Class of 1954 Event Historical Record
1/2011lunch, 5/2011 Lunch 7/2011 Lunch 10/2011 Cruise 1/2012 Lunch 4/2012 Lunch 7/2012 Lunch 10/2012 Lunch 1/12/2013 Lunch 4/13/2013 Lunch 7/13/2013 Lunch 10/12/2013 Lunch 1/11/2014 Lunch 10/11/2014 Lunch 4/11/2015 Lunch 7/11/2015 Lunch 10/11/2015 Lunch 1/9/2016 Lunch 4/9/2016 Lunch 1/14/2017 Lunch, 4/8/2017 Lunch, 7/8/2017 Lunch,
10/14/2017 L:unch, 1/13/2018 Lunch, 4/14/2018 Lunch, 7/14/2018 Lunch 10/13/2018 Lunch
Our 80th Birthday Reunion Cruise was fun for all.
To observe most of our class' 80th birthday this year, we booked a group cruise. Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas was selected to take us to Cozumel, Mexico and back, sailing from Tampa's cruise terminal. It was a four-day cruise, with one day in Cozumel for tours and shopping. Altogether there were 30 people in our group, including spouses and guests. There was a complimentary cocktail party given by the cruise line and we had a group photo taken. This g
roup photo and other snapshots can be found here.
We had a terrific 60th reunion in downtown St. Petersburg - two and a half days of seeing classmates we had not seen in years. The theme was Starlight and Sawdust - Reprise. Do you remember that as the theme of the prom our class staged as juniors in 1953? The committees really put on a fantastic event and photos are posted here.
The 55th Reunion was a big success.
The hospitality room at the Hampton Inn in downtown St. Pete was headquarters for the reunion. It was open to all SPHS Class of 1954 alumni without charge. For some reason, this did not encourage many of SPHS 1954 local classmates to drop by during the weekend to meet and greet old (i.e., life-long) friends. However, we did have classmates come from far and wide to the reunion. 65 classmates registered and they brought 34 guests. Almost half of those attending came from outside the Tampa Bay Area. Classmates came from Finland, Oregon, California, Ohio, Texas, Maryland and other parts of Florida. On Friday night, a vibrant group of young SPHS singers, called the Pitchforks, sang for us. It was fantastic. Then, on Saturday morning a group was guided on a tour of SPHS. Saturday night was the banquet at the St. Pete Yacht Club, followed by dancing and a group photo. The group photo, and many other photos, can be seen in the collection of photos at the link above
The 52nd class reunion was held in downtown St. Pete during Festival of States week. Headquarters for the reunion was the Hampton Inn and Suites, located at. 80 Beach Drive NE. This provided classmates ready access to the waterfront, Pier, and the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. There was also a Blues Fest going on the same weekend in Vinoy Park.
The Saturday evening event was held on the fifth floor of The Pier (AKA Million Dollar Pier) at Cha Cha Coconuts (part of Columbia Restaurant). It afforded a 360-degree view of the St. Pete waterfront, a tropical buffet and a view of the sunset.
The Sunday evening banquet was held in the ballroom of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. Dancing followed.
Altogether, 59 classmates were joined by 25 guests for the reunion. . There were door prizes galore and we thank Sally Cook Vazquez for her tireless work in rounding them up.
We had about 125 of our classmates participate in the Friday and Saturday activities. They were accompanied by spouses and guests that swelled the total participation to 205 for the weekend. .
The Saturday morning tour of St. Pete High was conducted by former principal and classmate, Barbara Drescher Broughton and SPHS Alumni Director Bob Dale (Class of 1951).
The Sheraton Sand Key Resort was a fantastic site for the big celebration, and 52 rooms were occupied for the reunion.
Mini-reunions for the band and several of the elementary and junior high schools were also held on Saturday.
The Hospitality Suite on the eighth floor was abuzz throughout the weekend with classmates catching up on a lifetime of events. A memorabilia display was at the registration desk in the lobby for all to see and reminisce.
Classmate Geri Martin Willingham and her husband crafted special etched glass picture frames as favors for the event.
A number of quality door prizes were awarded on Friday and Saturday nights. There was a diamond and emerald ring, a fine necklace, specially bottled wine for the occasion, trip for two on Delta anywhere in the US, a week's stay at a condo in Daytona Beach for the firecracker 400, and on and on.
A highlight was a skit performed by Jean Swivel Schuh and Charlie Schuh, on a green bench.
Classmates from Finland, Mexico and points in between attended the Golden Gala. Some classmates attended their very first reunion and seemed delighted.