Celebrating 40 Years of Excellence: CHS Speech and Debate
July 19, 2008
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71
days left
until our Reunion.
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We've thought about it for years. We've talked about it with old friends. Now we have the opportunity to finally make our vision a reality. Of course, I'm talking about a speech and debate reunion: a huge reunion that would include not just a single graduating class, but everyone who ever participated in the program. How else would we see everyone that we knew and loved from so long ago?
I'm very excited to announce that we are presented with the
opportunity to have such a reunion on July 18th, 19,th, and 20th, 2008. We will celebrate the champions that we were and are, and also commemorate the speech and debate program's incredible 40 years of excellence. That's right: the program is 40 years old this school year! And what better way to honor this legacy than to come together again?
I invite you to delve into your hearts and rekindle those great speech and debate memories that you still hold dear. Dig out that yearbook. Open that memento box. (No, we won't make you return the old hotel keys. They're antiques by now anyway, you know.) And of course, dust off those trophies! If you're like me, though, the CHS speech and debate program was much more than an extracurricular activity. And it was certainly more than a chance to claim some hardware and call myself a champ. It was a formative rite of passage that provided me with memories that could fill a novel and some cherished friendships that I still enjoy. When I try to explain my experiences to someone outside of Chesterton, they smile politely . . . and blankly. They just don't get how truly amazing it was. But YOU get it, don't you? You're a product of the program in not just your professional successes, but also in your emotional breadth. So let's get together. We'll remember all that we were and celebrate all that we've become. It has truly been an awesome 40 years.
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Anna Ebner, Paul Gotch, Mary Colville, Sophia Arshad, and Cassie Dommer - 1993.
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This website will give you the information you'll need to attend our reunion. I am currently working with Bob Kelly, Jim Cavallo, and several teams of fantastic volunteer alumni as we make plans for YOU. Whether you were super serious about speech and debate or not, we want to see you in July! If you were a part of the team, then you're a part of this reunion. So this is an unbelievably huge project for the planning committees, as this reunion spans 40 years of kids -- over 1300 of today's adults! Each week, more details are determined, and as they are, this website is updated. Bookmark this site!
You can find the most basic information about our gathering on the "Reunion Details" page. But the next page is the most important of all. Please visit and register your information on the "Your Info" page! This will create a spreadsheet for us to issue invitations, and you won't be able to attend two of the four events we're planning without an invitation, RSVP, and ticket purchase. Actually, we'd like to have your contact information even if you don't plan to attend the reunion. (This is because we hope to include every former program member in the important mailings we're going to do soon.) The "Your Info" area of this website is awesome, too, because it links you with all your old S&D friends! Just visit to see what I'm talking about. And it's updated all the time, so visit often.
In regards to your personal information, be assured that this website is secure. Even your e-mail address is concealed if someone tries to send you a message via this website. And of course, the 40th Reunion Team and I will not share information with anyone without your explicit permission.
As this project seems to be getting bigger each week, we've come up with a list of chores that need to be checked off in order for this party to happen. If you have even two hours to spare between now and July 19, we need you! Take a look at the "Volunteers" page and scan the list of committees. It's no joke: some of the jobs will require just two hours. Please pick your pleasure and then zip us an email on the "Contact Us" page!
Okay, one last comment. And this is the most important comment of all. Please SHARE this website with anyone from the program! I think that each of us probably has the e-mail address or phone number of at least one other former team member. The first step is getting the word out! So copy -- cut -- paste! (Or you can just "Tell a Friend " with the link below.) Let the e-mails fly! And you know, there's just no better excuse to pick up the phone.
I can't wait to see each of you in July.
Let's celebrate!
Cassie Dommer Radabaugh
former CHS speech team member
class of 1993
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