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Here are answers to the questions we get most often. If you don't see your question listed here, contact us and we'll email you back and/or add your question to this page. Check back often for new information!
Basic Reunion Facts:
Purpose: To honor with love and gratitude, Norman Allen , who for 27 years, taught us, befriended us, guided us, supported us, inspired us, and loved us. And who continues to do all of this still.
Dates: July 25-28, 2002; Where: The Grosvenor Resort, Orlando, Florida
Who is invited: 1959-85 choir members, significant others and families.
Our website address: http://www.phschoir.org
Our email address: reunion@phschoir.org
Our street mailing address:
PHS Choir Alumni Reunion 2002, c/o Ellen Brager Ross, 109 Maria Drive, Hillsdale, NJ 07642
Questions (click to see answers):
- How do I navigate this website?
- How can I find out the latest news regarding Reunion plans?
- I do not have a computer -- can I still be involved?
- Are there pictures from the 2002 reunion?
- How can I get my reunion photos on the website?
- Where do I send other photos and memorabilia?
- Were any of the Reunion 2002 events recorded and made available to choir alumni?
- What is the deadline for registering?
- Can I still register past the deadline-- like NOW???
- May I bring guests to the reunion?
- May I attend only part of the reunion?
- How do I arrange for lodging at the reunion?
- Do I have to stay at the Grosvenor in order to attend?
- Does the hotel have a bathtub/jello policy?
- Are there any provisions for children's programs and/or babysitting services?
- What selections will we be singing in the Reunion Concert?
- Can I obtain copies of the music ahead of time for rehearsal?
- Do I have to sing at the reunion?
- How can I help you plan the reunion?
- I can't attend but still want to participate, what can I do?
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- Can I still help to buy Norm a PC?
- How can I get in touch now with other choir alumni, to urge them to attend?
- Why do you need my street address and phone number?
- I have found someone on your missing list-- what should I do?
- Whom do I contact for more information?
Answers:
- How do I navigate this website?
Most of the areas of this site can be accessed using the links in the Site Menu on the left side of each page. Additionally, most pages have a small menu at the bottom with links to take you back to the home page or to other key areas of the site. Throughout the site, blue text like this usually indicates a link you can click on, which will take you somewhere else on the site. Links are also indicated when your mouse cursor changes from an arrow to a hand, or if the text changes in some way (underlined, different color, etc.) when you mouse over it.
- How can I find out the latest news regarding the Reunion plans?
This website is your "Reunion Central". Check it regularly for updated info. Add your email address to our mailing list, so you can receive latest news by email. Check our Message Forums for news and announcements, and feel free to post questions and your thoughts there as well. If you have questions not answered here or elsewhere on the site, use our Contact Form to ask us and someone will email you a reply.
- I do not have a computer -- can I still be involved??
While this website is "Reunion Central" we realize some people are not able to access it on a regular basis. There are other options for staying informed however. Make sure you're signed up on our mailing list so that you can receive reunion updates by email. Talk to other choir alumni you are in touch with about latest reunion plans. Drop a note to us at our mailing address above if you have any questions. And most important, make sure we always have current contact information for you.
- Are there pictures from the 2002 reunion?
There sure are-- and lots of them! Go to our website's Photos pages and enjoy!
- How can I get my reunion photos on the website?
If you took pictures or video at the reunion, we'd love to show them here! Have your photos developed on disc (floppy or CD). Email us the files you'd like shown, and no need to scan anything! We read WinZip -- multiple files should be emailed in a .zip archive.
If you have prints, scan each as a .JPG file, zip the files together with WinZip, and send them along as one email attachment.
Or ask us about mailing or shipping a photo CD to us directly. We'll extract the files from it and, if you want it back, we'll return it to you unharmed.
If you have digital video, consider extracting stills or video portions for showing on the website!
- Where do I send other photos and memorabilia?
We're collecting choir memorabilia for both website display and for use at future reunions. We are especially interested in photos of choir alumni, both past and present, and recordings of concerts sung by the choir with Mr. Allen.
Before you send anything, please email us and tell us what you have.
If you have a scanner, images in .jpg format would be ideal. If you have photos of Mr. Allen and the choir in good condition which we might use for newspaper or PR purposes, let us know so we can give you instructions to scan them at newspaper specifications. Scans in .jpg format can be sent to reunion@phschoir.org.
