It's hard to know where to begin. We had such a magical, wonderful reunion that it's going to take some time to process everything. The memories, reconnecting, food, laughter, fun! What made it special? Everything!
The People: More than we've ever assembled in one place since we left BHS! People flew in from several states, drove from around Texas, ambled over from Brownwood and area, and then there was Uwe Schulz, who arranged his sabbatical from his German university to be here. I've never seen so many people hugging, laughing, taking pictures and having fun!
The Memories: Yearbooks were everywhere, and lots of reminders of times past started plenty of conversations around the room. Lee Morris led us in a heartwarming tribute to our deceased classmates on Saturday morning as we gathered around the memorial tree we dedicated at the entrance to the beautifully renovated Brownwood High School campus.
The Party: Tanya Jones and Marsha McMillan led a crew of volunteers to create a setting that brought oohs and aaahs from everyone who walked in! We gathered for appetizers and registration on Saturday night, and the din from the laughter and conversation nearly drowned out the music! Vicki Cunningham and her volunteers put out a generous barbecue buffet, featuring smoked brisket, sausage, all the trimmings and more desserts than we could finish. Bonnie Schroeder donated custom printed stadium cups featuring our "Back to the Pride" logo to add to the festive feel. Jerry Sims conducted a completely hilarious auction of Tanya's custom centerpieces, raising some needed money for our Reunion Fund.
The Pictures: Thanks to all those wonderful digital cameras, we have hundreds of photos, which have been surfacing on our various Facebook profiles all week. It will take me some time to 'harvest' them and get them compiled into an album to go on our class page, so please be patient! Those of us already connected on Facebook have been viewing them and commenting on them for several days, and it has been a blast seeing them!
The Technology: The value of having connected with each other via Facebook and Constant Contact cannot be overstated. Without question, our dramatic increase in attendance would not have happened otherwise. However, the greater value lies in how we began getting reacquainted prior to gathering. Some of us have been conversing and reconnecting for over a year, simply because we found each other on Facebook. This allowed us to 'break the ice' well in advance of our reunion date. Another fascinating benefit? The ability to post pictures in real time! During our Friday night dinner at Prima Pasta (we rocked the house, by the way!) we were able to post directly on the FB site in real time, giving those who couldn't make it the ability to feel like they were part of us, even though not present.
I'll have more to say later, but for now, I simply want to say how much it meant to so many people to go back and be the Pride together!!
Let's do it again - 2015 sounds like a good year!
Mary Beth Groce Smith
Dallas, TX
