<img src="/images/MixTape.png" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;">

Want to help make our reunion even more awesome? You can help by suggesting songs for the DJ to play. This is a fun way to contribute! Help us remember all of those awesome tunes from back when music was great.  And if you're not in our class, that's OK - we want your input too. You can submit these songs either as a logged-in classmate, or anonymously.

Just go to the Song List page to suggest songs.

The reunion is now officially going to be at <a href="http://kingstonhallbanquets.com/" target="_blank">Kingston Hall in Monroeville!  It will be on 9/17/2016.  The per-person cost is $62 (so $124 per-couple).

We sent out an email with all of the details.  That email is on the website in the Email Archive and can be <a href="EmailArchive/2-7-2016%20-%20Kingston%20Hall%20Announcement.pdf" target="_blank">viewed here.

<img src="/images/winner.png" style="float: left;">

Last week we announced a contest.  It was more of a challenge, really.  We were trying to drive up reunion attendance and I said if we could get to 96 people or more, I would pay for somebody’s ticket.  At the time, we had 85 confirmed and I didn’t honestly think we were going to get to this point so quickly.

Well tonight we got to 96!  A random classmate, from the list of people who have RSVP’d, was chosen by computer.  And MINDY (DEVALKENEER) ANDREWS just won herself a free ticket to the reunion!  Congratulations Mindy!  You can thank Nicole Parker for being the 96th person who got us to that mark.

And as I’m writing, we just hit 98 people (Ron Thompson and his wife).

If you haven’t confirmed your attendance for this reunion yet, you better get your butt in gear!  We know who you are!  We’re not going to be able to wait forever for you.  At some point, we’re going to have to give a final head count to Kingston Hall.

We've added a new section to the website to store digitized versions of old school documents.  Things like program booklets for school events (plays, sports games, etc.), and anything else that we can get our hands on.  There are only a few items up there now.  But we're hearing that some people may have more stashed away somewhere.  Hopefully seeing these will motivate people to look through their attics and send over what they have.  The "Good Luck" wishes from parents are great!  So are the sponsored messages from local businesses.  See if you can pick out which businesses no longer exist.  See if you can find a message from your family.

Take a look: Documents Archive

Have you missed some of the emails that we've sent to the class?  Maybe you were a late-arrival to the reunion effort and we didn't have your email address initially.  Or maybe you just want to browse past emails and you no longer have them.  We are now storing all of the group emails here on the site.  You can get to the archive under the "Resources" menu at the top of the page.

Last night we had our second meeting to review the current classmate outreach status and to figure out where we stand with reunion venue ideas.  Although we've had pretty disappointing representation on the Reunion Ideas survey, the numbers seem pretty clear, regarding people's preference for budget range.  The majority of people who participated in the survey have voted to keep it in the $50-$75 range.  And leading the vote for how formal people want it to be, is the "business casual" option.

If you haven't voted via the survey yet, we will be closing that survey and you are just about out of time.  Any and all ideas are welcome, but we're just about at the point where we need to complete that phase.  So get it in this week!

Kristen Goyke has made a lot of progress with contacting venues to determine feasibility based on seating accommodations and pricing.  The next thing that we'll do is announce a follow-up survey with solidified choices that you will get to pick from.  And once that phase is complete, that's it... we'll be rolling with a single idea and focusing on organization of the event.  Anybody who's planned a large scale event before knows that this year will pass quickly, so we want as much time as possible to do it right.

If it seems like we're dragging out this process a little bit, that's on purpose.  We're really trying hard to not find ourselves in the position that so many other graduating classes are finding themselves in (having to cancel or greatly reduce their reunion).  We're trying to learn from their experiences and include everybody that we can in the planning process.  I truly believe that our class is unique in the way that we were all so close and the way we care about each other.  It's for that reason, that I think we can defy the odds and have a successful event with full representation from the class.

Our most challenging stumbling block continues to be classmate engagement.  We still have way too many people on the "missing" list and a lot of people who we believe we're in contact with, have been completely inactive.  Anything that you can do to assist with that effort (let us know you're alive, put us in contact with people, etc.) would be very much appreciated.  In fact, for every person that you put us in contact with, you'll earn a point of extra credit.  After 5 points, you earn a study hall period.  After 10 points, we'll let you read the morning announcements.  And at 15 points, we'll increment your lowest grade on your permanent records.

Thanks for your help thus far!  Onward we march...

Jessica Marsh (Dobos) had her liver biopsy earlier this month and it has unfortunately confirmed the presence of cancer. Continued prayers and support are most definitely needed! And Jessi's friend, Kait Winter, is coordinating support efforts. She will serve as the primary point of contact if you'd like to help with meals and other items. Jessi will be enduring months of chemo, surgery, more chemo, and recovery. She will have a rather restrictive (non-inflammatory) diet and Kait is aware of all of those limitations. If you are able to help, please contact Kait at kaitwinter3@gmail.com to get signed up. And I'm sure Jessi (a.k.a. "Wonder Woman") would like to hear from you too. Thanks everyone!

March with Jessica to victory!

