish Village on Friday, July 16.  Our class won’t be sponsoring the event, so all we have to do is get the word out to everyone, then show up!   The PV will provide food - drinks are a cash bar.  It’s a good idea to bring your own folding chair.


REUNION DINNER
Time:  The Saturday reunion event on July 17 will be held beginning at 6:30 p.m.  
Cocktails (open bar) will be 6:30 – 7:30, dinner (bar will be closed) from 7:30 – 8:30, then we have the venue with open bar until 12 or so for dancing and socializing.  

Cost: Tickets for the reunion dinner, including open bar, will be $40 each. 

Entertainment:  DJ Dave Neylon has been booked for the event.

Food:  Denise, Jean, Rich, and Stephanie went to Bucci’s for a food tasting (yeah, it was rough) on February 25 to sample choices for the buffet.  We suggested the following menu: Roasted Rosemary Pork Loin, Butter Breaded Chicken Cutlets, Roasted Redskin Potatoes, Glazed Carrots, and Green Beans Almondine.  There will also be a vegetarian meal option that will be served plated, at the table.  Salad, rolls & butter will be served at the tables.  Dessert will be brownies, assorted pastries, and birthday cake.

Decorations:  Committee members will be going to Briarwood in May to go over table arrangement and select centerpieces and colors for table linens.   We’re having a large banner made, showing the Brave mascot, and BHS Class of ’78.  

Invitations:  Will be sent out via regular mail sometime in April.  A tear off portion at the bottom can be filled out and returned with payment.  Registration and payment can also be done online.


CLASS GIFT
We’re going to install a handicapped-accessible picnic table at the Coe Lake picnic pavilion, with a dedication from the Class of 1978.  The table will be handicapped accessible, as requested by the city of Berea.  Mike is ordering the table, and the cost is expected to be around $500.


CLASS OF ’78 PHONE LINE
Rich set up a phone number with voicemail box, to take reunion questions or reservations.  The number is 440-266-6353.  The mail box will be monitored by committee members.


NEXT MEETING
Our next reunion committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 31 at 6:30 PM Mikes Bar & Grill.

October Reunion Planning Meeting October 14^th at
Mike’s Bar and Grille

MARCH 2009 MEETING MINUTES

In attendance: Stephanie (Harris) Busser, Rick Majesky, Bernard Neely, Tracy (Kossuth) Hamilton,  Anne (Van Wye) Siloy

 VENUE

We decide to go with July 17th at Briarwood Golf Course.  They were just featured in a "Mimi's" publication, so we thought that we should book them before the added exposure would mean that our desired dates would be taken by weddings, etc. 

It was also discussed that establishing a DATE and VENUE at an early date would help us to figure out WHO might be interested in attending this reunion and give people plenty of time to plan.

I contacted John Knezevich at Briarwood and let him know about our decision. He thanked us,  penciled us in and said he'd just need a deposit of $500 to secure the date and we can stop in and pay by check.  (See fish fry info below)

Also, if we choose to do so, Bucci's would provide a taste testing (at Buccis) to begin menu option selections and John would arrange that for us.    (Nice touch, don't you think??)

Instead of sponsoring a scholarship that would benefit 1 or 2 students for a couple of years...it was suggested that we consider purchasing an entertainment item to be used for Post Prom. 

Each year the Senior parents need to raise at least $10,000-15,000for the venue, food, entertainment. prizes etc.

We just need to find out if there is storage for such an item available at the school.

We talked about fundraisers to offset the cost of the reunion, golf outing, class gift, and or door prizes. 

There were a couple of suggestions: 

* Work a beer booth at the Rib Burn off and/or Octoberfest.  (We'll find out the details of what we need to do, if we need insurance and what % we get)

* Hold a fundraiser or two over the next 18 months... at Scroundrel's on Front Street.  

Here's the deal with that: 

We sell tickets at $20 each.  We get $10 for each ticket sold.

The ticket buyer gets: Unlimited wings (2 flavors), pasta salad, pizza, salad, rolls, dessert AND beer, wine, pop, and/ or well drinks for their ticket price of $20 from 6-9 pm. on a weekend date of our choice.

We can also hold side boards, "Chance basket raffles", etc. to increase our net profit.  

Again, Post Prom recently had one of these and we raised $3200.  Not bad for one night with minimum work involved...and it was LOTS of fun.  (Please note:  I initially reported our profit at $3,500, but learned at our meeting that night that it actually was $3,200.  Still not a bad take for 1 night of fun.)

