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ETHS Class of 1974 Reunion Association

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

ETHS Class of 1974 Reunion Association

Minutes of the Annual Meeting - Saturday, January 25, 2025
 

Attending via teleconference:

Jada Robitaille, Kate Morand, Robert Gold, Mark Lipowicz, Diane Hermanek, Donna Anhalt-Straka, Marty Price, Anna Lu Ginsberg, Elizabeth Robinson, Debbie Richman Trachtenberg, Debbie Netter, Joanne Silvertrust, Joanne Cole, Lynn White, Audrey Legrand, Velma Wagner, Kathleen Kline Moore, Mary Ann Kelly, Myrna Joy Newman

Call to Order, Welcome, and Introduction

Association president Kate Morand called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m. CST.

Kate warmly welcomed all in attendance and reminded us of the association’s mission, which is to promote and sustain connections amongst our class members and to plan reunions. “Our goal is to maximize attendance and make great memories!’ To this end, Kate turned to Bob Gold for a review of the reunion survey’s results.  She thanked him for the labor involved, which included compiling and analyzing the data.

Survey and Membership Report

Bob gave an overview of the design and data collection methods. He highlighted the primary goal of the survey, which is to guide the next reunion committee as they embark on the planning of the next reunion, which is TBD.  

As of 11/18/24, 521 classmates have joined our Class Creator website; 571 have not joined; 120 are deceased; and 441 belong to our Facebook group.

All survey responses were from known class members, which was a total of 75 respondents.

Overall satisfaction ratings with the entire weekend were 89%, which was an increase from 2019. The Friday Pub Crawl was rated as less satisfactory at 64% and this could be because of certain issues with each venue as well as the overlap with Friday evening’s Jr. High gatherings. Those events were highly rated at 93%. The event with the highest rating was the school tour at 97%. The Main Event was rated at 87% satisfaction, and Bob detailed specific ratings such as food, drinks, venue, etc.  Bob summarized the many comments about the Saturday evening event, both positive and negative. As for a 55th reunion, 43% of respondents said they would be very likely to attend, 18% said they’d be likely to attend, and 28% said they were neutral about attending. Based on these results, Bob reiterated the need for careful consideration as to when, where and what type of reunion should be considered by the new committee moving forward. All the survey results will be shared in full with this committee.

Per membership, we are no longer identifying new members for our website after many years of recruiting efforts. Based on our numbers, we have a high percentage of members compared with other reunion associations.

Treasurer’s Report

Mark Lipowicz reported that the committee has appositive bank balance of $7,620. This represents the net after all reunion expenses were paid. In addition, the software for Class Creator was paid for another year as was the ETHS1974 domain name. Mark noted that the committee voted not to donate any of the Association’s assets to the Class Gift. The full details of the financial reports will be shared with the incoming committee members.  

Class Gift Committee Report

Mark reported that our gift was earmarked for the refurbished Arts and Innovation Wing and the new Alumni Hall Conference Center. Along with Kate, Jim Ossyra, Harold Kamins and others, the gift committee presented a symbolic check to Dr. Marcus Campbell, ETHS Superintendent, for $103.000.00 before the school tour!

In closing, Mark thanked those committee members who will not be continuing in their roles. Mark will continue as treasurer for the remainder of his terms, which is 2 more years. Kate thanked the committee members for their hard work in all aspects of the reunion, as did Bob. Many thanks to all!

New Business/Election of New Committee Members

Kate reported the following positions up for election:

President, Vice President, and Secretary/Membership. Please note that the term of office is 5 years.

Kate called for nominations for president; Bob nominated Debbie Netter seconded by Diane. Debbie accepted the nomination and briefly described her ideas for her role. Debbie was elected by unanimous vote.

Marty nominated Audrey LeGrand for Vice President. Audrey accepted the nomination and was elected by unanimous vote.

Diane nominated Myrna Newman for secretary/membership. It was seconded by Jada. Myrna accepted the nomination as was elected by unanimous vote.

Kate reminded the new officers that they will need to identify and recruit someone to manage the many tech aspects of the committee’s work and functions. This designation should be addressed soon. Bob volunteered to make himself available as needed, and Kate, Diane and Jada will assist in their areas as needed, too.

Adjournment

With a motion and unanimous vote, Kate adjourned the meeting at 1:22 pm CST.

Respectfully Submitted,

Diane Hermanek, Outgoing Secretary