Just when you thought you wouldn't hear from us again (or at least until the next reunion) we thought we'd toss a bit more content your way. If you have any interest in a copy of the slideshow from the reunion that will play on your iPod, iPhone, iTunes, i-whatever, we've got good news.

Anyone who makes a $15 dollar (or more) donation to keep the ethsclassof88.org site up will get this DVD which now includes a version of the reunion slideshow you can copy onto your iPod.

Happy viewing!

Were you at the reunion? And did you happen to see that photographer sneaking around? Well, turns out a CD full of his pictures from that night landed in the mail box this week. As a result, 165 new pictures from the reunion are now up on the El Toro High School class of 1988 website.

So if you have a few minutes to kill, drop by the site and check out the new additions.

If you haven't had a chance to visit the ethsclassof88.org site since the reunion, well there have been a few updates. In addition to the slideshow and the 80s trivia which played during the event, there are now 35 or so pictures from the event itself. Speaking of... if you have some pictures, send 'em to us and we'll stick 'em up on the site. And of course, if you'd like to help support keeping the ethsclassof88.org site up, any donation of $15 bucks or more gets you a DVD with the slideshow, trivia and hundreds of pictures. Click here for more details.

ETHS Class of '88 Slideshow

If you were unable to attend the El Toro High School class of 1988 20 year reunion and missed the slideshow (or you just want to see it again), the slideshow is now up on the ethsclassof88.org website. And speaking of the website... if we can get enough support, we'll keep the site up! Support really comes down to funding the hosting of the site (and of course content contribution such as pictures, etc). So here's your mission should you choose to accept it:

We are now accepting donations of any amount to keep the site up. For those of you that donate more than $15.00, we'll send you a DVD which includes the slideshow from the reunion and the trivia that looped earlier in the evening on the screen. But wait! There's more.... act now and also included on the DVD will be over 700 pictures collected. That's right. Pictures of you looking smooth in your mullet or AquaNet supported hairdo. All the pictures are JPEGs and can be sent off to any photo finishing service to be printed. Just stick the DVD in your computer and grab all those pictures... it's that easy.

If you are interested in supporting the site and would like to learn more, head over to ethsclassof88.org/donate for more information.

Well that was fun, huh? If you took any pictures at the reunion and would like to share 'em with others, send them up to the ethsclassof88.org website and we'll post them up on the site.

So, what are you doing Saturday night? While the Palin skits on SNL have been pretty good, we think there's something better to do that night. How about coming out and joining our fellow classmates at the El Toro High School class of 1988 20 year reunion.

Forget your credit card, everything is cash that night. And of course, bring your camera too. We'll want you to sent those pictures back up to us after the reunion.

See ya Saturday!

RSVP: Select "RSVP for the Melville rager!" from the Subject list

Remember, it is two weeks from today on Saturday, October 11th. To help you out, we've put together a "cheat sheet" of things you'll need to know for the event (who knew cheat sheets would have a use after high school, huh?) If you have any questions between now and the reunion, use the contact us form on the website or just respond to this email.

See ya in two weeks!

The ETHS Class of '88 Reunion Crew

A few notable additions to the El Toro High School class of 1988 website today: We now have over 200 pictures posted to the site as well as 160 markers on the "Where Are You?" map. And speaking of the map, you may have noticed all those colored markers. So what do they mean? Each color indicates whether or not that person is planning to attend the reunion October 11th.

= Planning to attend
 = Not sure yet
 = Can't attend (but will lift a cold beverage on the evening of October 11th in solidarity)

And speaking of attendance... just a quick reminder (last one) that you have 2 days to save yourself $10 per person for the reunion. That's right, after Friday, it's going to cost you a Franklin and a Lincoln. So get those checks off to Creative Reunions today. And of course, we're looking forward to seeing you at the reunion.

