Page 89 - Complete Final Book2

From the Reunion Committee Co-Chair

Dear Classmates,

Connecting with friends and classmates: that’s what a good reunion is all about.
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In Medina, every class’s 50 is a rite of passage and celebrated tradition, starting
with eligibility to attend the annual 50+ luncheon that attracts people from all over
the country. The only requirement is graduation from Medina High School fifty or more years earlier.
Outsiders say it’s a “Medina thing.” In July 2019, Carol Biliczky Levandoski, Nancy Been Peacock and
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I received permission to host a Class of 1970 table at the luncheon to begin promoting our 50 the
following year, and that’s when our unprecedented 50+1 got started.

As we formed a reunion committee and began planning in earnest, we believed our greatest challenge
would be locating 256 classmates and updating the contact list. It became so much more. We connected.
We cared. We learned together. And in the end, we celebrated. We celebrated classmates with COVID
who survived, and we were joyful for their participation and health. We celebrated classmates who were
veterans (and never before recognized), and we affirmed their dedication and service to country.
We even celebrated a classmate who finally received his MHS diploma at the reunion and became an offi-
cial graduate more than fifty years after he left school to join the military. And we celebrated locating
nearly 100% of our classmates. As class president Tim Holston said, “We came together.”

Would I do it all again a second time? No. Would I do it the first time again, even if I knew in advance what
was coming? In a heartbeat. Thank you all for your gift of time and commitment: committee members who
worked tirelessly for nearly two years; classmates who came from near and far to attend the reunion; and
everyone who made the effort to stay connected in some way. As someone commented on Facebook
during reunion week, as we held our events while dodging rainstorms, extreme heat, and ongoing COVID
concerns, “What a bunch of good sports.” We are. We can be proud. We connected and made history
along the way. There were many heroes in this story. Thank you!

Debra Hallock
Reunion Committee Co-Chair