NSHS C/O 1988 Reunion Update

As many of you know, Galveston and Houston received a very unwelcome guest on September 12/13 who was not a very gracious one - Hurricane Ike. Much of Galveston and the surrounding communities sustained catastrophic damage. Many of us who live in Houston had quite a bit of damage as well and are in the midst of recovery now.

As a committee, we've discussed at length our options for the upcoming reunion. Unfortunately, while the San Luis did not suffer extensive damage, FEMA has assumed control of the hotel and we will not be able to use it October 12. The Fisherman's Wharf (site of the Friday night activity) was virtually destroyed. With less than a month to go, it is highly unlikely that we can book another venue and pull everything together in time for October 12.

We have to assume that Galveston is out at this point due to the extensive rebuilding and FEMA presence for the next several months (to years). Our first decision was basically to decide to move away from Galveston. We have a good setup with Landry's (thanks to Kim!) and we feel that it is advantageous to us to stick with them for the venue. The second decision (the more painful one) was to move the date. We really feel like trying to put something together within three weeks is not doable and the quality of the reunion would suffer as a result. Unfortunately, we don't have this set as of yet, but are looking at late February. The problem with moving the date is anything beyond October is really too close to Thanksgiving and Christmas, which we feel would eliminate many of you from being able to attend. We could push out to March or April, but then we get into Spring and Easter breaks.

With the change in date, the change in venue becomes fairly easy. We are looking at a couple of downtown locations. Once we secure a location, we will set a firm date and communicate to everyone.

I know for many of you, this will be an inconvenience, particularly if you've already booked travel. As a group, we do apologize. We've tried to minimize the impact to the class as a whole and keep in mind that we may have classmates who are dealing the after effects of Ike. As we firm up details, we will communicate as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any one of us.

Take care,

Kim Ahrlett Marshall
Allison Angeli Newman
Alanna Giacone Foley
Lisa Gray Hereford
Heather Knuppel Ramsey-Cook
Mickie Temple Davis
Trina Thomas Mata
Terry Williamson