50th Reunion Kickoff Luncheon Minutes
January 27, 2010
Sequoyah Country Club, Oakland

Attendees: Council Members
Jim Stonehouse (host)
Bill Ausfahl
JoAnn Berridge
Pete Frazier
Marty McNair
Joy Maguire
University
Maya Goehring-Harris (Events)
Arik Thormahlen (Giving)
Local Council Members Unable to Attend, but Wanting to Help
Susan Cochran
Concetta Finocchio
Linda Govan
Stephen Pace
King Tuck
Cameron Wolfe

Giving Report:
Bill and Pete highlighted the various options for Class gifts, including the Link TAAP Scholarship, the Class of '61 Leadership Scholarships, the Library, an Endowed Chair, something having to do with sports, etc. Although any Class of '61 donation to any campus group will count toward our 50th Anniversary gift amount, the specific options will be limited to 3 or 4, so as not to confuse the issue. The Committee is also looking for matching gifts similar to the ones that were used to get donations for our 45th Reunion as donors like to see their contributions doubled - if anyone is aware of a possiblity, they should contact Peter and Bill.

Arik brought a summary of class donors, but will provide more detailed information to the Gift Committee. He will also confirm the members of the 45th Reunion Gift Committee, as many will be asked to participate in this drive as well - their job will be to contact the top donors from previous years to ensure a continuation of their generosity. There will also be some general solicitations as well.

There are two items for investigation at this time. The first concerns the pledges and contributions made to the Link Scholarship fund which was set up in the year following our 45th; we were promised that all of these amounts would be included in the count for our 50th Reunion Gift so JoAnn will work with Arik to make sure that happens. The second item is to investigate whether or not one of the HP matching donations for an endowed chair could be used by the Class, even though these were originally designed for individual donor matches.

Reunion Date:
The tentative dates for the Reunion are the Homecoming weekend of October14-16, 2011. Since the football schedule is not finalized, the dates are not yet fixed as this could be a bye or an away game week. There is the additional complication that 2011 games will be played away from Memorial Stadium; the hope is that the season will be scheduled at the Oakland Coliseum, but the final contract is not yet signed, so alternate sites could be ATT Park (too small) or Candlestick Park (cold and 'ugh-ly')

We would plan our dinner event for Friday evening, but even that could change since there is a chance that the game could be played on Friday evening or even Thursday. We should know in sufficient time to secure the venue for our event without a problem.

Maya brought examples of the 50th Reunion pamphlets that have been prepared for previous classes so that we could see what the University will provide for us at their expense. The cost of the mailings will also be underwritten by the University. In addition, they will also arrange for group tickets to the game, transportation to the game, handle event logistics, cover the costs of the Band and other visitors, schedule everyone print/mail the invitations and take RSVPs, process all payments, schedule any class events (such as lectures or picnics), and cover any up-front costs we encounter (such as deposits, decorations, etc.) that will paid for out of the Reunion tickets.

Once again, the question was raised about having the Reunion on Big Game weekend - unfortunately, the University will not provide the same financial support for the venue, the mailings, the up-front costs, or cover any of the costs of the Band and other visitors if we choose to do our event away from Homecoming weekend. One alternative to pursue is to celebrate our 50th at Homecoming and possibly organize a smaller event privately for Big Game.

Doing the Reunion in conjunction with Homecoming eliminates the need for a Class treasury and early funding; that is not the case if we schedule the event for Big Game weekend.

Venue Discussion:
Committee Volunteers: JoAnn Berridge, Sue Cochran, Marty McNair

The venue discussion centered around having the event on campus, at a country club (e.g. Claremont CC or Sequoyah CC), or the Claremont Hotel, or some other hotel-type venue.

Sentiment is leaning toward having the event on campus, most likely at the Faculty Club. Marty McNair and Maya Goehring-Harris provided cost sheets for the Faculty Club vs. the Claremont Hotel and the price differential was substantial (the Claremont was more than double the Faculty Club price for a 3 course meal without alcohol!). Maya will provide costs for all venues to the committee, who will vet the facilities, the costs, and the relative values of each; the Committee will make a recommendation to the Council sometime midyear. Marty McNair agreed to ask the Faculty Club to hold the date for us so we have first dibs on that venue if it is the Council's choice.

The Venue Committee will also investigate and recommend hotel properties that would be '61 Headquarters for the weekend. The renovated Shattuck Plaza Hotel is recommended, because they have done an outstanding job of updating the old Shattuck hotel, the management will offer us great rates for class members who want to stay there, and the location is close to cmapus as well as right by a BART station for easy transport to the Coliseum.

Other Events:
Need Committee Volunteers: Joy is willing to work on this but we should have at least 3 or 4 people. Please let Jim or Joy know if you would like to help.

Jim Stonehouse offered to host a small golf tournament at Sequoyah Country Club during Reunion week. We need to poll our members to see how many would participate in such an event, so he can begin to make arrangements.

Other events for Homecoming weekend could include: Lectures in conjunction with Homecoming, Campus Tours, Class Picnic for members and their families, etc.

We would also like to have some events in other areas next year, perhaps in SoCal in conjunction with the UCLA game, perhaps on the East Coast, other parts of California, etc. The Committee would also contact Alumni Clubs and other Cal social groups to see if we could jointly sponsor some events.

Class Banner:
The Committee is committed to getting a new class banner designed and made before the Reunion year. Bruce Kane and Karen Malmstrom will be asked to head this venture, but we all need to submit suggestions to Bruce to post on the Class website for comment. The walking bear in profile is a very popular choice but how it is placed and what other details would be on the banner are still up for grabs. Everyone agreed, however, that whatever goes on the banner will also become the Class logo. When the cost of actually making the banner was discussed, several Committee members indicated a willingness to contribute.

Outreach Committee:
We need volunteers for the Outreach committee. Joy is going to ask Stephen Pace to help with this. Please let Jim or Joy know if you would like to help.

Most of the communications will be done with our Classmates by email prior to the Reunion year, so this committee needs to build up the email lists and start regular communications to attract interest and gather even more email addresses.

Other Committees:
Other committees will be organized as needed. Decorations, trinkets and trash for attendees, door prizes, and other tasks for the event will be handled by committees once we know when, where, and how many people will be coming. All of these items will need to be covered by the event price. so the work will start sooner than later.