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June 12, 2021
Hi, <<First Name>>!
It's been a month since I sent out the original "Save the Date" email announcing that our (50+1)-year reunion will be held Saturday, October 9, 2021 in Riverside. In the meantime, I got my alumni database cleaned up and up-to-date, and we currently have 747 verified addresses ready to receive mailed invitations. However, there's one little problem:
We don't know where the reunion will be.
We contacted the Elks Lodge, where we had planned to have our 50-year reunion before the pandemic hit, but they were already booked for that weekend. We contacted Ramona High School to see if the gym was available (and it was), but the school district currently has a pandemic-related policy to not allow outside groups to reserve/use their facilities "until further notice"... which could be next month or who knows when. We've looked at another venue, but their primary facility has two sides open to the environment, and we're not ready to take a chance on the weather and commit until we've exhausted all other options.
So, here's where you might come in...
If you live in the greater Riverside metropolitan area, or still have good connections there, we're asking you to think about other places we might be able to gather for our main reunion event. Here are the basic needs we have:
- Capacity - ability to seat anywhere from 60 to 120 people in a dining setting, preferably up to the upper limit (we don't want to exclude anyone).
- Indoors - we don't want take a chance on the weather and lose.
- Sufficient tables and chairs for everyone - we don't want to have to rent this stuff.
- Location - generally within the greater Riverside/Moreno Valley area.
- Date - Saturday, October 9.
- Time - a four-hour period between 3:00 and 9:00 PM, with a 2-hour setup before and a 1-hour cleanup afterward. For example, reunion from 4:00 to 8:00 PM, setup starting at 2:00, cleanup done by 9:00 PM.
- Alcohol - we're willing to abstain and forego having a cash bar, because we'll end the evening early enough for folks to go out and party with friends elsewhere in town.
- Caterer - will allow an outside company to cater the meal.
- Internet access - would be nice, but not necessary.
- Sound system - would be nice, but not crucial.
- Price - reasonable... get a quote for the amount that we would be charged. We will obtain event liability insurance.
As you can see, this could be your local church/synagogue with a parish hall/ multipurpose room/ gym, a community center, museum, business, etc. We'd like to keep the price down and not get extravagant, because most of us are on fixed incomes now anyway. Here's a starting point (scroll down to "Moreno Valley" or "Riverside") if you're at a loss for where to begin.
I'm waiting for a quote from the caterer, and I'm willing to make an educated guess on what a "yet-to-be-determined venue" might cost in order to mail out the invitations in a timely fashion (we are less than four months from the reunion date) with a location TBD and a guesstimated ticket price, but it would be much better if we could put our collective minds and experiences together to come up with some other creative options for our reunion committee to consider so that we have the basics nailed down in the next week or two.
Have no fear... we will find a location, and we will finally have our reunion!
Please reply with your suggestions and detailed information to me. Unfortunately, I'll be "off the grid" camping locally from Sunday noon until Tuesday afternoon, so please also cc Diana Smith Blas at <lavalavaball@gmail.com>. I'll get back to you when we're close to (or have already made) a decision. Thanks!
Steve
505-660-0353
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