To dream the impossible dream …

Front row: Tom Bennett, Annette Dinolfo Bennett, Michele Bro Paul, Sallie Shelton Thomas, Donna Canzoneri Wray, Kathy Au Crosier, Stephanie Llewellyn. Back row: Bill Vosper, Patti “Trish” Molloy Vosper, Patti Ranshaw, Jim Ranshaw, John Wray

Hey, anyone remember the theme of our Senior Prom? It was “The Impossible Dream”. Some may think that planning a reunion for a class of over 600 was an impossible dream but thanks to the hard work of the reunion committee, that dream became a reality. Everyone had such a good time and enjoyed themselves!

We especially want to thank Sallie Shelton Thomas, chair, who had the dream and vision of this Reunion for nearly fifty years! She was the “Office Manager” who has worked on every reunion. Her concern was details, details, details! She sent texts and emails to schedule meetings, ordered everything for the name tags, talked to the school about the tour and checked with Bob’s Big Boy about reserving space. Someone suggested we do a photo booth, and she rounded up what she could find at home, picked up a few things at thrift shops and you can find anything on Amazon.

Sallie made it happen!

Sallie had an old Bob’s menu that was perfect for the program cover. Getting it copied at a reasonable price was a big challenge, ranging from $130 to over $900. Luckily Patti “Trish” Molloy Vosper was able to have them printed at the Burbank Unified School District for $25! Thank you, Trish and BUSD.

Bob’s Big Boy menu from 1963.

This doesn’t begin to describe all the time and effort from each committee member. Everyone here appreciates their commitment to making this dream a reality.

Here’s what she said about the rest of the committee members:

Kathy Au: Our Queen of email, blogging and all information about the Reunion. Even with traveling about the world and playing the organ several times a month, she still found time to send and respond to countless emails, maintain our website and blog. She is also going to gather all the photos from tonight, produce and distribute the Memory Books. Thank you, Kathy, for all of your time — we sincerely appreciate all you have done to make this evening possible. [Editor’s Note: Click here to view a copy of Kathy’s speech. She was notified TWO DAYS before the reunion that she would be expected to speak at the reunion!]

Jim Ranshaw: our sleuth — stalked the Internet to track people down and make contact with classmates to let them know about the reunion. He also printed out the photos for the name tags. He and his wife, Patti, hosted many meetings at their house. We usually had a potluck dinner and Jim flipped many burgers while we lounged by the pool in his back yard. Who said working on a reunion isn’t fun? Sometimes we even managed to get a bit of work done.

Annette Dinolfo and Tom Bennett: Our Social Butterflies — they know everyone! They let classmates know about the reunion and encouraged them to be here tonight. Tom ran a mean laminating machine.

Michele Bro Paul: Our Cheerleader. Her move to Canyon Lake last year made getting to meetings difficult, however, she still gave us moral support and encouragement.

Stephanie Llewellyn: Our quiet one. While still working full time, Stephanie researched Burbank Parks, contacted the school to get our reunion posted on their website and had several wonderful ideas to help make this weekend special.

Trish (Patti) Molloy Vosper: The decorator. We have Trish to thank for all the decorations. She took over the task and the results are beautiful! Her husband, Bill, a 1967 Burroughs graduate, also pitched in. Thank you both!

John Wray: the Money Man, and Donna Canzoneri Wray: who were always cheerful and ready to take on any task. John took care of all the financial details and visited several venues for our consideration. Donna was always there, bringing delicious food to our potluck meetings, tried to get some of the cheerleaders to be here tonight, bagged and tied the candy on the tables, and more.

Michael Katzman produced the video and also designed the program inserts. Thank you for the countless hours it took you to put together the videos and program. [Editor’s Note: It is our plan to distribute a link to the video to everyone in our database after Mike finishes encoding it for the various Internet browsers and formats.]

The program insert was designed by Mike Katzman.

Thank you for all of your support. Keep dreaming and remember nothing is impossible with help from others!

Reminder: Send your best photos of the reunion to burbankhigh1968@gmail.com by October 15, 2018 for inclusion into the Memory Book!