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| Subject: Apology | |
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Author: Bill Magdziarz-Rainey |
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Date Posted: 22:33:44 11/01/02 Fri To all, An apology (of sorts…) First of all, let me say that I do appreciate anyone’s effort to express their opinion on Mike’s and my recent correspondence. I’m willing to accept the praise and criticism. We have had varying levels of participation so far. Mike and I have been the primary ‘online participants’ up to this point… We both have been attempting to do our best effort from a long distance. (I'm in Minnesota and Mike is in Indiana.) From the lack of response (up until the week or so) there was a certain amount of frustration in our feeling that we were going through the motions of trying to gather input for the upcoming 20 year reunion where nobody else was expressing any real desire for attending it. Mike contacted me 1.5 years ago about his setting up and management of this website for the upcoming event so we could ALL have a (FREE) forum for expressing and gathering input on what we’d like to do for the 20 year reunion. Well after 1.5 years of less than stellar participation, I’ll admit a certain amount of frustration set in and manifested itself in the last week or so in a series of e-mails where I’ll admit Mike and I escalated it into a shark-like feeding frenzy. For the level of frustration I apologize. Yet, however, the sudden and heavy response to Mike's and my recent e-mail frustration actually indicates that classmates are 'WATCHING' because they seemed to quickly reply to the terse criticism. ‘All Ya’all” (using an Oprah term) seem to be always in the shadows and don't ever become 'engaged' in any real dialog. That is until this last week when we upset a few folks. I sincerely didn’t mean to ‘Irk’ any regulars to the site, and only wanted to prod others into participation… the fallout was a bit ‘stinging’ at times, yet ironically, in a twisted sort of way, it did create the ill-conceived effect of a great deal of response. Al be it not exactly what I had in mind, it did elicit a ‘response’ nonetheless. Proving that ‘All Ya’all’ ARE watching passively. So… With that being said... let’s move on. A goal of the committee: To contact EVERY living graduate of the upcoming reunion (whatever the reunion ends up being). Issue: Some of the complaints of the past reunion was 1) Didn't know about it until after it had happened; 2) found out about it too close to the event and was unable to arrange schedule on short notice to be able to get there in time. Resolution: Start EARLY and have a goal to contact EVERYONE still living. Issue: High School cliques still too predominate in last reunion. Resolution: Try to foster an environment where “EVERYONE” has an open forum to communicate their wishes for a successful reunion. Hence the webpage and the ‘forum’ of a “Message Board” where everyone can openly express their desire for what the reunion format should be. My opinion of what we should do for ‘our’ reunion: Well, we've already done the 'prom-like dinner' & 'tour of the school' and personally don't feel either represent the everyday kind of lives we actually live now 20 years after graduation. I'd much rather it be an informal gathering... A day at the lake, maybe at a resort so our families can enjoy a day together too, or maybe just the classmates out on a flotilla of rented pontoon boats on the lake, (or a float trip down a river) then back to a resort where we could have a lakeside bonfire and catered barbecue. This is my preference, yet it in the end is just ONE opinion where we as the committee want ideas from EVERYONE as to what 'WE ALL' want to do to make this a successful and interactive event for everyone. We hope to get a few ideas worked out through suggestions from classmates and ONLY THEN getting class consensuses for what “We All” want to do. I Hope this illuminates the reason for the recent stress, frustration, and volume of communication… and desire for INPUT from YOU! I hope this also clears the air a bit. -Bill [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |