Sunday, October 14, 2012

Gratitude VI

Again, please forgive me for any and all omissions....    everyone of you contributed to the success of our reunion whether I have mentioned your name or not....  I am so grateful for the many blessings bestowed upon me...   the smiles, the hugs and the "I love you's" were beautiful to see and receive!


Ronnie Caesar, Norman Chenevert and Gene Baker
Standing ovations to my favorite emcee ever, Ronnie Caesar, and his sidekick, Norman Chenevert!   When Bobby Campo told me he was building a guitar and the decision was made to auction it off at our reunion, I tried to envision the perfect auctioneer.   Who had the "gift of gab," the hustle, and the love for our teachers (or at least a huge crush on Sister Ann, or Pistol Pete, as he calls her) to do the job?   Clearly, it was Ronnie, and to no one's surprise, I'm sure, Ronnie was totally at ease in his role.   Thank you, Ronnie, for working the crowd and sending our donations to the "Nun Fund" into the stratosphere!  You ROCK!!!

Thanks, too, to Norman, our announcer for the winners of the Silent Auction, and my pre-event advisor for the Saturday schedule.   Besides his wonderful smile and easy laugh, Norman is such a sweetheart...    when I got rattled I asked him for help, and he was great...    led me to the table to eat, watched out for me, and later sat outside with me in that beautiful Saturday evening weather with his arm around my shoulders.  Just what I needed.  (Not only that, but Norman's etiquette is impeccable...   he'll lie and tell you the food you cooked was wonderful no matter what!)

What took the original "Jason's Jollies" five or more men to accomplish, Gene Baker did on his own!    I mean, we surely missed Rodney, but Gene did the crew proud!    Thank you for your very interesting interviews that perfectly segued into the presentation of the BIG CHECK to Sister Ann.  And thanks to George Tullier for his part in presenting it.   What an awesome finale to our fund raising!  (And Gene, please thank your sweet wife for me for the sweet words....  and prayers.   She's neat!)

DEEP Pockets
When we started talking about a reunion, and I was somehow "nominated" to work on it, I had two reservations.  The first being that I was afraid of accumulating any debt in the planning stage (being retired and all), and the second that I wanted enough help to reduce the chances of my going stark-raving mad.   (I'll not speak to the latter...   I had plenty of help, but whether my sanity was ever in check is a whole other matter! LOL!)

When I sent out the first survey I asked if you would be willing to donate some cash for those up-front expenses....     And I promised anonymity to those who did.  So, I will not list any names, but there were quite a few people who sent me money then and later....     Some checks were as large as $250 and others came in smaller, but equally important amounts.   All came with lots of heart attached and notes to "use this as you see fit."   Within a month of opening an account, I had $850 dollars to work with.   Beautiful!  And it didn't stop...    there were those of our classmates who "registered" knowing full well they would not be able to attend, and those whose plans changed at the last minute and never asked for a refund, just saying "give it to the nuns."    There  times, too, when classmates stepped in to help other classmates...   and that is still going on.  

A huge thank you to each and every one of you for all the donations, large and small....     As a group and individuals we have much to be proud of....

            After all expenses were paid, the total donation to the retired
Sisters of the Congregation of Divine Providence came to...        $10,000.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Gratitude V


The Location Team!
Many of you know that this reunion had its beginnings on FaceBook....     Just fooling around one evening, yearbook in hand, trying to see who I could find.   As soon as there were a few of us all "friended-up," talk of a reunion began.   And there were immediate offers of help which I gladly accepted! 

Many thanks go to the team that found you all and I mean ALL!   These folks managed to get physical addresses on everyone of our classmates, telephone numbers on most, and best of all, email addresses!  

Vickie Vanderlick Methvin           Mike "Thunderbuck" Conolly                  Lynn Gravel
Bobby Campo                             Caroline Noone Mott                                Ginger Thiels

And a special thanks to my genealogist/private eye Mary David Baker!  She took on the toughest cases, even writing to distant relatives of one classmate whose married name was unknown to us for months, had no immediate family left in Louisiana, and sadly, was deceased.

The Registration Team
A special thanks to those who gave up hours and hours of football-watching and visiting to work our registration desk Saturday.   Betty Jo and Bob Campo, and Janie Pias have my undying gratitude for welcoming all of you and working with the Bistro to get a head count!   There may have been others that pitched in on this selfless task, and I thank you, too.  

And, kudos to Janie for pinch-hitting on several last minute deliveries!  Picking up our yummy cake at the bakery and delivering it to the Bistro and bringing Marilyn McStay in from the airport...   two sweet surprises!