Original photos, tapes, LPs, videos, concert programs, and other fragile memorabilia should be packed carefully and mailed to: PHS Choir Alumni Reunion, c/o Howard Fields, PO Box 587, Brookfield, CT 06804 where they will be scanned, encoded, or saved for use at the reunion. Please include return postage if you want these items back. It would be a good idea to first make good duplicates of anything that you can, and send those.
Please remember to identify photos and recordings with names and dates so we will know who everyone is!
- Were any of the Reunion 2002 events recorded and made available to choir alumni?
Yes. We had audio and video recordings made of this event. Much of it will be viewable on the website. If many people are interested in having copies for themselves, we will post a price list for ordering copies for personal viewing.
- What is the deadline for registering?
The deadline for sending your initial deposit has passed and invoices went out at the end of May 2002 to collect the balances due. If you are registering in June or July 2002, you must send us the entire registration fee immediately. Also, send an immediate email to register@phschoir.org letting us know your payment is on the way, so we can count you in the final numbers to the hotel.
- Can I still register past the deadline-- like NOW???
Most likely yes, but first email register@phschoir.org and let us know you plan to come! Include your name, class year, number of people in your party, and any dietary restrictions, and be prepared to mail us the entire registration fee immediately.
- May I bring guests to the reunion?
Absolutely! You must include a $50 deposit the appropriate complete registration fee for each guest with your registration, and all guests must be registered in advance.
- May I attend only part of the reunion?
While there's no obligation to attend every event, the events essentially *are* the reunion, so we hope you'll all be able to take part in as much as possible. Some of what is planned is a birthday party for Norm (yes his birthday is that weekend too!), a cookout with fun and games, a dinner and "roast" of Norm by the choir alums, and of course Norm will be conducting us in a reunion concert. Most of this takes place between Friday and Sunday, along with with early registration and social gatherings Thursday evening, rehearsals Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, and a farewell brunch Sunday. Saturday afternoon has deliberately been left as free time, so people can socialise on their own or visit the parks, etc.
The registration fee is based on general attendance at the reunion events, and includes not only food costs but also overhead, function space, equipment rental, sheet music, piano and risers, etc. We've kept the fees down by averaging out the costs over an expected number of people, so regardless of which events one participates in, the registration fees are the same. (Non-singing attendees don't have to pay for the sheet music however.) This also will make it easier for people to come and go as they please throughout the weekend without having to pay extra for anything they didn't originally sign up for.
- How do I arrange for lodging at the reunion?
We have reserved a block of rooms at the Grosvenor at a special discount rate. Reservations to stay there must be made separately by March 24, 2002. Instructions and phone numbers for reserving a room in our block can be found on our Hotel and Travel page.
The hotel has graciously agreed to extend its discounted rate for us so that people can arrive up to 5 days before and stay up to 5 days after the reunion at the reunion rate.
- Do I have to stay at the Grosvenor in order to attend?
No, you are not required to stay at the Grosvenor. However, we recommend staying there if you will require lodging, since all reunion activities will take place at the Grosvenor. In addition to the obvious convenience, it is in everyone's best interest to stay there, since our contract with the Grosvenor is based on the number of our reserved rooms. If we don't fill our minimum block of rooms, the hotel can raise their costs to us, forcing us to raise the registration fee. Obviously we would like to keep the registration fee low for everyone. Besides, Norm and his family will be staying there, and he will talk about you at breakfast if you're not there to defend yourself! ;-)
- Does the hotel have a bathtub/jello policy?
Yes. The volume of jello may not exceed 4.7 cubic meters at sea level -- this number is inversely proportional to the number of the floor the bathtub is on. Lemon, pineapple, or any of the yellow jellos are strictly forbidden.
- Are there any provisions for children's programs and/or babysitting services?
Yes, the Grosvenor has many programs and activities for children, which can be arranged for separately. These are described on our Hotel and Travel page.
- What selections will we be singing in the Reunion Concert?
See the list on our Reunion Concert page.
- Can I obtain copies of the music ahead of time for rehearsal?
Purchased music packets will be available for all singers at the reunion. We are working on making the music legally available for download on our website, for those who request and have paid for it. The registration form has a place to indicate if you would like access to the music in advance. If we are able to offer the music in this way, we will notify everyone who has requested it of the procedure to download it. (For copyright reasons, we cannot make the sheet music publicly available for download.) Also, rehearsal time has been scheduled into the reunion itinerary so that everyone will have a chance to familiarize themselves with the music.
