Friday, July 15, 2011, Meet and Greet from 7 p.m. to...

Our Meet and Greet was such fun! We gathered at the Albany Marriott's Chat's Lounge, which was a perfect setting for whatever food and drink we wanted. It was a time to mingle and "figure" out if we "knew" the person next to us. Yes, we did have name tags, and most people used them! For some, it was their first appearance in 50 years! It turned out that Jan Arnold, from Oakland, CA, and Ricky (Stewart) and David Perkins, from Lancaster, CA, traveled the greatest distance.

The following were in attendance on Friday evening: Janet Arnold, Arthur Bass, Barbara (Butler) and Jeff Emptage, Julie (Propp) Gardinier and Eric Martin, Lucinda (Coffin) Huggins, George Jenkins, Judy (Koblintz) and Stu Madnick, Patience (Cincotti) Mason, Gary Meislin, Janice (Humphrey) Miller, Alice ("Ellen" Price) and Frank Naughton, Ulrica (Stewart) and David Perkins, Susan (Unger) and John Purves, Judi Safranko, Jeff Segel (Class of '60), Joyce (Johnson) Snell, Suzanne (Newman) and Bill Swerbenski, Linda (Van Zandt) and Tom Thorsen, Penny Traver, and Nancy (Heins) and Tom Wenning.


Saturday, July 16, 2011, Cocktails at 6 p.m., Followed by Dinner

We had 39 in attendance at the Albany Marriott, and it was truly a joyful event. It triggered a lot of memories, and we were all eager to reconnect.

The Skype connection during the cocktail hour with Margie (Childers) Shearer, who is spending some time in Israel, was one of the highlights of the evening. Margie looks great...and modern technology allowed us to include her in our reunion activities. A surprise guest was Coach Bob Lewis. Our senior year was his first year at Milne, so we were "special" to him.

Prior to dinner, Judy (Koblintz) Madnick welcomed everyone, thanked the committee, and suggested a moment of silence for those members of our class who are no longer with us. After dinner, Julie (Propp) Gardinier began an "open mic" session, and, believe it or not, nearly everyone participated by reminiscing about their experiences at Milne as classmates or sharing what they are doing now. This really made this reunion event!

As the evening ended, many expressed interest for a future gathering. About 16 classmates adjourned to the lobby for more conversation. There was so much to talk about!

Saturday evening attendees included the following: Rod and Sharon Abele, Joe and Claudia Allison, Janet Arnold, Helen (Alpert) Goldenberg and Stephen Barr, Arthur and Sophie Bass, Barbara (Butler) and Jeff Emptage, Julie (Propp) Gardinier and Eric Martin, Barbara (Rogler) and Armand Guerin, Stu Horn and Kay Sole, Lucinda (Coffin) Huggins, George Jenkins, Judy (Koblintz) and Stu Madnick, Patience (Cincotti) Mason, Gary Meislin, Alice ("Ellen" Price) and Frank Naughton, Ulrica (Stewart) and David Perkins, Susan (Unger) and John Purves, Judi Safranko, Anne (Oliphant), Smith, Joyce (Johnson) Snell, Suzanne (Newman) and Bill Swerbenski, Linda (Van Zandt) and Tom Thorsen, and Nancy (Heins) and Tom Wenning.


Sunday, July 17, 2011, Breakfast at 9 a.m.

Eighteen showed up for our farewell breakfast, again at the Albany Marriott. It was a real "happening"…lots of conversation about our 50th and a real enthusiasm to discuss what it is like being 50 years older. It just might have been one of the most enjoyable parts of our reunion. We shared a lot about how we spend our time and what is important to us.

All and all, the committee did a super job in orchestrating the reunion and choosing the Albany Marriott as our setting. As for Judy (Koblintz) Madnick—a standing ovation for all of her efforts on our behalf. We "graced" her with a silver bangle bracelet as a token of our appreciation for all of her efforts.

The following attended the farewell breakfast: Rodney and Sharon Abele, Janet Arnold, Arthur Bass, George Jenkins, Joyce (Johnson) Snell, Alice ("Ellen" Price) and Frank Naughton, Julie (Propp) Gardinier and Eric Martin, Judi Safranko, Ricky (Stewart) and David Perkins, Tom and Linda (Van Zandt) Thorsen, Susan (Unger) Purves, Nancy (Heins) and Tom Wenning.


[Note from Judy: I thank you all for the beautiful gift, but this reunion never would have happened without the help of the following: Scott Bunn, Barbara (Butler) Emptage, Lucinda (Coffin) Huggins. Joyce (Johnson) Snell, Janet (Mattick) Vassallo, Julie (Propp) Gardinier, Judi Safranko, and Linda (Van Zandt) Thorsen.]

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