Gordon Gremillion
Thanks ever so much, Gordon, for your last minute acceptance of responsibility for the Saturday morning tour of Menard.   Without you, those who wanted to see the old haunt would not have known what to do!  Nor would the school have had someone so very pleasant to work with...  by time for the tour, my head was already spinning with Silent Auction items, televisions, boxes of name tags.     You really lifted a burden from my shoulders and I understand that everyone had a swell time!

Contributors to the Silent Auction
Omigosh!  Did we have some wonderful auction items, or what!   I already mentioned Bobby and Betty Jo Campo and that awesome guitar, the lap quilt and man's tray, and Frances Ward Johanson and her beautifully crafted jewelry, but there are so many more to thank!

Thanks to Tommy Faulk for donating a giclee' print of his watercolor work, "The Gathering."  Tommy is our own Gennie Faulk's brother and a 1972 Graduate of Menard.  You can read about Tommy in Alexandria's "Cenla Focus" at www.cenlafocus.com

Joe and Bettye Hebert's daughter did the work on the lovely "1969" etched wine glasses!   Thanks to her and to her parents for donating such a wonderful commemorative items that I know someone is enjoying!.

Thanks to Rosie Randall Williams for beautiful artwork!   We knew she could sing, but what a wonderful, newly found talent Rosie has discovered in her retirement and shared with us!

Ginger Thiels donated the "Granny" rocking chair with the fleur de lis cutout work on the back.  Wasn't that a neat thing?!    It sure would have looked good on my porch.  Ginger's brother-in-law made it...  It got a good workout Friday afternoon as a part of our float decor....    sat on by none other than our own Sister Ann!

Thanks to George Tullier for bringing us a taste of the mid-West in his "Beer Nuts Basket."  What a yummy treat for football watching...   I don't know who won it, but there are several folks I can imagine in their dens munching during football games!

Double or nothing, Captain John "Freddy" Wolf!!!!   Thank you, thank you, thank you for the ever so popular fishing trip in the Galveston Bay!  And for offering a second trip on the spur of the moment.   I wish you all could have heard the details of the trip...   not only are you able to fish all day, but what you catch gets cleaned and cooked for you at a restaurant on the bay.  All part of the package.   Of course, the best part is a day with Freddy!


And Many Thanks to Parc England and the Bistro on the Bayou!
Didn't they host a wonderful event for us!   They donated a dinner for two to the silent auction and here's something you may not know....   they suggested we use HB Smith for our music, and when I declined in order to maximize contributions to the "Nun Fund,"  they offered to pay for half of HB's charge....  and did!

I think we all had a wonderful time at their facilities, and hope you'll consider using them when you have need of a party place or hotel.   Just so you know, they charged us by the person, regardless of the amount of time we used their restaurant.  Neat, huh?  

...and don't forget to use Phillips Signs who donated out Memorial poster for Sunday Mass....   and Trotter's Electronics and Appliances who cut us a mighty nice deal on the big screen TV...  too bad I wasn't able to share the PowerPoint presentations I had planned to show on it, but that wasn't their fault!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

From Sister Ann!

Hi, all.  

 

I can’t tell you how much joy I felt at seeing those of you who attended the reunion.  Before we got together, I reviewed your yearbook pictures—all those young faces, so full of promise and possibilities.  As we gathered, my joy was partly in remembering the time we shared a long time ago, but more in realizing what amazing people you turned out to be.  I was really touched.  Thanks for being there.

 

Major thanks to Sheila and all of you who worked to put the events together.  You did a great job.  And of course, I want to thank all of you who contributed to the Nun Fund.  What a generous thing to do!  Your gifts will be well used to support our many retired Sisters.  Sisters Cecile Clare and Norberta send their thanks as well.  (Those who gave identifiable donations will be receiving acknowledgement letters in case you itemize your deductions.)

 

 Blessings to all!

 

 Sr. Ann

 

Gratitude IV


Paul Dupuis, Ginger Thiels and Helpers
Paul may not have played football for Menard, but he sure does know how to take a ball and run with it!  It was his idea to enter a float in the homecoming parade and he made it happen, along with his able assistant Ginger.  I remember when we first started talking about the "Rockin' Seniors '69" theme:  I was hoping to keep our reunion costs down, wondering what kind of budget Paul needed and whether it might be something we should forgo.   Paul quickly informed me that HE was taking care of the float and did not need a cent.   You've all seen pics of the awesome float, but did you know that Paul and his wife Brenda painted the truck cab on their own, so that we could decorate it in the best "hippie" tradition?