No point in putting it off any longer. It is time to get your El Toro High School 20 year reunion registration submitted. If your dog ate the paperwork, no worries. Here is all the information you need. So save yourself $10 per registration and use that money for a cocktail at the reunion or to put a couple of gallons in your car. All registrations received after September 26th will cost $105.00 per person. And finally, keep in mind if you wait to buy tickets at the door, it is cash-only. No credit card frequent flyer miles or cash-back bonus award for that transaction.

We're just three weeks away. We sure hope you can make it!

Here's yet another reason to register now for our 20 year reunion!  Thanks to Heather (Simon) Risinger, Sales and Marketing Manager at iFly at Universal CityWalk, if you register before September 26th, you'll be entered into a drawing to win a prize package from this unique indoor skydiving adventure.  And this is no chintzy prize package. Here's what the prize package includes: Family Pack which flies up to five people. Each flyer will get two indoor skydives. Also included are lessons, all the necessary gear, flight certificates upon completion, and a souvenir DVD of the flight session. Value $300!  Check out www.iFlyHollywood.com for more information including pictures and video clips about this super cool experience. The winner will be announced at the reunion.  
 
Other reasons to register now
Price per person is discounted $10.00 if you register before September 26th.  After that, price is $105.00. If you wait to buy tickets at the door, it is cash-only. No credit card frequent flyer miles or cash-back bonus award for that transaction.
 
So if you're on the edge, go ahead and jump!!!

Just a friendly reminder, if you haven't already done so, be sure and get your tickets ordered for the reunion. To do so, send your payment to the address below. And be sure and provide all the relevant information too. Prices are $95.00 until September 26th. After that, they are $105.

Creative Reunions
24248 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 210
Torrance, CA 90505

Please provide the following information:

Full name (include maiden name if appropriate)
Complete mailing address
Phone number
Email address
Check or credit card number

For more information on pricing and other treasures to be optionally ordered, check out this previous post on the ethsclassof88.org site.

Break out your ETHS memorabilia and show off your stuff, so we can all smile at times long ago.

Seriously, we need you to pull out your memorabilia from baby day books to old video tapes. At the reunion, we will have a memorabilia table, so if you have any memorabilia you would like to contribute, please let us know. Your stuff will be returned right after the event.

This is just a friendly reminder that we'd really like to have a picture of you and your family for the reunion. If you could please send it to us by September 15th, that would be great. And of course, if you have any older pictures from back in high school, we'd appreciate those too. The family pictures will be included on a large sign for everyone to see at the reunion. And even if you don't think you can make it to the event itself, we'd still like to see you and your family represented with all of the others. All pictures can be sent to us using the "Contact Us" form on the ethsclassof88.org website. Thanks again!

It only feels like yesterday. Pulling into Christi Melville's neighborhood and recognizing most of the cars on the street. Walking through the door of her mom's house, no sooner do you hear the music being dished out by Scott Biegel when someone approaches you and asks you to put your car keys in a bowl. Good times.

Well, it's time to relive (some) of those good times the night before the reunion. While Christi did manage to move outta the house, her mom is kind enough to once again open it up to the hoodlums of the ETHS class of '88. Whether you were one of her bride's maids or had to look up the name in our yearbook, all are welcome.

Please RSVP using the contact form on the ETHS Class of '88 website by selecting the "RSVP for the Melville rager!" subject. Thanks!

Hard to believe, but we are just ten weeks away from our 20th high school reunion. If you haven't sent in your reservation to Creative Reunions, its not too late. And if you need a room at the Hilton, you better call them today!

Do you know someone from our class we should recognize at the event? We'd like to recognize those that have served our country as well as anyone else that has accomplished significant achievement. If you have a name or two, please let us know.

Hard to believe, but we are just three months away from the reunion. Things are coming along great and we think everyone should have a good time with what we have in store.

