School Reunion

[Ray]

This morning I received a Courtesy Copy of an email informing me that there had been a meeting last night regarding an up coming School Reunion.  As you will read, this meeting was not the success many hoped for, so I will be posting updates here as to the state of play as they become available.
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Good Morning Dyke
 
Last night's meeting at the school was poorly attended by a total of 5 people including me.
They were: Ken Campbell, Leith Cooper, Ron Mudge, Margie Simpson and me.
At this stage we have proposed the event should take place on Saturday 15 May & Sunday 16 May, 2010 to coincide with the school opening date of May 16, 1910.
Nothing concrete has been decided due to the poor attendance and the absence of a formal committee.
We have planned for a more aggressive membership drive prior to our next meeting on 29 September 2008 at 8 pm at the school where we hope to form a committee.
Some were of the opinion that 2010 is too far away for most people to become excited and or interested.
Leith showed us some of the booklets from the previous anniversary events, and a really nice book that Gladstone High School had printed previously.
Leith cautioned that if the future committee considered that a book would be appropriate that we should get the ball rolling quite soon due to the amount of research that will be required.
There was a general agreement that we should delegate perhaps 5 year periods to people such as you for the purpose of collecting contact details so that we can post information about our event directly to those people.
Leith considers that we could expect between 400 & 500 people, and reminded us that previous events had at times been slack in not chasing up past teachers and staff.
I hope that this info is useful to you and look forward to chasing up old friends with your help.
 
Cheers from Tricky.
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If anyone has any questions, please feel free to post a note here, and i will do whatever i can to find an answer for you. At the moment I am as much in the dark as you.

So,...for the moment, please pass on the news to any Old Scholars that you may see, that a Reunion is in the pipeline, and we would like it to be a great success, with as many current and ex students, and staff as possible attending.

Yes,.... It's a long way off, but there is a lot to do and we would like to give everybody adequate warning so they can keep their social diaries clear of other engagements.

[Susie]

Hi Ray,

I am not a past student of any Jamestown schools, but recently attended another school reunion in this state that could have been quite a big occasion if it had been advertised over a wider area. (Like the whole state) Mainly people local to that district with a few former locals like me going back.   I only found out about my former school celebrations by accident.  It was that poorly advertised outside of the district.

I think this group need to get hold of a list of former students and staff, search out people and invite them by email, letter, radio or whatever to participate and cover a wider area now.  Ask people to help, supply info etc.

[Ray]

Hi Susie,

You are quite right, good advertising is the secret to a successful event. No doubt this was foremost in the minds of those who called the meeting this week, two years ahead of the proposed event.

The gentleman to whom the email was addressed, is without doubt the best person for the job you suggested. "Dyke" is one of those persons who has made it his business to stay in touch with or keep track of nearly all of the Old Scholars from the early and mid 1960s and also many other ex Jamestown residents. There have been several reunions over the last twenty years, and I think I would be safe in saying that Dyke, who lives some distance away, has never missed one of them.

[adminer]

Hi,
We've advertised the next meeting to form a Committee at http://www.jamestownevents.com.au/whats_on.html and in this local news topic: http://forum.jamestownevents.com/index.php/topic,68.0.html
Hoping this helps expand the group for the next meeting! 

[Butch]

Hi, This is Colin (Butch) Wells.  I was a student in both Jamestown Primary & Jamestown High Schools between 1950 & 1962.  I was introduced to this site by Dyke Davis and will be passing it on to a couple of other past students with whom I am still in touch.
I would love to attend a large school re-union in the next couple of years, and I hope you are able to arrange one.  I now live in Queensland, but I will be in Jamestown around the 20th November 2008, and I would love to catch up with Ron Mudge, Spud Seal, & some of the other people of my youth.
I will be monitoring this site from now on.

I wasn't always happy to be at school.(Mod edit)

[Rose]

Hi Col,(and others)  I'm with you, would love to get back to Jamestown and see people.  Will also keep eye on progress to try to make plans for attending from Western Australia.  Have missed all the other events because I knew nothing! Thanks for sending info of this website.  To organisers, if there is anything I can do to assist please advise, still have a good memory! 
Regards Kathy Rose (Haycock student primary and High School 1950 - 1960)

A model student, so I'm informed. (Mod Edit)

[Ray]

G'Day Kathy and Colin,

It's great to see some old scholars starting to come out of the woodwork.

Over the past years there have been a number of smaller reunions, but I feel it in my water that this may well be the largest yet, as preparations have started well in advance. Ron Mudge (married Sue Ritchie) and Spud Seal are still living locally, I'm sure they would like the chance to reminisce. From your era we also have Margie Hall(nee Moore), Rob and Autumn Warnest (nee Matthews) and no doubt a few that presently escape me.

Dyke Davis has maintained contact with an enormous number of ex Jamestown students of all generations over the years, and no doubt will be spreading the word.

It would be great if both of you could make it, I will keep the website up to date with anything I might hear.

[Ray]

Photos of ex students, where available, are courtesy of the Jamestown Local History Group.

There is a request by the JLHG for any old School Photos in the General Discussion Section of this forum.

[adminer]

Hi Butch & Rose,
Fantastic that you've joined in and may be back for the reunion.
Great Photos in my view! If the Local History Group support the concept, perhaps we could put up a "rouges gallery" to promote people sending in more old photos?

[tricky]

How exciting it is to already see such interest in the planned 2010 school reunion.
Most of the potential committee people are still in full time work, so they are generally "time poor".
In spite of this, we need to assemble an enthusiastic and energetic group that have the drive to launch the early phases of this reunion.


Cheers from Richard (Tricky) Boston.