It was held at Jade Dynasty Restaurant at Ala Moana Shopping Center!
There was about 20 people in attendance, much smaller than the 10th year reunion 5 years ago.
We had a dinner and then a slide show.
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For the 10 year reunion I only found out about it after the reservations were made. I was new to facebook that year so I missed out on the planning stages.
So for the 15th year reunion, I decided to at least give ideas on organizing.
Well, everyone was too busy and distracted to even think of organizing the 15th year reunion, until I decided take the lead and do the reservations myself.
Using the McKinley High School class of 1999 facebook page, I started to ask for ideas. This was in January.
Some people mentioned Las Vegas. I couldn't leave Oahu this year, so I was like "if anyone wanted in L.V., they can go ahead and organize it, but I'll just organize one in Hawaii for those who can't leave Hawaii this year. Plus our high school is in Honolulu anyways."
Some people favored having the reunion in a Waikiki hotel ballroom. Sounded like a good idea. However, when I emailed various hotels about having the reunion, I got attached PDFs mentioning how much it cost to make a deposit, pay for food service, rent audio-visual equipment......................... whoah..............................expensive! It would've made this reunion much more expensive than the previous one!
I knew Rumours Nightclub can be rented for private parties and reunions. However, just like the hotel ballrooms, their rates are also expensive.
Then I remember hearing a radio ad for Jade Dynasty! That place has been hosting KSSK's Perry & Price Saturday morning show and can also host private parties.
I went to their website (http://jadedynastyhawaii.com/) and called them. Their rates are so much cheaper, plus there's no extra charge for audio-visual equipment. So I made the reservation :)
I announced the reservation in May!
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To fundraise for the reunion, I was thinking of starting a bank account in case people wanted to pay early. I went to Bank of Hawaii ("that's my bank") and found out the tedious regulations involved. They need to see a list of "officers" and "minutes". There is no "officers" nor "minutes", all communications were informal and done over facebook.
I was like "forget it, I'll just collect the money at the reunion".
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I was doing most of the work (while juggling school and work) until July when 2 other classmates decided to jump in and come up with ideas.
At the same time too, I noticed that not everyone in our graduation class was on the McKinley High School class of 1999 facebook group and therefore may not be aware about the reunion.
I also told one of the 2 classmates I met with in July to let everyone on their friend's list know about the reunion, especially with the facts that
- not everyone in our graduation class is on our class's facebook page
- not everyone in our graduation class is on my friend's list.
Lo and behold, that classmate made the announcement to her facebook list, and a few were complaining about "last minute notice". To protect that classmate from additional backlash, I told everyone that I started asking for feedback in January, made the reservation in May AND that they should join the McKinley High School class of 1999 facebook group so that they won't feel left out of any pre-reunion discussions again.
Of course, not everyone is on facebook, and not everyone who has a facebook account is a regular user. So that brings up a challenge of publicizing events. Maybe next time, one of us will also try the other social media outlets (ie Instagram, Twitter or whatever will be popular 5 years from now) to get the message.
Also, next time, I should take the initiative to contact the school's office to post a banner in front of the campus.
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Another challenge is that not everyone who is a regular facebook user was going to come to the reunion.
Many have moved away from Hawaii, so obviously many won't be able to make it. Some have said they could only come with 6 months to a 1 year advance notice. They made a good point, so therefore, I'll start asking for ideas and feedback the year before the reunion!
Also, work schedules will obviously conflict. Saturday's is the most convenient time for most people! Unfortunately, some people have to work Saturday nights.
Also, because many our age have young children, that also makes it harder for some to come. When you're a parent, your child has #1 priority. Just a basic fact of biology.
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But you know what?
Even if this year's reunion has a smaller crowd, the effort was still worth it!
There were a few that couldn't make it to the 10th but showed up for the 15th reunion.
I also had a few conversations with some classmates I didn't interact with much during our high school years.
We talked about our past accomplishments as well as our future dreams.
One classmate is in process of publishing a book.
A few are working as nurses, one of whom just got a new position at a major hospital here.
One classmate is in the same position as me ...... graduate student.
Others work at a shipyard, courtroom, retail, food service, and a church.
We also had a slide show that one classmate put together. People were surprised to see "embarrassing photos" of themselves. We also got to see photos of classmates that couldn't make it, as a way of remembering them.
We then had another half-hour of conversations before the reunion was over.
----
The good news was I collected more than enough money to pay all expenses. It was a major relief on my part!
But yeah, I definitely want to take part in planning the 20th reunion.
Of course, I will compromise with others who want to take part in planning the next one. It's called teamwork.
So to the McKinley Tigers c/o 99ers -- I hope to see you at the next reunion!
Many have moved away from Hawaii, so obviously many won't be able to make it. Some have said they could only come with 6 months to a 1 year advance notice. They made a good point, so therefore, I'll start asking for ideas and feedback the year before the reunion!
Also, work schedules will obviously conflict. Saturday's is the most convenient time for most people! Unfortunately, some people have to work Saturday nights.
Also, because many our age have young children, that also makes it harder for some to come. When you're a parent, your child has #1 priority. Just a basic fact of biology.
---------
But you know what?
Even if this year's reunion has a smaller crowd, the effort was still worth it!
There were a few that couldn't make it to the 10th but showed up for the 15th reunion.
I also had a few conversations with some classmates I didn't interact with much during our high school years.
We talked about our past accomplishments as well as our future dreams.
One classmate is in process of publishing a book.
A few are working as nurses, one of whom just got a new position at a major hospital here.
One classmate is in the same position as me ...... graduate student.
Others work at a shipyard, courtroom, retail, food service, and a church.
We also had a slide show that one classmate put together. People were surprised to see "embarrassing photos" of themselves. We also got to see photos of classmates that couldn't make it, as a way of remembering them.
We then had another half-hour of conversations before the reunion was over.
----
The good news was I collected more than enough money to pay all expenses. It was a major relief on my part!
But yeah, I definitely want to take part in planning the 20th reunion.
Of course, I will compromise with others who want to take part in planning the next one. It's called teamwork.
So to the McKinley Tigers c/o 99ers -- I hope to see you at the next reunion!