Many of you have asked if there is something you can do to help out with the event. So after some consideration, we have decided to open up various areas of the event to sponsorship. If you or your business would like to make product, service or financial contribution to the event, that would be great. If you have a business in Orange County, this is a great way to do some very inexpensive advertising. Have you looked at the “Where Are You?” map lately? There are a ton of us still living in the OC.

With your contribution will come sponsorship signage, acknowledgment during the slideshow, in the memory book and of course the self-gratification for making the event that much better :)

Sponsorship opportunities include but are certainly not limited to:

Door Prizes - Open
Do you have a business and would be interested in donating some swag to the event? Door prizes, embellishments for the room, you name it. If you think you might have something to contribute, we’d love to hear what you have to offer.

Friday Night Mixer - $250+
How about a round a drinks for those that may get together the night before? Or heck, pull out that no limit AMEX and make a lot of old friends very happy (and make some new ones too in the process) by covering the bar all night.

Slideshow - $500 OBO
We’ve had a ton of pictures submitted. And many, many more have been “unearthed” too, so this is going to be a great part of the evening. That said, AV gear and getting pictures scanned adds up, so your sponsorship would go a long way for this part of the evening.

Wine at the Tables - At Cost
Are you in the wine biz? Can you donate a few cases? We’d be delighted to incorporate a bottle (or two or three) into the center pieces of each table. Of course, you can cut a check and we can take it from there too.

Signature Drink - At Cost
Is your martini shaken and not stirred? How about sponsoring a specific drink at one of our bars during the event? Signage at the bar will be included.

These are just a few areas of sponsorship. But, if there is something you’d like to suggest or contribute, we’re all ears. And of course, we would absolutely appreciate general contributions just to offset total event costs too. If you are interested, please use the Contact Us form on the website or click on any of the links above and let us know what you would like to contribute.

Thanks again and we appreciate your assistance in making our one and only 20th high school reunion that much better.

Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa
3050 Bristol Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-438-4915

There's a new "feature" on the El Toro High School Class of '88 website. By popular demand,

Between the Where Are You marker map showing the current locations of fellow classmates, the stay connected email subscription for the ETHS Class of '88 website and of course the handy-dandy work of Creative Reunions, we've been able to track down contact info for about 85% of our graduating class. However, there are about 100 classmates we haven't been able to track down. This is where you can help.

We have contact information for about 500 fellow El Toro High School class of 1988 grads, however there are still about 100 that we cannot find. This is where you can help out. We have posted a list of all the folks we can't find on the ETHS Class of '88 website. This list is now located on the same page as the Where Are You map markers -- now you'll see a "Missing" section on that same page.

When you click on the "Missing" link, you will see all the names of fellow grads we just have no way of tracking down. If you happen to know the whereabouts -- or even better, an email or snail mail address -- please let us know. Just click on the person's name and you'll be able to zap us an email.

What's that you say? Family pictures of people your spouse doesn't even know won't get him/her to the event? Up the anté you say? Well, in our endless pursuit for "How to Keep Your Spouse Entertained at the Reunion" we give you Tip #2: 80s trivia. Com'mon you know it's entertaining. Heck if worse comes to worse, you can make a drinking game out of it. It beats throwing bottle caps into a cup across the table and it is probably a tad classier too :)

Click above to play

Here is your mission should you choose to accept it: We need 80s trivia. Ideally between 1984 and 1988, with a preference for 1988 (go figure). No real limitations from a content standpoint. School related or current events from the time are all fair game.

So here is what we're thinking... we're not planning to have an MC or any formal announcements during the reunion itself. However, we thought it would be cool if we had some "background entertainment" while we're all having a cocktail or two. To give you a taste of where this could go, we've cobbled together a quick sample above (Note: If you're reading this in an email, you most likely cannot see our arts and crafts. Please go up to the website to see it in action). If we get enough content, we'll have this run prior to the slideshow -- kinda like all those lovely ads that run before a movie at the theater.

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Submit your 80s trivia: Send us your questions (and answers) today!

