Monday, November 16, 2009

Rooms Available for Reunion

For those of you who want to extend our 25-year reunion to make it a mini-vacation or those of you who want to be able to enjoy the reunion without driving home after hours, here is information about rooms at Moody Gardens.
You will want to make reservations well ahead of time, as July is the high season in Galveston, and hotels book quickly. We currently have only 10 rooms reserved at Moody Gardens, but we can add to those once they are taken. Obviously, the earlier we book, the better chance we have of reserving the space.
All room reservations go through the hotel's direct reservations number: 1-888-388-8484.
Double queen rooms are $189 per night; Jacuzzi suites are $310; 1–2-bedroom VIP suites are $550–$850; and Presidential and Poolside suites are $650 and up. Reservations are held by credit card, although the charge will not be made until 48 hours prior to arrival, which is the deadline for cancellations. All rooms come with passes to Palm Beach and family activities.

If We Don't Invite Them, They Won't Come

The most important part of a class reunion is the class, the people—everyone, not just the people I hung out with or you hung out with or the ones who played sports or the ones who were in the band.
Everyone.
That's why it's so important that everyone helps track down classmates for the upcoming reunion.
The new Dickinson Alumni Association has helped us out a lot. They used our last class reunion address list and sent out postcards. For alumni whose cards were returned as undeliverable, they attempted to locate them through county appraisal district records in several counties. Therefore, we are starting with a list that is more accurate than any of our past address lists.
Of course, there are still inaccuracies. Several of the "missing" people are my friends on Facebook, so I know they can't really be missing.
Below is a link to the list of everyone who currently does not have a good address in our database as of today. If you can track any of these people down, please forward contact information to dickinsongators1985@gmail.com with "contact" in the subject line. All contact information will be kept confidential and used solely for alumni association and class reunion purposes.
Thank you ahead of time for all of your help!
Help find these people:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg8m85cz_0cdswwdhb

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Nothing Stays the Same

If you grew up in Dickinson ISD, don't expect to drive around and reminisce about your old schools. That's because you won't find them—except for the high school, and that will hardly be recognizable.
Dickinson has been on a building spree the past decade. Primary School (later changed to Barber Elementary) was rebuilt east of the high school two years ago, and the old buildings were torn down only this past month. McAdams opened a new campus off of Hughes Road last year. K.E. Little and Dunbar have both been torn down and rebuilt on their same sites. The only original school building still standing and in use from our school days is the high school.
If you haven't seen the high school in recent years, go to the web site and take a look. The blue mosaic squares on the front of the building are gone—in fact, the whole open area in front of the school was enclosed and is now a gorgeous 2-story entry with bright, open offices and a new library. The "new" science wing, which is now approaching 20 years old, was built in the open field between the field house and the band hall.
The new stadium sits behind the high school, as does the new field house. For several years, the Dickinson softball field was the swankiest in the area, and there is now a new baseball field, too. Even the tennis courts have been refurbished.
Of course, in addition to the schools we attended, there are several others in the district now, including 4 elementary schools that did not exist when we graduated!
It's a little sad sometimes that I can't show my kids where we played and went to school. On the other hand, it's good to see the district making progress and keeping up with changing times.

25-year Reunion at Moody Gardens

Save the date! Our 25-year reunion will be Saturday, July 24 at Moody Gardens on Galveston Island.
Moody Gardens is giving us an exceptionally good price, considering the size of the space and the amenities they offer. For those classmates traveling in from out of town, Galveston offers a range of hotels, including a hotel on site at Moody Gardens, and Galveston is a great vacation destination for anyone who wants to extend the reunion weekend into a family vacation.
We will be posting more information as details are nailed down, so mark the date on your calendar and keep checking back!
Link to Moody Gardens