  If we have 2-3 of these, we can SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the cost of our events AND/or get the Class Gift AND/or get some excellent door prizes if we choose.

It's really pretty easy, and NOT a lot of work!

It was suggested that those classmates that cannot attend or promote these fundraisers could possibly solicit a donation or donate a gift for the raffle to show their support.

We’re planning on going to Briarwood for one of their Friday Fish Fry's to "check out the place" and meet with John.    We decided on March  27.  So if you can join us, that would be great!   We can also give John the deposit at that time.

Next, we thought we should invite area 1978 graduates to join us in planning this event. 

 It was suggested that we meet up at Mike's Bar and Grill on Front Street on Friday, April 17^th at 7:00 pm. (Next to The Shoppe)

We could make some calls and get some commitments? 

We’ll also post this on Classmates.com and Facebook.  Bernard and Stephanie will send us a list of graduates names so we can scan through them and call people we feel comfortable contacting.   We'll just need to communicate with each other who we've contacted...

APRIL 2009 MEETING MINUTES

 BHS Class of ’78 Reunion meeting Friday, April 17^th, 2009 at Mike’s Bar & Grill.

In attendance: Rick Bright, Stephanie Harris Busser, Bob Campbell, Tracy Kossuth Hamilton, George Johnson, Marty McKeon, Bernard Neeley, Jean Camp Proctor, Ken Schroeder, Anne Van Wye Siloy, Alison Tushar, and Jack Woodards.

We will host a get-together on Friday, July 16, 2010 at The Polish Village for ’78 alumni and those from other classes as well. We will request the City of Berea block off the street around the Polish Village for the evening.

 A golf outing will be held at Briarwood Golf Course, the site of the reunion dinner.   The exact date/time of the outing has not yet been determined. Eric Wilhelm has offered the services of his executive assistant to organize the golf outing.   Jack Woodards will get in touch with Eric to see what he has in mind for the outing.

Everyone likes the idea of holding fundraisers at Scoundrels in Berea. It was suggested we do this a couple of times, one being September 2009. A firm date was not set for this. Previous fundraising suggestions included having a beer tent at a local event such as the Rib Burn Off.

We have decided to send “Save the Date” postcards to all classmates for which we do not have an email address via regular mail. The excel spreadsheet will be cross-checked against the web site for current addresses. We plan to send the postcards out in June.

We had a better turn out at this last meeting, adding a few more active volunteers, and we’re hoping for more at regular meetings, too. 

The most important step at this point is finding current information for everyone, and getting the word out about the reunion.

 MAY 2009 MEETING MINUTES

In attendance:  Gordy Barr, Liz Blagg, Stephanie Harris Busser, Tracy Kossuth Hamilton, Marty McKeon, Rick Majesky, Bernard Neeley, Jean Camp Proctor, Denise Grivna Savisky, Ken Schroeder, Anne VanWye Siloy, Alison Tushar, and Jack Woodards.

The down payment for the reunion dinner on Saturday night has been sent to Briarwood.  We began with a balance in the National City Bank account of $2,050.99.  After payments of $500 to Briarwood and $97 for the web site we now have a balance of $1,453.99.

 9/4 –Friday: 5:00 – 9:00
 9/5 --Saturday: Noon-4:00,    4:00-8:00,     8:00-11:00
9/6 --Sunday:  Noon-4:00,       4:00-8:00,     8:00-11:00

9/7 Monday:  Noon-4:30           4:30-9:00

GOLF OUTING

The golf outing will be a scramble format at Briarwood.  It’s open to all BHS alumni.    
Jack Woodards has volunteered to take the lead on this to determine dates/times, etc.

Alison will contact Mayor Kleem to see if we can block off the street between the Polish Village and the Oriole Café on Rocky River Dr., that way both venues can be used. 

Classmates are continuing to join and use the site’s message board and other features.

 Future site additions include a link to Paypal to accept reunion & golf outing reservation payments and donations to the Class of ’78 fund.  

We’re working on adding yearbook photos to all profiles on the site.  

We have some newspaper articles from the Sun News and Plain Dealer that reference classmates and those will be added to the site along with pictures contributed from our years at BHS.  We’re asking everyone who attends the next reunion committee meeting to bring one picture from high school

Judy Price is looking into a DJ for the dinner at Briarwood. 