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How to submit trivia? Easy. Just go to our contact form and select "Trivia for slideshow" as the subject. Then of course give us the question and the answer in the comments section. If you're coming up with a multiple choice, please give us the alternative choices too.

Sound like fun?

With less than five months to go before the reunion, we thought it would be a good idea to start sharing some thoughts and ideas on how to keep your significant other from dosing off from boredom at our reunion. Sure it will be loads of fun to talk about winning the CIF football championship or maybe when someone (ahem) filled Mr Holst's car with packing chips at graduation practice. Yeah, fun stuff for us. But fodder for counting sheep if you are the poor spouse having to endure all these "great stories."

Are you having a tough time talking your significant other into joining you at the reunion? Well, let them know that there will be things to do beyond listen to you reminisce with your friends about hanging in the quad or jumping the fence to go out to lunch your sophomore year.

Send in a family picture
We would love to have current pictures of all our classmates with their children/families to feature on photo boards at the reunion. Not only will we all get a kick out of seeing everyone's family, but it will also give our spouses something to do as they walk back from the bar.

Please submit one family picture by September 15, 2008 in order to be included.

Ahh, the best laid plans. Just when you think you have everything all sorted out for the reunion, you learn something. The company you have retained to assist in managing your high school reunion offers online registration for the event. Cool. But the online registration isn't secure. Uncool.

It was recently discovered the online registration system Creative Reunions is using isn't terribly secure. While we seriously doubt anyone's personal information was compromised, your trusty reunion crew would like to strongly suggest that you not use Creative Reunions website for registering for our reunion and instead, send in your registration the way we would have done it way back in 1988... yup, good ol' US Postal Service.

Creative Reunions
24248 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 210
Torrance, CA 90505

Please provide the following information:

Full name (include maiden name if appropriate)
Complete mailing address
Phone number
Email address
Check or credit card number

For more information on pricing and other treasures to be optionally ordered, check out this previous post on the ethsclassof88.org site.

This week Creative Reunions, the company retained to coordinate all the logistics for our reunion, started sending out "save the date" announcements. With these announcements came pricing and registration information.

While Creative Reunions sent out materials this week in the mail, we realize many of you have moved multiple times over the years and you may not get this information. Good news, keep reading and you'll get all the details.

Reunion Tickets
$95.00 each
$105.00 each (after September 26, 2008)

Dinner, entertainment and biography book are included in the ticket price. And for those of you chompin' at the bit to register early, you will be the proud recipient of a free reunion photo CD (a $16.95 value). This offer is good through June 5, 2008 so plan accordingly.

Other Keepsakes
If an evening of good food, drink and conversation with long lost friends isn't enough, you can also pick up the following items too:

Memory Book ($25.00)
Reunion Photo CD ($16.95)
11x14 Class Photo ($20.00)

You can also mail in your registration to the address below:

Creative Reunions
24248 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 210
Torrance, CA 90505

If mailing in your registration, please provide the following information:

Full name (include maiden name if appropriate)
Complete mailing address
Phone number
Email address
Check or credit card number

...and of course how many tickets and/or keepsakes you need.

Just two weeks after we hit 50 pictures contributed to the website, we now have passed 50 markers placed on the "Where Are You?" map.

Earlier this week, Monika (Stoll) Auferheide became the 50th El Toro High School Class of '88 grad to place a marker on the "Where Are You Now" map. If you haven't place your marker on the map, it is really easy. Just head over the the "Where Are You?" page and fill out the form. All contributions are updated about once a day.

Or for more information, check out this page on the website for a bit more information on how to add your marker to the ethsclassof88.org website.

We've been getting a lot of great feedback from those of you who have visited the site. One idea was a place to be able to discuss ideas, catch up with others and coordinate "unofficial" reunion plans. To help us all out with these areas, we now have forums on the website (www.ethsclassor88.org/forum).

