April 17, 2023                                                                                                                                                        The SHS Class of 1973, 50 Year Reunion was a huge success, and is now History.  Many of you have told me you had a awesome time meeting old friends and teachers. I did too! Photos of the SHS Tour, Ice Breaker, and Reunion are posted in the "Pictures of Our Class" TAB (see The Reunion).....GO SENATORS!

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March 25, 2003                                                                                                                                              This was our last meeting before the Reunion. Everything is coming together nicely. We focused on final expenditures which boiled down to one thing: Appetizers. Appetizers were strongly urged by several classmates and the vote passed with the following understanding: "Albert Douglass said he would pay the appetizer bill one week prior to the Reunion, but woud like to ask Reunion Classmates to help him with a ten dollar donation, if doable, that can be mailed to Albert or given to him at the Reunion." Majority vote approved the motion and we will have appetizers delivered at the beginning of the Reunion, approx 7 PM. Approved appetizers and costs are:

Cheese Trays - 6 ea @ 19.99 = $119.94

Chicken Salad Trays - 6 ea @ 19.99 = 119.94

Large Fruit Tray - 1 ea @ 55.00 = $55

Humus Tray - 1 @ 35.00 = $35

Subtotal = $329.88 x (Sales Tax 8.91%) = ($29.39) = $359.27

Below is a flyer prepared by Deborah Carter (Wan) for all classmates which includes Albert's postal address.

Sparkman High School - Graduating Class of

1973

50^th Reunion

April 14 & 15, 2023

 

Dear Valued & Loved Fellow Classmate of the Class of 1973:

Thank you so much for signing up to attend our 50^th Class Reunion.  We can hardly wait to share stories on how life has treated us since we graduated. 

Activities Planned: New Sparkman High School Tour – 1:00 pm. – April 14, 2023

          Ice Breaker – Twin Peak Restaurant  - 6-8pm – April 14, 2023

                                                          5901 University Dr. Huntsville, AL 35806

           Reunion – Stovehouse (in the Canteen) – 7pm – April 15, 2023

                                                        3414 Governors Dr. Huntsville, Al 35805.

We want to provide appetizers at the Reunion at Stovehouse so everyone will be able to stay and socialize rather than trying to go get dinner. So we are asking for a $10 donation to assist with the Food expense.

Please send your $10 donation to: Albert Douglass – 110 Stewart St. Madison, AL 35758 or if you have a related question contact Alan Ray at aray4762@gmail.com or call (256)614-5320. You can also provide a donation to Albert Douglass at the Reunion. 

But even if you do not wish to make the donation we are still asking for your wonderful presence so we can catch up with each other. Can’t wait to see you!

Yours truly,

Alan Ray, & the members of the Planning Committee.

_____________________________________________________________________________

March 11th, 2023
This Planning Meeting was only about one hour long and expected to be the last meeting prior to the Reunion on April 15th, 2023. Marvin Rice hosted a Zoom meeting; however the cell phone being used at the Stovehouse in-person meeting (with Doug Hendrix, William Noel, Joe Jones, Albert Douglass, and Alan Ray) had a technical problem and locked up. It was eventually rebooted which fixed the problem, but the Zoom members (Marvin Rice, Deborah Carter (Wan) and jean Glover missed a large portion of the in-person meeting. Specific notes from the meeting are: 1. The Stovehouse venue is paid in full. 2. Deborah Carter developed a letter to be mailed to classmates not able to contact to help get the word out. Albert Douglass offered to help mail out the letters next week. Bill Noel, Joe Jones and Doug Hendrix donated $20 each to help pay postage. Letters will be mailed the week of Mar 13th to as many classmates that have not been contacted as possible. 3. There was some discussion about use of remaining funds. Alan Ray's GoFundMe balance is $30 after paying for the venue. Jean Glover's Poppin Popcorn Balance is $452. Discussion about what else to purchase included buying balloons, a gift for the three attending teachers, some appetizers from the Stovehouse restaurants, and what to do with any remaining funds. Albert Douglass recommended buying some appetizer trays (which must be purchased at the Stovehouse, is fairly expensive, since no other food or drinks can be brought onto the Stovehouse). Jean Glover has funds needed to purchase appetizers at the stovehouse. She could order and pay for appetizers or turn the $452 over to Doug Hendrix. We may need to have a special meeting on March 25th to finalize any remaining expenditures. 4. It was noted that there are no other planned meetings before the reunion except a meeting with the MC's to go over the Reunion Day schedule & timing points. Alan Ray also has a meeting with the Sparkman HS Asst Principal on April 10 to for a final School Tour confirmation. Alan will send out a Tour Reminder Email on Tuesday April 11th. Alan also brought all the items on-hand to the Meeting for attendees to see; which includes name tags (two types for classmates and non-classmates). One 1973 Yearbook give away donated by Classmates.com for a classmate that never had one, five small AutoZone Raffle items, 250 Raffle tickets, five award certificates in picture frames for 1) Traveled Farthest, 2) Married the Longest, 3) Most Children, 4) Most Unchanged, and 5) Most Successful. Class Picture Prop 7'x5' Sparkman Senator, and a 2'x8' Banner "Congratulations, You Made It to Our 50 Year Reunion". Thumb Drive with classmate pictures for display on the wall mounted TV, and an iPad with Sounds of the Seventies Music 1971-75 for connecting to the audio system. Deborah Carter (Wan) asked if our class song can be added to the music. We will certainly try to do this.