- Do I have to sing at the reunion?
Singing in the concert is open to all PHS choir alumni, and we encourage everyone to join the chorus! There is no obligation to sing, however, so if you would prefer to listen to the concert, please indicate that on your registration form, and we won't order music for you. Concert selections were chosen with both familiarity and ease of singing in mind, so even those of you who haven't uttered a sustained pitch in 30 years will be comfortable raising your voices.
- How can I help you plan the reunion?
We always need more help! Right now, our biggest ongoing job is finding everybody, so nobody gets left out of this! The best thing you can do is to spread the word to your PHS friends, tell them to read this site, and to send us their current contact information (address, phone number, and e-mail) and what year they graduated PHS. Those without internet access can send a note to our street address.
We always need people to help with publicity, internet searches, phoning and mailing, website updating, photo scanning, media encoding, event planning, music coordination, and many other projects. If you have a particular area of expertise which you think would be useful to us, please let us know if you can help in any way.
- I can't attend but still want to participate, what can I do?
We're sorry you can't be there with us in person, but you don't have to be left out! There are many other ways in which you can be involved in and represented at the reunion:
- Do you have any choir memorabilia to share? We are looking for copies of old choir programs, photos, concert recordings, and any other related media. If you have a scanner, images in .jpg format would be ideal. Recordings and videos can be converted to digital files and added to our website, and included in displays at the reunion. If you don't have a way of converting these yourself, we can do this for you and return your originals to you unharmed.
- Dig out your PHS yearbooks! There are several years for which we have not been able to identify everyone who sang with Norm yet. If you look at the missing lists, you'll find many names which have a "?" in their class year. If you can tell us when those people graduated, that will help us a great deal, too.
- Write to your friends from PHS. Tell them about this website, and the Reunion. Even if they don't know yet if they will be able to attend, have them contact us anyway, so we know how to reach them. As you know, this will not be the usual high school class reunion. We are convinced that once people know it is happening, they will want to be part of this!
- Where do I send photos and memorabilia for the reunion?
- Will any of the events be recorded and made available after the reunion?
- Can I still help to buy Norm a PC?
Yes and no. The computer itself has been bought, shipped, and paid for, thanks to those of you who generously donated towards this last year. If you would still like to donate, we will use any extra funds towards internet expense, additional software, more RAM, etc. Please email us for details.
Uncle Norm is loving being online and in contact with everyone again! If you'd like to see what we all bought him, take a look at this page!
- How can I get in touch now with other choir alumni, to urge them to attend?
There are several ways to contact other choir alumni:
- Take a look at our lists of choir alumni we've found. If there is anyone there you wish to contact, tell us who it is and give us permission to send your contact info to them.
- Read and post to our Message Board. If you include your email address in your post, choir alumni who read it will be able to send you a personal note. Many choir alumni have posted there with their email addresses so you can contact them directly as well.
- Why do you need my street address and phone number?
We want to be able to keep you updated on reunion events and to send you any materials you may need in order to attend the reunion. If your email address should change or your emails bounce for any other reason, we need another way to contact you. We went to a lot of trouble to find everyone and we don't want to lose you again because of a bounced email. We may also be sending some of the concert sheet music ahead of time, and if we're unable to upload it to the website, we will need street addresses to mail it. Finally, we are compiling the first ever database of PHS choir alumni. We would like to be able to print a "contact book" so that other choir alums will be able to stay in touch with you after the reunion. In accordance with our privacy policy, you may decline to be listed in such a book, but we'd still like your contact info for our files.
- I have found someone on your missing list-- what should I do?
Congrats-- that's wonderful! Tell them about the reunion, how they can reach us, and tell us how we can reach them. Send them a copy of the registration materials. Give them our website and email addresses and tell them to use the form on the website to contact us so we can get them off our missing list!
- Whom do I contact for more information?
The Reunion Team is listed on a separate page of the site with email addresses and AIM screen names. Feel free to email or "IM" any of us with a hello, suggestions, or questions. We meet weekly online (yes, with voice capability too!). If you would like to meet with us sometime, please contact us and let us know how to reach you.
If you have questions about the reunion which are not answered here or elsewhere on the website, please send an email to reunion@phschoir.org and someone will get back to you with an answer.
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