<img src="/images/Wonder Woman.png" alt="">

There are lots of examples of EA grads excelling to greatness and a few even becoming truly famous. The class of 1996 is no exception. We have friends who went from the intellectual incubator (ok... a bit of a stretch) of North Versailles to the top of their industry.  And the field of talent is vast in its diversity.  We have people who have become successful salesmen/women, independent business owners, corporate presidents and vice presidents, attorneys, emergency service personnel, educators/trainers, etc.  Some of us have been lucky enough to turn our passions and enjoyments into careers.  Again, there are lots of examples of this.  But just to highlight one, you don't need to look any further than the incredibly talented Melinda Perttu (Crawford), Ph.D.  A true prodigy from early childhood and a highly focused individual from day one, Melinda has been able to put her musical talent to work for her. She has many accomplishments to her credit, including prestigious performances and recordings.  This week, as I write this, she's conducting a week-long training camp at Westminster College (http://melindacrawford.com/strathghenyschool.html).  Most of us remember Melinda's family and very supportive & talented parents who fostered her entry into music.  From piano - to bagpipes - to stringed instruments, the Crawfords in many ways provided the soundtrack of our community.

Congratulations to Melinda and to all of you for your many successes in life.  You all continue to impress me two decades since we've seen each other.  Your focus and resolve proves that you don't have to come from a large, rich school district to rise to the top.  Talent and skill lies within the individual and there's no stopping it once it's discovered.

On Thursday night (June 11th), we had an open get-together for anybody who wanted to attend and we started to formalize an organized reunion planning effort.  In attendance were Dan Rullo (Jones), Jessica Marsh (Dobos), Amy McDonough (Butler), Chris Goyke, and Kristen Goyke (Kuchta).  At the meeting, we divided up responsibilities and began to take a more aggressive approach to tracking down updated contact info for "missing" classmates.  We discussed ways to make the website more useful and user-friendly.  And we started to brainstorm some types of reunion ideas.  Ultimately, we would really like the reunion to be an event that represents what the entire class wants, not just what a committee of planners want.  The only way to make that happen is for EVERYBODY to get involved in some way.  That doesn't mean that you have to attend meetings.  But at the very least, sign in to the website and... update your info (profile), answer survey questions, etc.  In the near future, we will put together a list of reunion ideas (hopefully, with ideas submitted by you) and post them in a survey format to be voted on.  The more participation we have, the more likely it is that we put together something that everybody wants to do.

Your login name is literally just your full name (first and last - at the time of graduation).  If you don't have a password yet, contact any of the people mentioned above via email, Facebook message, text, phone, snail-mail, carrier pigeons, smoke signals, etc.  There's some good stuff up here and there will soon be more functionality added.  We are about a year out.  That may seem far away.  But it will pass rather quickly and we need to get moving.

Some of you may be aware that the class of 1995 recently cancelled their reunion due to lack of interest/commitment.  Let's not allow that to become us.  We all know that 1996 is far superior!  ;)

Thanks to some of our fellow classmates, we're starting to acquire a collection of stuff from back in the day.  Check out our "Reunions and Miscellaneous" photo galleries, you'll see that there are now folders for Green Valley and Westinghouse class pictures.  And we're starting to get some other stuff too.

If you have anything, please send it over.  Some examples include:

• Class pictures from any year
• Programs for musicals/concerts/ceremonies
• Notable sports event info
• Fliers for dances
• Awards
• Etc.

And if you haven't been to the website lately, there's a new section called Memories, Trivia, and EA Lore where you can post notable recollections, etc.

If you don't have your login info yet, just email Dan.  Come on!!

In support of the 20-year reunion initiative, a Facebook page has been created to help centralize communication between classmates. If you are a Facebook user, please "Like" our page. Social media is our best option for keeping communication going. Please keep the page active and we'll display that activity here:<iframe src="http://static.ak.facebook.com/connect/xd_arbiter/wjDNIDNrTQG.js?version=41#channel=f6a7e0fb3b11b8&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fea1996.com" style="border: medium none;" tabindex="-1" title="Facebook Cross Domain Communication Frame" aria-hidden="true" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" name="fb_xdm_frame_http" frameborder="0"> </iframe><iframe src="https://s-static.ak.facebook.com/connect/xd_arbiter/wjDNIDNrTQG.js?version=41#channel=f6a7e0fb3b11b8&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fea1996.com" style="border: medium none;" tabindex="-1" title="Facebook Cross Domain Communication Frame" aria-hidden="true" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" name="fb_xdm_frame_https" frameborder="0"> </iframe><script>(function (d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div fb-iframe-plugin-query="app_id=&container_width=0&height=400&hide_cover=true&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2FEast-Allegheny-Class-of-1996%2F100688530268849&locale=en_US&sdk=joey&show_facepile=true&show_posts=true&width=500" fb-xfbml-state="rendered" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/East-Allegheny-Class-of-1996/100688530268849" data-hide-cover="true" data-show-facepile="true" data-show-posts="true" data-width="500" data-height="400"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/v2.3/plugins/page.php?app_id=&channel=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.ak.facebook.com%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter%2FwjDNIDNrTQG.js%3Fversion%3D41%23cb%3Df35eec95c32d704%26domain%3Dea1996.com%26origin%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fea1996.com%252Ff6a7e0fb3b11b8%26relation%3Dparent.parent&container_width=0&height=400&hide_cover=true&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2FEast-Allegheny-Class-of-1996%2F100688530268849&locale=en_US&sdk=joey&show_facepile=true&show_posts=true&width=500" style="border: medium none; visibility: visible; width: 500px; height: 400px;" title="fb:page Facebook Social Plugin" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" name="f214ed2337eb73e" frameborder="0" height="400px"> </iframe>

It's hard to believe.  But we've been out of school for 20 years as of June 6th, 2016.