CRSH Class of 1990:
Frequently Asked Questions

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This page is designed to answer the most commonly asked questions you may have regarding the CR'90 Class Reunions.
If you still have questions, all you have to do is ask.

Why didn't I receive an invitation to the 5-year reunion?
Because I didn't have your address. The only information I had to go on was the address on file at the high school back in 1989. So if you never updated your emergency notification card, that could be one reason. Besides that, it's really difficult to keep track of 716 people. You may have simply slipped through the cracks, for which I am truly sorry. If someone doesn't go to the reunion, I want it to be because they don't want to go, not because I didn't send an invitation.

Why is my name (or my friend's name) not listed on the website?
My definition of the Coon Rapids Class of 1990 is pretty loose: If anyone was ever in our class at Coon Rapids High School, and is interested in coming to the reunions, hop on board! The theme here is inclusion. If you moved away or dropped out in 11th grade, but you still want to keep in touch with your old high school buddies, GREAT! The more the merrier, if I may abuse a cliche'.
HOWEVER, I had to start somewhere, so my initial list of names was taken from the program at the commencement ceremony. It has grown since then; there are a number of people listed that did not go through commencement.
My point is, if you didn't go through commencement, then that may be one reason why you're not listed. Another reason is, like I've said before, it's really difficult to keep track of 716 people. Excuse me forgetting, these things I do. Thing is, what I really mean, if you're not on the list, but consider yourself a member of the class, let me know! It's all about inclusion!

Why is the 10-year Reunion being held on a Friday instead of a Saturday? Won't this make it difficult for people who have to travel from out of town?
Great question, Glad you asked. I wrestled with this one quite a bit myself. I really wanted to try to have it on a Saturday. However, all the available venues were charging from 2 to 3 times more per person for a Saturday compared to a Friday. Keeping with the theme of inclusion, I want to keep the ticket prices as low as possible. (If you know anyone who had their reunion on Saturday, ask them how much their tickets cost.)
About the out-of-town alumni -- I hope that if someone is willing to travel just for the reunion, then they'd be willing to take Friday off. Besides, the only way a Saturday night event would be beneficial is if those coming in from out of town had to fly or drive in Saturday, then fly or drive home again on Sunday. That's a lot of effort just for a reunion, so as long as you're travelling, stay the weekend and visit your family or friends. And if you're staying the whole weekend, you might as well take Friday off. There, now that you have Friday off, it doesn't matter if the reunion is on a Friday or a Saturday!
Sarcasm aside, I really am sorry if having the event on a Friday precludes anyone from coming. I am hoping that the number of people in that situation are far outnumbered by those that can afford the relatively inexpensive Friday night tickets.
Besides, this way you have a whole Saturday to do whatever you want: mow your lawn, go fishing, see your family, hang out with old friends from the night before that you haven't seen in ten years. Hell, take Friday off anyway, you deserve it!

I've heard of other reunions that have events through an entire weekend. Will we be doing anything like that?
Why is the 10-year Reunion only a one-night event?
I'm planning to have a multiple day event for the twenty-year reunion; Something for graduates only (no spouses) on one night, then a picnic-type event on the following day for your entire family.
My guess is that this year a lot of people have other commitments, or might be a little busy (with children, particularly) to spend a whole weekend at the 10-year reunion. Of course, since this reunion will be held on a Friday, you have the rest of the weekend to organize anything you want for Saturday. If someone is interested in organizing a separate event for Saturday, let me know and I'll try to help as much as I can.

Why are we having a DJ at the 10-year reunion? I'd rather have live music.
First, it's impossible to please everyone. Sure, it'd be great to have some swing band or someone to do covers or something, but the chances are that a DJ will have greater mass appeal than a band. A DJ can play rock, swing, country, punk, you name it. Sure, live music has it's own magical charm... but are you really coming to the reunion for the music? Which brings me to...
Second, from my numerous casual interviews with older people who had gone to their ten-year (yes, I actually did a fair amount of research and fretting over this thing...), the music is pretty much secondary to talking with old friends. One person even told me that they had a band at their ten-year, and it was so loud, everyone spent all night in the lobby so they could hear each other.

How can I get involved in planning the reunion?
Actually, nobody has ever asked me this. But as long as it's been mentioned... Drop me a comment or show up at a planning meeting. If you've made it this far without figuring out how to reach me (e-mail, telephone) or how to attend the planning meeting (clue: go back to the main page) then your "skills" prob'ly aren't required!
Totally kidding, of course. At this point I'm willing to take help from anyone, even if they tend to miss the obvious.

Will you be publishing a directory of our classmates? How can I contact other people from our class?
I have a policy that I will not publish any personal information about any of our classmates without the express permission of each specific person. This is so people will be comfortable giving me their info for invitations without the fear of being stalked by the likes of you. See my privacy policy (clue: fill out the update form, the link is there. sure, I could put a link here, but it's 6:30 on a Friday and I'm in a hurry to get outta here)
I will pass a message on to someone if you want, but please understand that while I'll plan these reunions, I'm not a message service. I'm just asking that you be considerate.

I already submitted my personal information on an alumni website. Why do I have to enter it again here?
If you didn't give your info to me, I don't have it. There are literally dozens of alumni websites. I used to have a link to a couple of them, but I don't want to confuse anyone. I simply don't have the resources to go hunting around at all the many alumni sites looking for your address. Submit your info here, the rest are imposters.

Why do you ask so many nosy questions about my friends or family for the address update information?
If you move or vanish, or whatever, having your phone number won't help me find you, will it? But if I have your mom's number, or your brother's address, or your daughter's number, then they could let me know how to reach you. (Yes, your daughter. She'll be 20 years old and out on her own before you know it.)

I thought the invitations to the 5-year reunion were tacky. Why did you even bother planning such a low-brow event?
Actually, only one person expressed this attitude, but in case anyone else feels the same way, here goes: The 5-year reunion was purposefully planned as a casual event. If the invitations seemed 'tacky', then I successfully conveyed the casual nature of the event. It was merely intended to be a fun night out with a bunch of people from high school that you may not have seen in a while. I could have planned a nice meal at a fancy venue (like the upcoming ten-year) but then nobody would have been able to afford to go.
The irony is that, at the time, a lot of people still lived in Coon Rapids, and a lot of people still saw their classmates on a frequent basis. From that perspective, some people wondered why I bothered to have a five-year reunion at all. The five year reunion, in fact, was not a huge event (only 125 people showed up), but it was a huge success. Everyone that did come had fun (from what I hear). I didn't hold the five-year reunion for the 587 people that didn't want to go, it was specifically for the 125 that did.

Why does the picture of the cardinal on these webpages have bloodshot eyes?
I'm really tempted to make a low-brow joke here, but I'll let your imagination entertain that. But seriously, the person who made that image didn't color the whites of the cardinal's eye white. They're transparent, so the red stripe from the background shows up through the bird's eye. But I'm not going to complain, because I stole the image from someone else's page.

Any other questions? You'll have to wait. It's 7pm on a Friday. I'm getting out of here; it's way too late for me to be at work. I need a beer.

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