Well, if you're reading this you probably know that there is a 20th reunion coming up in the near future. You're probably aware that there is a link for payment of your ticket on this very page you are reading. You probably even know that the wombat takes about 14 days to completely digest its food due to its incredibly slow metabolism....or maybe you didn't know that. Anyway, I thought I'd share a few facts you might not know in the next few paragraphs below:
As one of the planners of this reunion, I'm starting to get a little worried. In a little more than a month, I will have to write a check for HALF the amount due to our venue, with the other half due the day before the event! This wouldn't be a problem except for one issue....I'm the only one who has bought a ticket so far. We really need people to step up soon and buy tickets.
I'm pretty convinced that people ARE interested in attending this reunion. A survey was sent out last June in which 101 people responded. 88 people indicated they were interested in attending. In addition, 55% of those surveyed said they believed that a ticket price of $65 or less was a reasonable price to pay for a 20th class reunion. Using this information, and a desire to please as many folks as possible, your committee began to do some work. Together we visited multiple venues, interviewed DJs, opened a bank account, discussed menus, created blogs and e-mail accounts, and a lot of other things.
For those of you who knew me in high school, I haven't changed much. I like to have fun, but I'm pretty damn cheap when it comes down to it. Myself and your committee members have tried hard to keep costs as low as possible for this event, while not skimping on quality.
We've discovered it costs a lot to put on an event for 200 people or so. Your $65 ticket represents a way to cover the costs of the things listed below:
*Venue - We tried to hold the event in Baytown, but many of the choices seemed better suited for a quincenera than a reunion. There is a nice place near the bridge, but the cost was actually higher than the venue we have booked and we would have had to clear all the tables of the floor when the music started meaning that everyone would have to either dance or find a wall to lean on. We thought we had a classmate who could "hook us up" at a hotel she worked for, but still couldn't bring her price down enough to match what we were able to find with Crown Plaza.
*Food and desserts - We will be serving a full meal with snack trays before and dessert after
*DJ - we had to pay extra to find someone willing to play The Humpty Dance, but Matt Albus REALLY wanted to dance to Humpty Dance, so what can you do?
*Security (required by the venue if there is alcohol served)
*Bartenders - a separate cost. not much, but still a cost to factor in, as they are not included with the venue.
*Rental Fees - The use of the pavilion for the Sunday picnic isn't free, nor are the activities or the meal we'll serve that day for classmates and their families.
*Pay Pal - this added about $3 per ticket. I personally hate having to charge this, but I also know that having to cover even just a few bad checks would cost us a lot of both time and money. Plus, it creates a way for people to pay with a credit card and that's what being an American is all about, right?
There are a lot of things you are NOT being charged for either. We spent $70 of our own money just to mail postcards to the 250 people we couldn't reach by e-mail or Facebook. Each of your committee members are out several hundred dollars each right now because of the deposits we've put down for various things. Snacks at the mixer are being paid for from our own pockets. Most importantly, we've invested a lot of time into making this a nice event and trying hard to contact everyone we can, with many more hours of work to go before we can say that we're done.
And despite the economy and inflation, we are still $10 less than the cost of the ten year reunion!
If you're not interested in coming, I understand. And if you'd like to e-mail and tell us to say you won't be there, I totally understand. But if you ARE interested in coming to catch up with old friends and hopefully make some new ones, then please buy your tickets soon. We really do want to make this a memorable weekend. We hope you will be a part of it. - Your reunion committee.
