Narwee Boys 1979 Reunion

Dear all,
G'day from the reunion 'organising committee' - a self appointed bunch of N.O.B.S who have been working behind the scenes to make our 30th reunion a night to remember!!

This is the first significant update since we managed to contact all of you - and there are some significant updates to share!!
Until recently our focus has been on finding Narwee old boys and teachers, and generally spreading the word.
Now our focus has shifted to the venue, logistics, and making sure we have everything we need to make this night a big success.

Please note that some key changes are now being proposed - but all of them will help to make our reunion a more successful event.

Here are the headlines. Please ensure you read through all this as there is important information regarding date, venue and costs!!:

N.O.B.S Response
The best news of all. The response from everyone has been absolutely amazing!!!

What started as a small group of guys discussing the Reunion a few months back, has now grown to an estimated 75 old boys and 8 teachers, all of whom have indicated they would like to come on the night!!!!
(STEELE TO CONFIRM NUMBERS on separate email).

This is an exceptional result in a very short space of time, and we thank everyone for their enthusiasm and willingness to help 'get the word out'.
We are also very grateful for the offers of help that have been extended to us....especially those who offered up different venues for the event.

The Venue
We have decided not to hold the Reunion at The Beverly Hills Hotel.

While this was the nostalgic choice, there were simply too many issues getting in the way of our event.
Specifically - we could not secure 'our own space' anywhere within the Hotel, so we would have been mixed with the other punters and had absolutely no privacy.
Worse still, we were advised that a DJ would come on at 9.30pm - making any conversation after that time virtually impossible!

We figured that the majority of N.O.B.S were more interested in talking with each other rather than dancing with each other - so we decided to look elsewhere for a great venue...
The great news is, we found one!!

The St George Rowing Club (aka "Rowers On Cooks River") is our new venue.
Stephen Irons, now President of this club, has very generously made the function room available to us for the Reunion and waived the venue hire cost for the night.

It's a fantastic space in a fantastic location.
The club is situated on the Cook's River, very near to the old Airport Hilton, so it's a more central location than Beverly Hills, and well serviced by public transport.

The function room is perfect for our Reunion - completely sectioned off with it's own private bar, and a separate outside area overlooking the river.

Please take a look at the attached link, which will give you a better idea of the amenities.

http://www.stgeorgerowing.com.au/index.html

We considered a number of different venue options (thanks again to those who made suggestions / offers!).

The Date
This is the most significant change to our plans.
As you know, we have been working on Friday, November 27th, and this is the date that has been communicated to everyone.

Unfortunately, The St George Rowing Club already has a booking for that night, and for the previous week (November 20th).

The date which has been offered by the club - and the date we are now proposing - is Friday 13th November.

This will move the Reunion 2 weeks earlier.

We know that moving dates is not ideal - many of you have already made plans around the 27th - but if we want a great venue (and at no cost), the move to Friday 13th is unavoidable.
The irony of holding the Class of '79 30 Year Reunion on Friday 13th has not been lost on us either! Seemed kinda appropriate.

We know that this date will not work for some people - as the 27th did not work for some people - but we hope it will work for the majority.

Please let us know if the new date presents a problem for you, or if you can accommodate this change.

Other Stuff
Now the focus has shifted to the event rather than contacting people, we have given some thought to other things which will make the night a success.
We don't plan on introducing any formality to the evening...it is a Narwee reunion after all (!), so there will be no boring speeches etc.

We do plan on having name tags though, as you might be surprised how much some of us have changed since we were 17!!

We are also looking into some inexpensive catering options provided by the club, and providing you all with some memorabilia which we think you will enjoy.

There will be a modest cost attached to all of this - $30 per person. We have been able to keep the costs at a minimum as a result of securing the venue at no charge.
Here is the menu for the evening:
Cocktail Menu: Satay Chicken Skewers With Peanut Dipping Sauce
Assorted Mini Pies
Cocktail Spring Rolls With Sweet Chili Sauce
Fish Cocktails With Homemade Tar Tare Sauce
Frittata With Sweet Potato, Onion And Sun-Dried Tomato
Marinated Beef Salad With Vietnamese Flavours

The club will require payment 2 weeks prior to the event. To facilitate this we plan to set up a bank account which will allow you to direct deposit your $30 per person. Further details will be provided soon.

Stay Tuned
All of the updated information will be posted on the blog site, and we will stay in contact with you between now and November 13th through e mails and blog updates.

Thanks again for your enthusiasm and support - we are all looking forward to a great night!!!

Cheers,
Steele, Rex, John and Zac.