See You at the Reunion! ...Check-In Table with Name Tags will open at 6:30 PM

 

 

Feb 12, 2023

The reunion Planning Mtg on Feb 11 was completed. In person attendees were Charles Milster, Doug Hendrix and Alan Ray. Marvin Rice hosted a Zoom meeting at the same time that included: Deborah Carter (Wan) in FL, Bill Clark in TN, and Milton Johnson in AL.

The meeting went well and was relatively brief. We covered the budget, We have a balance of $195 to be fully paid up for the Canteen Room usage at the Stovehouse. A few other budget items were discussed briefly including 1) a Senator Picture Prop $135, 2) Balloons $?, 3) Snack/cheese trays (any catered food items must be purchased at Stovehouse restaurants) $? These will be discussed/decided at the Mar 11 Mtg based on our funds balance. The Reunion is Free for all attendees and their guests. There are five restaurants on site if anyone desires to eat at the Stovehouse. There are also two bars and a coffee shop on site. Reunion music will be digital (Sounds of the Seventies 1970-1975).  Digital senior pictures will be shown on the big screen TV in the Canteen Room. Dress Code is Casual. A class picture will be taken with attending teachers. Teachers; Mrs Parker & spouse (2) and Coach Vaughn (1), have been invited and have accepted. Bill Clark ask if Don Peck, Music Treacher, could be invited. Bill is trying to get the necessary contact information.

The effort to determine how many people to expect/attend the three events is currently:  School Tour - 27, Twin Peaks Ice Breaker - 19, Stovehouse Reunion - 52 (+3 teachers = 55), Several classmates have indicated they will know the week of the Reunion for various reasons (new job schedule, surgery, etc). As we get closer expect the Reunion buzz to pickup. If you have contact with anyone on the Missing Classmates list please share this website with them or have them call Alan Ray.  

Next Planning Mtg is March 11th at the Stovehouse (Booth Room) at 10 AM. This will likely be the last mtg prior to the Reunion on April 15th, 2023. Questions call Alan at 256-614-5320.

GO SENATORS!

_________________________________________________

Feburary 8, 2023

The next SHS 1973 Reunion Planning Meeting is this Saturday, Feb 11th, 10 AM to 12 noon at the Stovehouse (3414 Governors Dr. Huntsville). Meet in the Booth room. ((Do NOT go to Burger King.))
Questions, please call Alan at 256-614-5320.

________________________________________________

January 22, 2023

This is a update to the Planning Meeting Notes Posted Jan 15th, 2023 (those notes are found below in this section).

There is no cost for any classmate to attend our Sparkman High School, Class of 1973, 50 Year Reunion. It is FREE to attend. We are going to the Stovehouse venue. However, we are redirecting from the SHED Room to the CANTEEN Room. This seems to be a better suited room than the SHED for several reasons. It has the same features but better (has a PA system, music, and TV to display class pictures (Shed did not have a TV), has its own single bathroom (Shed did not) and overall pricing is better. Pictures of the Canteen have been posted in the TAB: "Pictures of Our Class" and at www.Stovehouse.com. Thanks to Jean Glover for alerting us to the Canteen.

Don't forget to send us your answers to the three (3) questions in TAB "Attending The Reunion?"

The STOVEHOUSE web address is: www.Stovehouse.com . All the restaurants, our Canteen and the entire campus are shown in detail with professional pictures. There is also a calendar of events listing entertainment and other note worthy events for the current month.

__________________________________________________

January 15, 2023

We conducted our Planning Meeting on Saturday, Jan 14th. Attendees were: Marvin Rice, Joe Jones, Cyrus Smith, Charles Milster, and Alan Ray.

We followed the Agenda handout. Notable discussion included a call from Doug Hendrix earlier in the week. Doug mentioned the Stovehouse as a venue option and mentioned SHS Class 1971 used it back on Oct 14, 2022. There is a venue fee, and Class of 1971 did not have any food service. They also invited SHS Classes 70 & 72. For 70 & 72 it was free to attend. We have some funds available, if the venue is within our fundraising budget it could be free to attend for all of our class too.

After a visit to the Stovehouse office their fees are $550 for the first two hours and $100 for each additional hour. Regardless of pricing they want a $400 non-refundable deposit and the balance two weeks prior to the reunion. I ask about a military discount and they said 10% off. So if we use it 3 hours the cost is $650, with military discount its $585, plus a 3% processing fee for a total $602.55. Four hours would be $695.25 (our budget limit is $746).

Planning Meeting attendees all feel this option would better facilitate more classmates attending, especially if coming from out of town and having costs associated with hotel rental. So we voted to move the venue to the Stovehouse and be free to attend, or stay with the American Legion venue and charge as listed on the Registration Form (for meals, etc). We voted and everyone supported moving to the Stovehouse where attending would be Free.

Another issue surfaced on the way to this meeting. Jean Glover sent a message saying some people asked her if the Reunion could be moved out to July or August. All meeting attendees voted to keep it as scheduled on April 15, 2023.Some points made included: Other people probably already made hotel reservations (some may not be refundable), Sparkman is not in session in July and some of Aug so the school does not support a tour when closed or on weekends now. We have been working on this Reunion since Oct 9th 2021; over 16 months, the need to reschedule the date was not offered. Once the $400 deposit is made, it is non-refundable. We can address this again at the Feb 11, 2023 Planning Meeting but both American Legion & Stovehouse venues could be already scheduled for wedding receptions etc. and no longer available in Jul/Aug. Finally, people asking if it can be rescheduled may not come to the reunion even if rescheduled to Jul/Aug.

Meeting attendees agreed to start monthly Planning Meetings. Next Planning Meeting is Sat, Feb 11th, 2023, 10 AM at Burger King on University Dr., in Huntsville. The last meeting will be scheduled in mid March.