And Ms Ginger rounded up the volunteers to decorate it, tie-dyed the sheets that became the "skirt" and covered the bales of hay for seating.  She adorned the float with cute signs, too...    and shared her amazing enthusiasm with everyone involved.  

A shout-out to Caroline and Jimmy Mott for the huge flags our float carried.   The world has changed since 1969, and we were proud to fly the flags along with the peace signs and "make love not war" slogan.   Another thank you to Mike Blank and Mike Conolly for the CDs that added audible merriment to the float!

I owe Ginger a further thank-you for the monetary gifts she collected from you and so humorously bestowed upon me Saturday night.  I had no idea what was going to happen when she appeared on stage, and frankly, was terrified when she introduced herself as "Sister Mary Marguerita."  What a wonderful surprise that black bag contained...   !!!  As several of you know, my personal measures of success for the reunion were the number of classmates attending (and we sure beat the average),  and the amount of money we collected for the Sisters.    When I opened the pastel envelops given to me, the total was over $1,600.    That alone would have made my day, but of course, you all very generously added more.

Phil Lemoine, Rose Mary Randall Williams, George Tullier, Marian Damico Deville, Sister Ann Petrus and Others
If Saturday night was the most fun you've had in a long time, and you missed Sunday morning, then you missed something quieter, but equally as wonderful.  Our "Celebration" Mass in honor of our deceased classmates and faculty of 1969 was truly beautiful.  

Very early in our planning, Marian contacted Msgr. Ronald Hoppe and he agreed to say Mass "if he were still alive" by reunion time!   George and his wife insisted on bringing him to the Bistro and taking him home, as he had presided over their wedding...  and clearly blessed it well.  Phil bailed me out at the last minute, finding readers, gift bearers, Eucharistic Ministers and serving as altar "boy."   He made sure that each person had their assigned readings, too.  Once I asked him for help, I had nothing left to do...  thank you, Phil.

And thank you, Rosie, for the gift of music.   You and your brother Charles were absolutely wonderful!  How you managed to make the hymns of the sixties fresh and new, I'll never know, but you did, and with such class!  As usual!   And thanks too for your rendition of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" Saturday night.   I don't remember your putting nearly as much body language into the song back in high school.    No offense, but you "vamped" it out in great style!!!

Sister Ann Petrus...   you were the Star Celebrity of the entire reunion, and played it well.  For those who were unable to attend Mass, her "commemorative" remarks were in the form of a beautiful prayer led by her and echoed by several classmates and her suggestions for other parts of the liturgy were wonderful.    There was a warmth in the room we all felt...   the hand of God was holding us close!

Gratitude III


Anita Saybe Ehlers and Herbie Way
Kudos to our CPAs and their extraordinary work on the Live and Silent Auctions!   That's the part the most of you saw...   the two of them pouring over forms and adding money during the last minutes of our Saturday event.   All so we could enjoy seeing Sr Ann receiving the giant check representing your generous donations!

What you didn't see was the preparatory work Anita did for the auctions, making sure those that donated, and those that won items complied with IRS rules, and giving the Congregation of Divine Providence the information they need to issue confirmation of charitable donations.   And you probably didn't know that Herbie provided "independent"  approval of expenditures....    anytime money was spent and someone reimbursed, Herbie reviewed the documentation before Ted wrote the checks.

An extra thanks to Anita for serving as my sounding board on so many aspects of the Reunion.   She is one of the most thoughtful, sensitive people I have ever known.  But we've all loved that about her for a long time.  


Frances Ward Johanson
Rick's Necklace looked something like this!
My sweet, sweet cousin!   Frannie contributed to the reunion in so many ways, from dropping everything to meet Vickie V and I at the Bistro to select menu items, to singing Saturday night, to designing the beautiful commemorative poster we used at Mass Sunday.   She had that poster donated to us by Phillips Signs, had Tommy Faulk's beautiful watercolor print donated for the Silent Auction and made the arrangements for HB Smith to play.  (Wasn't he great!)  And like so many others, did all of this while shouldering other major responsibilities...    tending to her Mom, my aunt, through illnesses and her move from one living arrangement to another, and participating in an Arts Market during the Reunion Weekend.

And you saw that gorgeous jewelry she hand-crafted and donated to the Silent Auction!  Rick Mansour had the winning bid...  and I'm jealous!   You can shop here!  Frances Johanson Jewelry