| REUNION BANQUET TICKET DEADLINE IS ONLY TWO WEEKS FROM NOW! September 2 is the last day you can buy tickets for the JFKHS Class of 1971 Reunion Banquet The 45th Anniversary Reunion Banquet will be held at the Kennedy Center (the old JFK high school) on Saturday evening, September 17 --- only one month away! So, why are we imposing a September 2 deadline? Well, too many of you have publicly said you are coming, but still haven't bought tickets. We understand procrastination and that you may have to juggle a very busy schedule. We acknowledge there may be family or health constraints that must be addressed because we face that, too. However, you should know that pulling off a reunion at the old Kennedy high school, the first of its kind, is not an easy task. At the renovated Kennedy Center Banquet Hall, all we can do is rent the facility. Nothing is is supplied (other than tables and chairs). Unlike other banquet halls, hotels, or restaurants where everything is contracted, we have to arrange and organize the catering, which is a huge job. We have to contract for alcohol beverages, and that also requires permits from the state Alcohol Beverage Control. To obtain insurance for the weekend full of reunion events, we had to incorporate as a non-profit alumni association. Every step along the way required additional work and expenses. And now, we have to make arrangements to hire people to serve alcohol beverages, maintain security, and to process tickets for late-comers when reunion events are in progress. That's a lot of work and expense reunion organizers don't typically have to face. In fact, the talented group of alumni reunion organizers who put together this fabulous package of reunion events had to shell out $3,000 out of their pockets to get this far! Our reunion is already a record breaker for the Class of 1971!!! We surpassed the record of 89 classmates attending (for a total of 129 including guests). But, our reunion at Kennedy has a much, much higher overhead and we have yet to break even. Nonetheless, we will do very well, assuming those of you who said you were coming on our website's RSVP page, or Facebook, or Classmate.com, will finally purchase tickets. We expect plenty of others to join in at the last minute. By September 2, all vendor contracts have to be signed and PAID IN FULL. We need to lock-in all orders. This includes catering, alcohol and other beverages, the DJ, permits and insurance, t-shirts and baseball caps, photographers, and anything else you can imagine, and then some. So, that's why WE WILL NOT SELL any tickets after September 2. Help us help you have the greatest reunion ever. Call your friends and shake them loose. We're gonna kick loose and have one heck of a party! In Memoriam On August 2, William R. James, Sr. passed away at the age of 95. The Willingboro resident was a noted civil rights activist whose impact on the township is immeasurable. As a young Army officer stationed at Fort Dix in 1958, Mr. James wanted to raise his family in a rapidly developing suburban community under construction by Levitt & Sons, Inc. However, when he expressed interest in purchasing a Levitt house, a real estate agent told him, “we don’t sell homes to blacks.” Unwilling to accept this indignation, Mr. James filed a discrimination suit against Levitt & Sons that was ultimately decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court, which ruled Levitt’s actions discriminatory and illegal. Levitt was forced to integrate Willingboro, opening opportunity for all to purchase property in communities throughout the state. Mr. James and his family moved into a Marchmont Lane house. Later, he would lead protests against Holiday Lakes, which refused admittance to African-Americans to the facility’s lakes and pools. He won. Then he turned his attention and joined picketers at local farms that were mistreating migrant workers. And again won. The JFKHS Class of 1971 was the first group of “Levittowners” that attended the township’s new school system from kindergarten to 12th grade. We are a remarkable group of widely diverse people, and despite episodes of racial friction, we are an amazing example of successful integration. Willingboro was the subject of many sociological studies. During our time, Willingboro was the only community in the country that best matched the U.S. Census for national percentages of race, religion, ethnicity, and country of origin. Mr. James played a giant role in making Willingboro wonderful, and we honor his legacy and heroism . ---- Mike Cote To see who's coming to the reunion: click this link: WHO IS COMING? To vote for the entrees you want served at the Reunion Banquet, click here: BANQUET BALLOT To purchase your tickets to any of the Reunion Weekend events: TICKETS |
REUNION BANQUET TICKET DEADLINE IS ONLY TWO WEEKS FROM NOW! | |
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September 2 is the last day you can buy tickets for the JFKHS Class of 1971 Reunion Banquet
The 45th Anniversary Reunion Banquet will be held at the Kennedy Center (the old JFK high school) on Saturday evening, September 17 --- only one month away!
