The West Alumni Board is made up of Annisse Achuff, Colleen Grissom, Bill Moser, Linda Nealy, John Wade, Ted Wilson, and Ed Wasserman, our chair.  Together with Dolly Prenzel, Larry Wilson, and Betty Jane Taylor, this group forms the Lunch Bunch Committee. Betty Jane Taylor, Class of 1956, has had the pleasure of chairing this committee for a number of years; and she made the very difficult announcement at the Oct 15th Luncheon regarding the future of the monthly Lunch Bunch meetings.  Below is a recap of her announcement.

Over the past year, the West Alumni Board has been working to meet two challenges: fewer people joining us at our Lunch Bunch tables, and rising costs at Hillwood.  Thanks to the generosity of our alumni, some of whom remembered us in their estates and others who have anonymously contributed, we’ve been able to keep our luncheons going. However, Hillwood’s fees have grown to the point that the Association is now covering about $1,000 a month.  The room costs $350, each plate is $25, and there is a 30% service fee.  With 40 of us in attendance, that comes to about $44 per person, but the Board has worked to keep our individual cost to only $15.

Given this short-fall in revenue to cover our expenses, we can no longer afford to meet at Hillwood.  Our final luncheon here will be on December 17.  We are trying to find a new home at a restaurant, and we’d love your help deciding how often to gather: monthly, every two months, or quarterly.  We’ll have a short survey in November to hear your preference; then stay tuned to emails and our website for further information after the first of the year as to the result of the survey and future locations and options.

These lunches, which so many of us have come to treasure, began several years ago as a gathering of male alumni before growing into co-ed get-togethers, (Kay Adamson was our first female alumna to join the lunches).  They have lasted because of the care of many alumni – in addition to those now on the committee, are Kay Adamson, Carter Baker, Burton Dietz, Carol Gorodetzky, Ray Sharer, Julie Weiland Waters, and Fred and Rick Turner, whose Hillwood membership made it possible.  We are deeply thankful to each of them.

Next month, Sandra Shelton will share a program on the Satsuma Restaurant, a downtown favorite that was on Union Street. In December, we’ll celebrate the holidays in our usual style with music from Ted Wilson Jr.’s trio.  We hope you will try to make plans to attend BOTH!