Reunion Date Is Set for June 28

Thanks to Dan O'Brion for sending along word that the reunion is scheduled for Saturday, June 28, 2008, at the Opera House in Fort Dodge. It's a casual event and festivities are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

Dan tells us that plans to hold the gathering around the annual summer concert in Fort Dodge fell through and the committee thought it best to secure a facility now. Unfortunately, Granger Cabin was not available.

The 5,500-square-foot Opera House is located behind the Fort Museum. The address listed is Business Highway 20 and Fort Museum Road, adjacent to Iowa Central Community College.

Viva Las Vegas!

At least some of us have made it. Check out classmate and high roller Brian Girard, who was prominently featured on the giant marquee of the New York New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas last summer. (You can click the image for a closer look.)

Yes, that's comedian Rita Rudner and the Cirque du Soleil show Zumanity sharing space with Brian, who delivered on a promise that his name would one day be in lights, although we were thinking it would end up being Bud Lights.

Brian has been a dealer at New York New York for several years and was one of 12 nominees for 2007 employee of the year. As a finalist, he got his photo and name on the big board. Sweet!

The best thing about this is that Brian now owes your humble webmaster a beer.

Brian was also featured in a Feb. 1, 2007 article about Super Bowl proposition bets that appeared on the front page of the Los Angeles Times.

Now he owes us two beers. ...

Your Guess Is as Good as Mine

Maybe someone from the organizing committee can help me out, but this is everything I know about the reunion:

It's going to be held in July.

Last I heard, the committee was trying to arrange the reunion around a concert that is held each summer in Fort Dodge. I think the Beach Boys were the featured group at this gig a few years back. Perhaps we can get the Rolling Stones, or better yet Meat Loaf (pictured above).

Rock on!

While all this is being sorted out, I'd like to start collecting email addresses from everybody. That way we can keep in contact and send out updates when available. In other words, be a general nuisance.

Unless somebody has a problem with this, I'd like to post the email addresses on a separate (linked) page and display them in a manner where Internet robot programs won't be able to extract the addresses, thus keeping everybody safe from dreaded spam. If you're not comfortable with this, please let me know and I won't post your address and the committee will use it only when sending out updates.

Send your email address to zumajay (at) aol.com.

Oh, and start spreading word about this site.

Welcome

Has it been 30 years already? The answer is yes, yes it has....

We've ventured far and wide since leaving the halls of Senior High. Back in the day, there was a rather crude and prehistoric way of keeping in contact. People used something called the U.S. Postal Service.

Today — thankfully — we have the Internet.

In 1978, the Bee Gees were hot, the Dead Kennedys played their first gig and the Sex Pistols their last — until a 1996 reunion.

But the Sex Pistols have nothing on the Class of 1978! Our reunion promises to set new box office records. To make it happen, we need your input in the coming weeks as we build an Internet community.

Send your suggestions to Jay Christensen at zumajay (at) aol.com.