So, why are we imposing a September 2 deadline? Well, too many of you have publicly said you are coming, but still haven't bought tickets. We understand procrastination and that you may have to juggle a very busy schedule. We acknowledge there may be family or health constraints that must be addressed because we face that, too.
However, you should know that pulling off a reunion at the old Kennedy high school, the first of its kind, is not an easy task. At the renovated Kennedy Center Banquet Hall, all we can do is rent the facility. Nothing is is supplied (other than tables and chairs). Unlike other banquet halls, hotels, or restaurants where everything is contracted, we have to arrange and organize the catering, which is a huge job. We have to contract for alcohol beverages, and that also requires permits from the state Alcohol Beverage Control. To obtain insurance for the weekend full of reunion events, we had to incorporate as a non-profit alumni association. Every step along the way required additional work and expenses. And now, we have to make arrangements to hire people to serve alcohol beverages, maintain security, and to process tickets for late-comers when reunion events are in progress. That's a lot of work and expense reunion organizers don't typically have to face. In fact, the talented group of alumni reunion organizers who put together this fabulous package of reunion events had to shell out $3,000 out of their pockets to get this far!
Our reunion is already a record breaker for the Class of 1971!!! We surpassed the record of 89 classmates attending (for a total of 129 including guests). But, our reunion at Kennedy has a much, much higher overhead and we have yet to break even. Nonetheless, we will do very well, assuming those of you who said you were coming on our website's RSVP page, or Facebook, or Classmate.com, will finally purchase tickets. We expect plenty of others to join in at the last minute.
By September 2, all vendor contracts have to be signed and PAID IN FULL. We need to lock-in all orders. This includes catering, alcohol and other beverages, the DJ, permits and insurance, t-shirts and baseball caps, photographers, and anything else you can imagine, and then some.
So, that's why WE WILL NOT SELL any tickets after September 2. Help us help you have the greatest reunion ever. Call your friends and shake them loose. We're gonna kick loose and have one heck of a party!
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In Memoriam
On August 2, William R. James, Sr. passed away at the age of 95. The Willingboro resident was a noted civil rights activist whose impact on the township is immeasurable.
As a young Army officer stationed at Fort Dix in 1958, Mr. James wanted to raise his family in a rapidly developing suburban community under construction by Levitt & Sons, Inc. However, when he expressed interest in purchasing a Levitt house, a real estate agent told him, “we don’t sell homes to blacks.”
Unwilling to accept this indignation, Mr. James filed a discrimination suit against Levitt & Sons that was ultimately decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court, which ruled Levitt’s actions discriminatory and illegal. Levitt was forced to integrate Willingboro, opening opportunity for all to purchase property in communities throughout the state.
Mr. James and his family moved into a Marchmont Lane house. Later, he would lead protests against Holiday Lakes, which refused admittance to African-Americans to the facility’s lakes and pools. He won. Then he turned his attention and joined picketers at local farms that were mistreating migrant workers. And again won.
The JFKHS Class of 1971 was the first group of “Levittowners” that attended the township’s new school system from kindergarten to 12th grade. We are a remarkable group of widely diverse people, and despite episodes of racial friction, we are an amazing example of successful integration. Willingboro was the subject of many sociological studies. During our time, Willingboro was the only community in the country that best matched the U.S. Census for national percentages of race, religion, ethnicity, and country of origin.
Mr. James played a giant role in making Willingboro wonderful, and we honor his legacy and heroism.
---- Mike Cote
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To see who's coming to the reunion: click this link:
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To vote for the entrees you want served at the Reunion Banquet, click here:
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To purchase your tickets to any of the Reunion Weekend events:
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