Kimball High School Class of 1998

Class Reunion Update:

Happy Holidays! Our 25 year class reunion is going to be rescheduled based on feedback received that this time of year is just too busy for many people and we of course want as many classmates there as possible, last time was awesome! :) Everyone who purchased tickets will receive a refund back to their original payment method.

Some classmates (including Luke Brunner and Sarrah SaintOnge) have offered to host the reunion (next summer I believe) which was very generous and could be great fun! Anyone interested in hosting please replay to confirm you are interested and what month you were thinking so we can get the word out. Our last reunion had close to 180 people attend so while the number could possibly be less (or more), please just think about the food and drink situation and how you would like to handle that.

As always with posts about a reunion, even if you aren't able to attend a particular event, please repost so that word gets out to as many classmates as possible, its a big help.

Lastly, because we can quickly and easily reach a lot of classmates through posts on this page I am always happy to make a post if someone is headed back into town and just wants to catch up with some old friends. Simply message me with the info you want posted like, "Anyone available, please feel free to join be at 24 Seconds in Berkley on Tuesday May 28th at 8pm for some drinks and laughs" and ill be happy to post it!

Thank you so much, hope to see you all next summer, Happy Holidays, and please reach out if you are interested in hosting or have any other ideas or thoughts :)

REUNION IS SET!

(*LINK TO PURCHASE TICKETS and EVENT INFO BELOW*)

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SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN, LAST TIME WAS AMAZING!!!

Date: December 23rd, 2023 (Saturday)
Time: 6:30 - 9:30
Location: 5th Avenue Bar and Grill in Royal Oak (215 W 5th St, Royal Oak)

Get your tickets here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kimball-high-school-class-of-1998-tickets-754075398817?aff=oddtdtcreator

Last time was a smash success, they said we were the biggest reunion they have ever had by about 125 people and the feedback I got from our classmates who attended was awesome! When I spoke to an officers from other grades they said they have about 40 people attend on average for their reunions, so that says a lot about out group showing up with almost 180 people! Lets have a great turnout this time as well!

I believe part of our tremendous success last time was making it accessible for people and trying to maximize the affordability, accessibility, comfortability, and timing. The number one question I received last time was cost and so that was a major factor in location, as many of the venues I contacted were notably more expensive. At Fifth Avenue I was able to negotiate the price per person down 25% off of their standard rate to just 30.00 per person based on our awesome turnout last time :) They said that they make need to make the price higher at the door on the day of so just buy your ticket now and save the money, I will try to talk them into keeping the price lower but cannot guarantee it for the day of.

When considering location I factored in:

Cost:
This was one of the most affordable options and worked out great last time. Keeping the price low hopefully helped people who were on the fence feel more inclined to come as it wasn't a ton of out of pocket cost.

Location:
Obviously we went to school in Royal Oak and it is where a lot of people hung out, so it makes sense for the reunion :) It is also close to where many people still live or where their parents do so they have an easy commute or place to stay when intown for the holidays (last time Thanksgiving, this time Christmas). Also, by having it in downtown Royal Oak people have the option to continue hanging out after the event and simply walk or have a short trip to another venue should you choose to just stop by for a little to say hi or keep the night going, letting you make a night of it.

Timing:
By having it close to a holiday it saves the additional cost of a flight (or flights with a spouse) since many people are already returning to town to see family, and helps prevent requiring additional time off of work, finding pet sitters, etc. so it is more convenient and cheaper, helping more people be able to attend.

Next time I will look to book something a year out so we can try another venue as that can be fun but last time was amazing, the venue worked out great and the ambiance was perfect having the room to ourselves until they eventually opened it to the public later in the evening. As we all know life moves very fast and is too short so frankly I couldn't care less what 4 walls we are standing in when we get together, I just want to see you all and make it as accessible for everyone as possible to maximize the turnout as that is the entire point of a reunion :)

Thank you so much and please by your ticket right away to save money and so we can start to get an accurate count! :)

Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kimball-high-school-class-of-1998-tickets-754075398817?aff=oddtdtcreator

Kimball High School Class of 1998 Kimball High School Class of 1998 Celebrate 25 Years at Fifth Avenue Royal Oak!

REUNION!!!!

Hey everyone! Thank you for making the last reunion such a success, it was awesome! Just great vibes catching up with great people :) Afterward, a lot of people expressed an interest in doing reunions every 5 years so I wanted to reach out and get some ideas on when and where might be best for people :)

I was thinking maybe something mid October and possibly a Halloween theme (with costumes possibly but not being mandatory of course) but just throwing that out as an idea, let me know any different ideas or input you may have!

Somethings to keep in mind regarding the reunion:

- The #1 question I got last time was, "How much is it going to cost?". I regularly received the feedback that people did not want to spend a ton of money. I actually put in a few hundred dollars myself to help keep the cost down because of how frequently it was mentioned, so please give cost great consideration. The price was a big factor for a lot of people so of course that carried most of the weight in determining the location to ensure that the maximum amount of people would be able to attend, which is of course, the entire point of a reunion :)

- The other comment I got regularly was "I'm not sure if I'm gonna go, I don't know if my friends are going or if I even want to go". Last time I chose Fifth Avenue based on recommendations from tens of people in our class, other people I spoke with, as well as class officers from many other classes that I had reached out to who coincidentally had done theirs there also and highly recommended it, likely for the same reasons that the cost and location were less intimidating and therefore more inviting.

Part of my thinking in choosing Fifth Avenue was also because had the added benefit of being in Royal Oak where we went to school and it was somewhere that most people were familiar with or went to back in the day. In addition to those things and possibly most importantly, it was also located in downtown Royal Oak where there are many other things to do, making it a more inviting destination for people who were unsure about coming. I mentioned to the people that I spoke with who were a little hesitant about coming, that if they came and it wasn't what they had hoped, they could easily just head to another bar or restaurant and still have a great evening so any efforts in coming were not lost. Fortunately, everyone seemed to have a great time but these are all things to consider :)

Please let me know your thoughts, I and the other officers of course want this to be fun, inviting, and accessible for everyone. I believe last time the tickets were somewhere around $23. With the price of everything the way it is now I imagine it would be a little more this time but hopefully we can collectively brainstorm and find a great option! Ultimately, the 4 walls that we are standing inside of should have little importance in the evening, which is about reconnecting and reminiscing, but lets make it as fun as possible!

Please comment below with what month you think is best as well as any location you can think of that would work well for the class as a whole :) Thanks, it will be wonderful to see everyone again! :)