in conclusion....
georgianjim
I'm suggesting, here, that we close the books, etc, on this reunion and begin to discuss next year.
First, may I offer us all congratulations on a more-than-successful venture and much appreciation goes out from my heart to yours for a genuine, lively, and affirming weekend. Everybody needs that! We gave that gift to one another. Kudos!
Here's the financial picture:
During the weekend, we were as many as 43 people of all sizes. If anyone would like the breakdown of how many stayed for what period of time, I can do that; suffice it to say that we paid Woolman Hill $1555 in total. We paid Brandi $2100 to cater. This brings the total cost to $3655. We owe Macy $750 ($1000 subtracting $250).
We gathered $2690 in payment. All in all, we wind up $965 in the red.
If we all answer the following, that would be helpful in moving forward.
Questions:
What went well?
Woolman Hill is a good site for us, Brandi was a good caterer, the balance of attendees, in many ways, was great, we gathered lots of information about a) why this is a good thing to do, b) how to do it with as little stress as possible and c) we all still like each other.
What could have been better?
Had we know the real costs at WH, we would have been able to plan better and we need to plan in a way so as to become sustainable moving forward. I would suggest a few minor adjustments to the menu. The chores part of the show need better planning. I would like to move into a peer-lead weekend...taking turns, in pairs, offering activities, being available for questions, etc., leaving lots of time for hanging out.
Am I willing to continue on for next year?
Yes
If so, what will I do?
What I did last year, only better and less of it during the weekend.
Information:
Woolman Hill has us penciled in for the 1st weekend in August 2008.
When we know who's in for next year, we can begin discussion of details.
Love to one and all, Georgia
tammy marengo
The reunion, though we found ourselves in the red, was a great success
in my book. Connecting with old friends and reestablishing contact was
wonderful. Thank you again to those who made this possible. I will
definitely be coming next year, Georgia so you can put me on the list.
I must say here that I wish I could have helped out more with
organizing and food prep and clean-up, but I am glad I took a back
seat. Though I may have appeared fine, I was a bit uncomfortable
physically and being "on" for two days was exhausting in itself. Even
the hike to the river about did me in. But again, it was all great and
I'd do it again in a heart beat. But I was so exhausted buy the time I
got home, I collapsed and had several emotional melt-downs, unable to
get out of bed for nearly two days. The driving, the heat, and the
stress (good stress) did me in.
The questions below:
What went well? The whole thing. It was all great. I think it was nice
that we could plan activities as we went along. It ;eft room for some
flexibility.
What could have been better? One suggestion would be that the food
costs be figured out early in the process so that a more appropriate
fee could be paid ahead of time, but you probably know that. Maybe
clean up crews could be established prior to arrival. The menu could
have been a little more diverse. I can tolerate a little cheese and am
allergic to most nuts, and the only beans I can't have are black beans
(of course). Being hypoglycemic, eating all that pasta was an issue. It
was yummy, but the food I was eating probably didn't help my collapse
Sunday afternoon. I know many are vegan, but a little chicken, and
some other kind of beans could be good. Meetings were a little long and
more available free time would be good too, but I know we only had so
much time.
I just got your last e-mail, Georgia, but decided to finish and send
this to you anyway. It would probably help to hear from everybody about
what they thought, right? I appreciate your saving me that bed,
Georgia. While I was playing with the idea of staying in a cabin, I
think it would have been too much for me.
Again, this was all great!!!!
Love, Tammy