The Reunion Project: One Down, 399 To Go (5/11)
How do you start looking for 400 classmates? There are days when I have trouble finding my keys, let alone a bunch of people I haven't kept in touch with. At least I had been given a spreadsheet from the last reunion with a rough approximation of who was in our graduating class. Sure, it had names, addresses, etc., but there was no way to know if everything was still current.
If I locate eight people per week, it'll take me a year to find everyone. I started with myself. A slam dunk--not really, as I had to update my email address. One down, 399 to go. Then, I reached out to people on Facebook (hey, "everybody" uses it and I have to know how to use social media as part of my job). I felt I had to start with people who knew me--it'd give me a chance to work on my "sales pitch." Fortunately, there was already a Facebook group that contained about half of my classmates.
About a day after sending out my initial flood of emails, I got a response. I was a little nervous. I wasn't sure what was in it. Would she be glad I contacted her? Mad? Not even know who I am? Did I even have the right person?
I sure did--and she was glad to hear from me. And, she was already excited about the prospect of seeing everyone after 25 years. A definite morale-builder. And then a few more trickled in each day. By the end of the first week, I'd heard back from 50 classmates. Most offered the same sentiment--they're excited to see everyone and can't believe how long it's been since high school.
Finding 50 classmates in a week seemed like a big deal, but I knew that pace couldn't be sustained for very long. I knew that a lot of hard work was ahead. Like any streak, it would have to come to an end.
*About this blog: Scott is a 1988 graduate of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Va. and is blogging about his experience ahead of his 25th high school reunion in 2013. You can contact Scott at 248-945-9950 or via email at sryan@cbs.com. Please put "The Reunion Project" in the subject line.
