Dear Hornets,

I hope this email finds you well. I regret to inform you that, due to insufficient ticket purchases and venue cancellation, our 20-year class reunion scheduled for Friday, June 21st - Sunday, June 23rd, has been canceled. We understand that this news may come as a disappointment to many of you who were looking forward to reconnecting and reminiscing with old classmates.

As we mentioned in the town hall, hosting events takes money. Maintaining tools like our website, class bank account, etc., also requires operational budgets, which have exclusively been funded by the reunion committee. In an effort to be fully transparent, please see below how we arrived at our costs for this year’s reunion. We included the original budget (see below) when we planned for 70 classmates to attend and an updated budget based on feedback and interest to a 30-person class attendance. 

We hope this breakdown helps to provide more visibility, while also setting expectations on what it takes to have an ongoing alumni infrastructure. As we look ahead to the potential of a 25 or 30 year reunion we, as a class, need to be more planful so we aren’t starting at zero each time we try to get together. Today, we have no resources as a class to support our fellow classmates during times of bereavement or milestone celebration. In order for there to be equity across our class, we need to have funding to ensure when we have classmates in need we can show up and support.

I’d be remiss not to extend my sincerest gratitude to the reunion planning committee for their dedicated efforts in organizing and coordinating this event. Their commitment to bringing our class together and creating memorable experiences for us is truly commendable. Despite the unfortunate outcome, their hard work and generosity of time and resources have not gone unnoticed. Please join me in thanking Tiffany (Clay) Johnson, Andre Henry, Cara Breeden, Kim Reese, LaMonica McDuffie, Elona Ellis, LaDawn (Roberts) Ryans, and Shirley McRae.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the cancellation or any other matters related to the reunion, please refer to the FAQ section on our reunion website. We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions to provide clarity and address common inquiries. If you cannot find the information you need in the FAQ section, please feel free to reach out to hillsidehigh2004reunion@gmail.com for assistance.

Once again, I want to express my appreciation to the reunion planning committee and to all of you for your understanding and support. Though our reunion plans may have been derailed this time, I hope we can still find ways to stay connected and celebrate the bonds we share as alumni of Hillside High School.

Warm regards,

Vykky (Hawkins) Howard

President

Hillside High School Class of 2004