The new forums, found at ethsclassof88.org/forum offer three broad categories, allowing us all to communicate with each other. From planning pre event get-togethers to sharing photos with others, here is the place to do it. The three categories include:

Reunion Weekend
We've already received a lot of feedback from folks that there is an interest in social events before and after the reunion. While the crew coordinating the October 11th event isn't able to help with these "unofficial" activities, there is no reason why they cannot happen. So, if there is interest in a Sunday family picnic or maybe cocktails Friday night, here is a great place to discuss and plan those activities.

Reunion Event Ideas
Of course, the whole reason for this site is to help us get stay informed about our 20th reunion. What do you want -- or not want -- to see, do and eat at the event. Share ideas here.

Get Reaquainted
A lot can happen in 20 years. Try and find all friends, post pictures or just test your typing skills in this area of the forum.

We hope you find these forums useful!

We were still in El Toro, California in 1988. Some stayed nearby, others moved far, far away. Here is your opportunity to share with others in our class where you are living now.

By visiting the ETHS Class of '88 website, you can now see where fellow graduates are now by checking out our handy dandy ETHS Class of '88 grad map. By clicking on the markers, not only will you see who is living where, but many fellow grads have provided a bit of background on what they've been up to for the last 20 years.




Adding yourself to the map is easy. Just go to this page on our website, click on the "Add to the map" link and complete the brief form. Locations are only as specific as ZIP Code, so you don't have to worry about Mr Holst tracking you down 'cause of some styrofoam peanuts you poured into his car at graduation. Hmmm, I wonder who did that????

It's official. We've got a date and a place. Saturday, October 11, 2008 at the Costa Mesa Hilton.

As we get more details on room rates and all that good stuff, we'll post that info here. In the mean time, mark the calendar, get those frequent flyer miles ready to go, 'cause you've got somewhere to be on October 11, 2008.

To stay informed with the latest greatest news on the reunion, send us your contact details or just enter your email address in the "Stay Connected" field found on most of the pages on this website.

We're closing in on an exact date, but in the mean time we wanted you to know that our 20th reunion will be sometime during the first couple of weeks of October 2008. Check back here on this website for more details. We anticipate having exact date and location details the first part of March.

Calling all ETHS class of '88 alumni... With our 20th reunion less than a year away, we have big plans for the event. One of them is a slideshow. Ohhh, ahhhh. In addition to some of the pictures from our high school year book and the slideshow assembly at the end of our senior year (yeah, we still have the slides), we'd like you to contribute pictures to the effort. Not just pictures from back in the day, but also pictures of you and yours from "today." To learn how to submit pictures, please keep reading.

To submit pictures is really easy. We've setup a web form where you can attach your pictures. Here are the steps:

1. Complete you full name (please include maiden name if appropriate), email address
2. Select "I have pictures to contribute" from the Subject selection list
3. Click on the "Choose file" button and browse to your file
4. Click "submit"

Right now, we can only accept a single file at a time through the website. But if you know how to create a zip file of a folder of images, you can attach that instead. Please limit the file size uploaded to 10MB.

What about old pictures from high school?

Yes, we were the poor kids without digital cameras and YouTube in high school. Rolls of 35mm film and VHS tapes were all the rage for us. Well, if you do have some old prints and you have a scanner, we'd love to get those too. Please scan them so the longest edge is least 800 pixels long, 72 dpi. If that's to techie for you, just scan 'em, send them off and we'll let ya know if they'll work or not :)

Finally, if you have a lot of photos to contribute and would prefer to find another way of sending them, please contact us at photos@ethsclassof88.org.

Thanks!

A group of former classmates have started to put together plans for our 20th. Yeah, hard to believe. As we get our act together, we will be posting more information on this site. So be sure and come back every now and then. Or one better, subscribe to our periodic ETHS Class of '88 email update and you will get a periodic email as we post new information.

And of course, if you're interested in helping out, please contact us -- every bit of help is appreciated.