Gordy Barr has volunteered to be the emcee for the evening.

 THE REUNION DINNER

We will work a beer tent at the Oktoberfest, Sept. 4 – 7.  Each person will work a four hour shift during the following times: 

JUNE 2009 MEETING MINUTES

BHS Class of ’78 Reunion meeting Wednesday, June 17 at TAllen.

In attendance:  

Liz Blagg, Stephanie Harris Busser, Tracy Kossuth Hamilton,   Steve Harris (Welcome, Steve!) , Rick Majesky, Bernard Neeley, Jean Camp Proctor, Denise Grivna Savisky,  Anne VanWye Siloy, and  Alison Tushar.

Topics of discussion:

WEBSITE
A Paypal link will be added to the website to accept donations and payments for the reunion events and the Scoundrels fundraiser.  We’re looking into non-profit status, which affects the fees we’ll be charged by Paypal.  For a regular account the fee per transaction is 2.9% + .30 USD.   A non-profit account would be charged 2.2% + .30 USD per transaction.  It would also be beneficial for us to have a non-profit status for our Reunion dinner.  We may be able to use the non-profit status of the BHS Alumni Association.  Alison will check into that.

Yearbook photos have been added to profiles, and pictures submitted by classmates will be added as they come in.   Activity on the site is going strong – we’re close to 100 active profiles!  Keep spreading the word!

TREASURER
There were no expenditures since the last meeting, and the balance in our account remains at $1,453.99.

FUNDRAISING
We have an updated schedule for the Oktoberfest at the Fairgrounds on Labor Day weekend:  

9/4 – Friday: 5:00 – 8:30  8:30 - midnight
9/5 – Saturday: 12:00 – 4:00, 4:00 – 8:00, 8:00 – 12:00
9/6 – Sunday: 12:00 – 4:00, 4:00 – 8:00, 8:00 – 12:00
9/7 –Monday: 12:00 – 4:30 and 4:30 – 9:00.  

Rick Majesky has been working to coordinate our participation.  We don’t yet know what kind of booth we’ll be working – beer, food, etc., but it will be the same booth for the entire weekend.   If we can get 15+ volunteers, we’ll earn $3,300 for the weekend.

Denise Grivna Savisky will contact Scoundrels to check on available dates. Nov 14th Saturday night, for the first one, with a second Scoundrels event on a Friday or Saturday night in February to attract BW students.     

GOLF SCRAMBLE
The golf outing will be held Friday, July 16, 2010 at Briarwood.  Time and format to be determined.

 CLASSMATE UPDATE
We’re still working on locating classmates, to let everyone know about the reunion and the website.  Steve Harris has volunteered to design the postcards we’ll send out to classmates we don’t have email addresses for.

Barb Palmowski Allen is working (from Philly) on contacting people via phone as time allows.

THE REUNION DINNER
Tracy sent the contract in to Buccis/Briarwood.  We began discussing the menu items. Tracy took a survey from all committee members at the meeting and will present the results at the next meeting.

Next meeting:  Wednesday, July 15 7:00 at TAllen 200 Depot Street

UPCOMING ALUMNI / PV PARTIES
  The Class of ’79 is hosting a party at The Oriole  Cafe on Friday, July 10 as part of their 30th  Reunion weekend.

•  The Class of ’76 is having their annual alumni party on Friday, July 17.  
•  All BHS alumni are invited to both parties.

JULY 2009 MEETING MINUTES

BHS Class of ’78 Reunion meeting Wednesday, July 15 at TAllen.
In attendance:     Gordon Barr, Stephanie Harris Busser, Tracy Kossuth Hamilton, Steve Harris, Rick Majesky, Marty McKeon, Bernard Neeley, Jean Camp Proctor,

Topics of discussion:

WEBSITE

The Paypal link has been added to the website to accept donations.  

TREASURER

There were no expenditures since the last meeting, and the balance in our account remains at $1,453.99.

FUNDRAISING

Below is the schedule of shifts for the Oktoberfest at the Fairgrounds on Labor Day weekend:  

9/4 – Friday: 5:00 – 8:30   8:30 - 12:00
9/5 – Saturday: 12:00 – 4:00, 4:00 – 8:00, 8:00 – 12:00
9/6 – Sunday: 12:00 – 4:00, 4:00 – 8:00, 8:00 – 12:00
9/7 –Monday: 12:00 – 4:30 and 4:30 – 9:00.  

