FINAL THOUGHTS FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Wow!!! When I opened my big yap and volunteered to head up the organizing committee for the reunion, I figured it would be short-lived, as surely someone would snatch the position away due to my inexperience in such events! Thankfully, no one did. What transpired has been, next to the birth of my children and my sobriety, quite possibly the most spiritual feeling I have had in my life. I simply tried to share my experiences and joys from the 20^th reunion to everyone I spoke to while trying to stoke some interest in the 30^th. And while many thought I was out of my mind to undertake such an ordeal (and by the way, those of you who thought that … WRONG!!!), many people felt the same way as I did, or, I think, kind of became willing to give it a try! What occurred this past weekend was nothing short of miraculous, a divine intervention if you will! But while Gretchen, Syl, and I received the bulk of the accolades, the ones that deserve the most recognition are you guys, the Class of ’76, the “Spirit” of ’76. The energy was overwhelming from Thursday night at the Gas House Grill through Sunday’s picnic at Gay Field. Whether it was folks “re-connecting”, “connecting” for the first time, or giving heartfelt apologies to those they felt they had harmed during their high school days, there was definitely something very special in the air, and because of that, I am truly grateful to have been a part of it!

In my haste to get away from the microphone so quickly (before Grimes could ask me to sing another pathetic rendition of Spinning Wheel – my Wydown Talent Show flop!), I forgot to ask those in attendance to make sure that they keep some of our classmates who are suffering, either physically or emotionally, in their thoughts and prayers in the hopes that they will be joining us for the next big event, which some feel should be in the form of a 35^th year reunion. Among those suffering, Tracy T. (still struggling with Lyme Disease), and Suzanne F. (severe & very painful form of Fibromyalgia). Also, we have lost some of our fellow classmates far too early, and as we get older, so too are we dealing with the failing health of our parents. So, please keep Debbie’s father, Susan and Mike ’s mothers, and Leon ’s mother in your thoughts and prayers because, as Tracy so eloquently stated, “Love is all that matters”.

And finally, with monies left in our Reunion account, I am hoping to make a couple of donations on our behalf to the refurbishing of Gay Field (with a personalized brick in our Class’ name), and to PHL Inc., a not for profit organization started up by the owner of the company that I work for, which is doing great work in rehabbing the athletic facilities in the city’s Public High League. We received a nice letter of thanks that you can read by clicking HERE. Please visit their website at http://phlinc.org and you can see our class listed as a contributor.

It has been an absolute pleasure, and an extreme honor for which I am truly grateful, to serve as your chairman! And, if it is truly the wish of those in attendance, I do hereby gratefully accept the nomination to continue in the chairman’s role for the next reunion (although, y’all have set the bar a bit high, but we’ll see what we can do to improve on the 30^th’s event!!). That is, of course, as long as Gretchen is on board, otherwise, I think I may be having root canal that weekend! Thanks to all who helped, and all those in attendance for making this so special!

Gratefully yours,

Rick Tibbles