Putnam City West High School

January 18, 2009

Countdown to our 30th Reunion!

We are in the early planning stage for the 30th Reunion. There is a lot of work involved in planning an event this BIG! The Committee is meeting on a monthly basis to finalize the many items on the to-do list, some of which include searching for lost addresses for classmates, making decisions for the event, i.e. menu, decorations, DJ, hotel accomodations, etc. We are working very hard to make this an event that everyone will want to attend. This month we finally were able to launch our new website for the Class of '79. Our biggest task is getting the word spread so that classmates will log on and add their contact info. We have so many people to find! It is amazing how many people have moved or changed their email address since our last reunion. Most of the challenges we face in searching for classmates involve the unknown"married" names of the female classmates, and finding classmates with very common surnames. We have a "lost" list posted, however that list keeps growing.....Until next time...

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Moser Roy on January 23, 2009 10:39 AM

Hey evrybody! Just wanted to tell evrybody how much fun the monthly meeting have been. Its so fun to go and count how many more gray hairs have popped up lol. I also wantd to let everybody know how West is doing. The school had a new principle start just a few years ago and has been very busy in putting the originality of West back into place. With a new Athletic Director the original colors started showing back up two years ago and according to Mr Meeks (principle) they will never leave again. A whole new coaching staff was brought in about two and half years ago and things have greatly improved with students personalities, pride and academics. The boys basketball team is currantly ranked 7th in the state and the wrestling program is 10th and has five wrestlers ranked in the state. The basketball coach has asked me to send out an invite to all of our alumni to come to the Homecoming. The Patriots will be playing Edmond North at 7pm 30th of January at West. Its a pack the house night the cost is $5.00.

Laurie Adams Wantland on February 12, 2009 12:21 AM

Feb. 11th...We prepared our first mailing to send to all of the classmates that we don't currently have email addresses for. Over 350 ready to mail tomorrow. Our goal is to find as many classmates as possible to make this the best reunion yet. We selected our DJ, and nametag design for the reunion. Everyone is really working hard to actively search for classmates. You can help us by adding your contact info to the ***CLASSMATES*** tab on the left. Review the lost list to see if you know the whereabouts of anyone listed. If you do, just click on the "Contact Us" tab and send us the info. We expect that list to grow since alot of the addresses we had on our mailout were from the 20/25 year list. Until next time.....

Brian Crain on March 14, 2009 10:25 AM

Last Wednesday, I attended the March meeting of the Reunion Committee at Jason's Deli in North Oklahoma City. It was my first visit. A couple of things impressed me that I thought I might share.

     First of all, it was a chaotic meeting with everyone talking and catching up. Despite this, however, Laurie Adams and Kelly Parker made sure that real work was accomplished by the group of about 15. They have some great ideas that will make this Reunion fun and memorable.

     Secondly, I was grateful for how welcome everyone made me feel. Not having been to an earlier meeting was one thing. Another was that most of my high school friends moved away and I knew that Diane LeBlanc was the only one on the Committee that I kept in touch with. Everyone made it an enjoyable evening and I would encourage anyone who wants to attend but has doubts to go to the April meeting.

     Thirdly, I was happily surprised at how healthy and happy everyone looked. There were lots of smiles and laughs throughout the evening. I don't know what their lives have been like, but they made me proud to be part of the Class of '79.

     One interesting thing that happened was the group started talking about one of our classmates, how they hadn't seen him in years and that someone needed to get in contact with him. As that conversation continued, that particular classmate came into the restaurant for his order and was leaving when Kelly Parker caught up with him. After that, others at the table wanted to talk about Shania Twain and Brad Pitt.

     It was a great evening. If you're in the OKC area, you ought to attend; for no other reason than to catch up with old friends or, like I did, make new ones. They have plenty of helpers so you don't have to worry about being called upon to handle anything major.

      Thanks to everyone there last Wednesday.

Laurie Adams Wantland on March 22, 2009 1:17 AM

March 11, 2009....Well, this meeting was certainly a lot of fun! Diane gave us a sneak peek on some really cool door prizes we will be giving away at the reunion. We had some first-time attendees to help in the planning and searching. Brad Homer and Senator Brian Crain were great additions and we really enjoyed visiting with them! It was fun to catch up on their lives. It is truly amazing that, after all these years, we can just pick up where we left off. For me personally, the most enjoyable part is getting to know folks that I didn't really get to know in high school. Very cool...Since our meeting on February 11th, when we sent out our first mailing, we have had over 100 postcards returned to us with addresses that were no longer good. On the positive side we have had a lot of hits on our website, with many classmates entering their contact info. Many of you have been helping in our search. We appreciate all of the help as our goal is to reach as many of our alumni as possible. We have had so much wonderful, positive feedback about our website. We are so glad to be able to share it with everyone, after all, it is for and about the Class of '79! In the next few weeks we will be adding hotel accomodations on the Travel tab and some trivia for everyone to participate in. So stay tuned....Keep sharing the news of the website with everyone! It's hard to believe the reunion is only a few short months away....Until next time

Marc Ganz on April 2, 2009 11:08 AM

Laurie and I think the over/under on how many classmates register on our site (not how many attend the reunion) is 200. We have 128 so far. What do you think? If someone you know hasn't registered on the site, give them a push. Share the fun. I am having a great time reconnecting with classmates I knew and some I didn't know. We all share a common bond..."Give me an O...What does that spell?"

Carol Macrory Allen on May 5, 2009 3:52 PM

From attending reunion committee meetings, emailing from this web site and phone calls....there have been many interesting things learned from people! I really wanted to share with all of you the wonderful news about Stacey Parks Roberts son, Jake.

He won the Mike Ballard award! Talk about proud! So send her an email and congratulate her! This is so awesome! Mike was a really neat guy and has been missed by all that knew him. What a wonderful way to honor his name.

Also, if you are one of the lucky ones that have reconnected with friends...PLEASE share photos with us on the photo album pages!

Laurie Adams Wantland on June 14, 2009 3:42 PM

Hello fellow classmates! Well the past few weeks have been busy with lots of activities. We are in full swing with reunion preparation. We have had 3 meetings since the last post (my apologies as life with a graduating senior has been busy). We also met at Louis's house and constructed some really cool memorabilia to display at the reunion. The committee has been hard at work! Several of our '79 committee members worked this weekend at the Class of 1989's 20-year reunion tables. It was alot of fun. It was really interesting meeting alumni who were 10 years younger. They will in-turn work our registration tables for our reunion, which will allow the committee members to enjoy the reunion without working it! We have another work day scheduled at Louis's at the end of the month, then just one more meeting before the big PARTY! It's hard to believe it is almost here.....really looking forward to seeing everyone. I've had a great time reconnecting via facebook and the website with everyone these past months. I can't wait to see you all in person in July....Until then :)

Linda Motter Vinson on July 14, 2009 5:02 PM

I have very much enjoyed the web site. GREAT JOB TO ALL!!!! I would love to come, but Chris and I;have to pick up our daughter this weekend from diabeties camp. She is a type 1 diabetic and diagnosed on July 13th 1998 when she was 5 and she is now 16.I will miss not being able to visit with everyone, but she comes first in our lives. For those of you who know us please drink a beer, coke, water, or what your choice of beverage is on celebrating a event that would not be possible with out good people.Oh!!!! My spelling sucks Friends and Love you guys always, Chris Vinson and Linda Motter Vinson

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