Rick Majesky has been working to coordinate our participation.   We’ll be working the beer tent, and we need a minimum of 8 people per shift.

GOLF SCRAMBLE

The golf outing will be a shotgun start, held Friday, July 16, 2010 at Briarwood.  Time to be determined.

CLASSMATE UPDATE

Steve Harris has created a great postcard.  It will be sent out next month to all classmates announcing the dates of the reunion events.  This will be the first of two or three postcards.   

THE REUNION DINNER

We talked about possibly putting together a memory book for the reunion using postings, etc. from the website.  Gordy Barr has offered to work on this.

NEXT MEETING

Thursday August 20th 7:00pm 

AUGUST 2009 MEETING MINUTES

BHS Class of ’78 Reunion meeting Thursday, August 20 at Mike’s Bar & Grill.

In attendance:     Stephanie Harris Busser, Tracy Kossuth Hamilton, Steve Harris, George Johnson, Bernard Neeley, Jean Camp Proctor, Denise Grivna Savisky, Anne Van Wye Siloy, Alison Tushar, and Jack Woodards.

Topics of discussion:

FUNDRAISING

All names need to be turned in for the Oktoberfest by Sunday, August 23.

Any slots not filled by us will be filled by the caterer.  We only get paid for BHS grads that work.

Denise made arrangements with Scoundrels for our first Wing Night on Saturday, November 14th  from 6:00 – 9:00 pm.  Scoundrels will print tickets for us to sell for the event.  Tickets will be $20 and include pasta, wings, and salad, as well as beer, wine, well drinks and soft drinks.  We’ll make $10 for each ticket sold.  We need to  buy rolls of two-part tickets for a 50/50 raffle, and we plan to have sideboards and a Chinese raffle as additional moneymakers at the event.   

FRIDAY NIGHT POLISH VILLAGE PARTY

 We need to check on outside beer/liquor sales, since the bar inside gets too busy to accommodate everyone.  Also, portable toilets will be needed for outside.  

We’ll set up a check-in table where people can fill out nametags.

We need to decide on food for the event, and who to contact for catering.

CLASSMATE UPDATE

The postcards arrived from Vista Print and were sent out to all classmates for whom we have mailing addresses.  The office of T. Allen was used as the return address, so Tracy will keep track of any returned postcards.

NEXT MEETING - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 AT MIKE'S BAR & GRILL

BHS Class of ’78 Reunion meeting Thursday, September 17 at Mike’s Bar & Grill.

In attendance:     Stephanie Harris Busser, Rich Dyke, Bernard Neeley, Denise Grivna Savisky, Alison Tushar, and Jack Woodards.

Topics of discussion:

FUNDRAISING

We earned approximately $2,000, including tips, during the four days of the Oktoberfest.  Besides making a lot of money, everyone who took part had a great time.   We spent the first 30 minutes of the meeting rehashing the fun of that weekend!   Many thanks to Rick Majesky for setting this up.

Our next fundraiser is the Wing Night at Scoundrels on Saturday, November 14th.  In addition to money raised selling tickets, we talked about doing some type of raffle or sideboard every hour.   We’d like to have a beer stein holding contest such as they had at the Oktoberfest.  We should have enough of the large glass beer steins for the competition - we just have to track them down. 

Another Wing Night option is a basket raffle, with the prize being a basket of items donated by Berea merchants.   We’re asking anyone who feels comfortable or is able to, to contact an area business for a donation for the basket, and bring the donation to the October 14th meeting.  At that meeting we’ll also have the event tickets available to sell, and two-part tickets for the 50/50 raffle.  Once we have all the things we need for side items, we can nail down details. 

FRIDAY NIGHT POLISH VILLAGE PARTY

We’re talked about the possibility of splitting some of the cost for port-a-potties, etc. with the Polish Village.   We’re not sure about setting up outdoor beer sales, but if we include the Oriole as a destination for the event, we might not need outdoor beer sales.

CLASSMATE UPDATE

A few postcards were returned by the Post Office, but the majority found their way to classmates. I’m looking for updated addresses for the postcards that were returned.  Several classmates registered on the site in response to the postcards, and we received some really positive feedback about the postcards.

NEXT MEETING

Wednesday, October 14 at 7:00 at Mike’s Bar & Grill