THANK YOU!!!

Ahhh, after a long night of sleep, back to work & reality, then home to unpack and clean, I finally have a minute to reflect, say some much needed thank you's and enjoy all of the photos floating around!

First and foremost, thank you all for coming! I couldn't have asked for a better weekend!!! We could have easily been one of those classes who had to cancel an event because of low interest and slow ticket sales. 

A big THANK YOU to Erika Johnson, Noel Salas, Tonya Hufford and Nicole Ushakoff, this could not have been done without your help, input and extra help financially picking up much needed extras! Most importantly thank you for putting up with my venting or new idea facebook messages (usually coming in the middle of the night, because that's the only time the house was quiet enough for me to think). Thanks for your willingness to help with whatever was needed and to give me support during the few times I thought we might not be able to pull it off.

Thank you to Sara Marshall and Christina Becher who set up spreadsheets to track classmates contact info and for searching for missing classmates.

Thank you to Talena Adams and Jenny Daiuto along with other local businesses who made donations to our raffle.

And to Katie Toft who took on the daunting task of putting the slideshow together...I know how hard that is and when she volunteered I immediately said...YES!!!!!

Thanks to Mijin Youn & Christina Ferrante, Gary Johnson, Chris Ushakoff and anyone else who helped with set up and clean up...you were so much fun and were great at keeping my nerves calm.

Another huge thank you to Noel's husband, Leo Salas, who offered to BBQ for us Sunday.  On a hot day where we were already getting tired from the emotional toll of the weekend, that was really a true blessing!

And for Jamell, who always does whatever it takes to keep people having fun and feeling comfortable! He's always my voice when I don't want to get in front of a crowd and say something. :)

And then just a final little note from me...

Most of you know me well enough to know that I'm happiest not being in the lime light. I don't need to be the center of attention and don't do anything for the recognition.  With that being said, thank you all for the amazing card and gift, that was so sweet to read and very appreciated.  I'm so glad you and your amazing families had a great time!!!

I know some of you heard from classmates who said things like "who wants to go to a reunion" or "I wouldn't be caught going to one".  Those people never bother me (they won't be reading this anyway!).  I know there are those of you who wanted to come but because of distance, illness or just bad timing couldn't make it.  I totally understand that!!! But for the people who could care less about reconnecting with old friends, that's their loss, I wouldn't want someone to come who didn't want to be there.  And who knows, maybe they'll see what a great time we had and will one day change their minds.

Someone asked me at the BBQ "I don't get it, what's the motivation for doing all this"? That's easy to answer... I did this for everyone else that DOES want to spend just a little time catching up and enjoying the company of people who we use to spend A LOT of time with.  I did this for the people who are just happy to get together, whether or not things go perfectly...who don't criticize how things are set up, what we eat or where the party is held.  I did it to give people something to look forward to in their busy lives...a little escape from reality to travel back to a time when we had a lot less responsibilites.  I did it to see people smiling, dancing, laughing and giving hugs to people I use to see hang out together every weekday for 4 years.  I did it for you! :)

Yes, it can be alot of work, I wanted to make it worth it for everyone, especially those who I know spent a lot of money to travel to be with us. It was definitley a labor of love at times but so worth it to be able to see you all having a good time! Life is short, we never know when will be our last time to see old friends...none of us want to be the next person on the "In Memory" board but the older we get, it's unfortunately going to be inevitable...that's what makes it so important to me to make a little time to see each other in person, not on FB or just through email or by phone. :)

I'll upload photos to the website soon and will receive a CD of the photobooth photos that we can share (at least the decent ones :)))) ) here, too but other than that...you can get a break from emails for a long while!

Remember to keep your contact info up to date, so you can be informed of any important news.  (and you might want to start a savings jar...there was talk about a possible destination cruise for our next reunion, either the 25th or 30th...imagine that!!!)

Thanks again for allowing me to plan your 20 year reunion, you really are an amazing group, Class of 1994, and it was my pleasure!

Love you all, Shannan