***Be sure to check out Reason #13 on the "Why Attend 50ish Reunion" web forum...just click on the very left side of the top header bar***

Countdown to 50ish Reunion

NINE Days

 until Friday, May 4, 2018

Have you Registered?

If you're still on the fence about coming to the 50ish Reunion, on the top of this webpage simply click on "Why attend 50ish Reunion" and discover the many reasons you should attend. You are definitely encouraged to add your own comments.

Details for the 50ish Reunion at Shula’s Hotel in Miami Lakes May 4^th and 5^th, 2018.

You are now able to register for the 50ish Reunion on our class website (Click Registration for 50ish Reunion on the website's top line). If your spouse is a classmate, one person can register for both. 

Schedule of events: 

Thursday, May 3, 2018

• Hospitality Room (Federation Cup) is open for early arrivers to meet and chat with classmates from 2pm until 11pm (no cost)

Friday, May 4, 2018

• Hospitality Room (Federation Cup) is open to meet and chat with classmates from from 8am until 11pm (no cost)
• Tour of Hialeah Race Track 5pm until about 6pm (no cost)
• Social Gathering at Hialeah Race Track 6pm until 7pm: Meal includes two alcoholic beverages which can be used at Social Gathering. Cash Bar will also be available.
• Dinner at Hialeah Race Track 7pm until ??  ($52/person): Meal includes two alcoholic beverages. Cash bar will also be available.

            Buffet meal ($52/person) to include:

Salad: hand torn Romaine lettuce, tossed with Caesar dressing, grated parmesan cheese, and topped with toasted croutons.

Entrée: grilled mahi-mahi with fresh tropical fruit salsa; boneless breast of chicken with wild mushrooms, finished in Marsala wine sauce with a touch of cream; mustard seared pork loin with port wine reduction.      

Sides: mixed vegetables or asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and choice of red bliss smashed or baked potatoes or saffron rice.

Other: mini desserts, freshly baked rolls and butter, fresh brewed coffee, iced tea, water and soda.

Special dietary needs: if you have special dietary needs, we will do everything we can to accommodate your needs…just let us know what they are. 

Saturday, May 5, 2018

• Hospitality Room (Federation Cup) is open from 8am until 11pm (no cost)
• Tour of Hialeah (Senior) High School and update by the Principal of HHS from 10am until noon (no cost)
• Social Gathering at Shula’s Hotel (Grand Slam Ballroom) 6pm-7pm (cash bar)
• Banquet with DJ (60’s music) at Shula’s Hotel (Grand Slam Ballroom) 7pm-11pm ($55/person for chicken, $57/person for fish and $58/person for steak). Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks will be less expensive to purchase separately than if included with the meal so we will have a cash bar.

Hot Plated Dinners to include:

Salad: Shula’s House Salad which includes crisp cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, fresh Mozzarella cheese, and house balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Entrées:

Chicken Pillared with tomato sauce, baby vegetables, and couscous with ginger-carrot essence ($55/person).

Pan-Seared Florida Snapper with braised potatoes, asparagus and roasted red pepper chili ($57/person)’

Seared Steak (prepared medium) with black bean risotto, roasted peppers and onions and a cilantro chimichurri ($58/person).

Dessert: Key Lime Tart consisting of citrus-mint salad and kaffir lime syrup

Other: daily bread, freshly brewed coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and herbal iced tea

Special dietary needs: if you have special dietary needs, we will do everything we can to accommodate your needs…just let us know what they are.            

Sunday, May 6, 2018

• No events are scheduled. Check out time for the hotel is 11am.

Hotel Accommodations: Shula’s Hotel and Golf Course

You do not have to stay at Shula’s Hotel to attend the reunion, but if you are not living in the area, it will definitely be more convenient for you if you do. Parking is free. You can reserve your room now simply by calling reservations at 305-821-1150 and ask for in-house group reservations. When you do, tell them that you are with the HHS Class of 1964 and that your group code is HH1964 to get our special rate (normally rates at that time of the year start at $199/day!). The special rate applies from the night of the 2nd of May, if you decide to arrive early, through the night of the 5th of May (with checkout on the 6th of May).

• Deluxe Room (their standard room) is $109.00/night (with the hotel 13% tax it comes to $123.17/day). You can have four people in a Deluxe Room. Each of the three room upgrades, including tax, adds $22.60 more to the room each day. You can obtain room photos and more information from their website: www.donshulahotel.com.
• Pool View Deluxe Room is $145.77/night. This is the same room as the Deluxe, but on the first floor it opens directly to the pool. On the 2^nd and 3^rd floors it has a balcony with a view of the pool.
• Signature Room is $168.37/night. This is the same room as the Deluxe, but it’s on their concierge level (3^rd floor). The price includes breakfast each day.
• Junior Suite is $190.97/night. These suites have two levels, but to access the upper level, which is the bedroom, you must climb a spiral staircase. These rooms, unlike all the others which can accommodate four people, will only accommodate two people.

If you are travelling with a pet, pets are not allowed at Shula’s Hotel. However, there is a pet friendly hotel nearby and I understand if you call Shula’s Hotel, they will help you get the same rate at that hotel.

How to pay for the meals:

We looked into offering credit card payments, but to do so we would have to add 6% to cover the transaction fees.  To keep the costs of the Reunion as low as possible, we will only accept checks. If we find that classmates are willing to pay the surcharge so that they can use their credit cards, we will reconsider that option. In the meantime, once you have registered for the Reunion on our website, you can pay as follows:

• Checks are to be made out to: Rusinak & Rusinak LLC/ 50ish Reunion 
• Send checks to: Rusinak & Rusinak LLC, 3159 Promontory Peak Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920

            You will be notified by email once we have received your check.

Registration Deadline and Cancellation Date:

The website registration program requires us to provide a registration deadline, so we put in Friday, April 19, which is two weeks before the Reunion. Almost everyone should know by then whether or not they can and will be attending the Reunion. We will do our best to accommodate last minute registrations; however, it will ultimately depend on whether the Hialeah Race Track or Shula’s Hotel can add additional seating or meals for the events they are hosting.

The website also requires a cancellation date. We put in Friday, April 27, which is one week before the event. Both the Hialeah Race Track and Shula’s Hotel require us to provide firm numbers several days before the event. If you need to cancel, for any reason, and we are not charged for your meals, we will refund the money you paid.

Those who want to attend our 50ish Reunion, but cannot afford to do so:

If anyone wants to attend the reunion, but doesn’t have the means to do so, please contact me. Although I cannot make any promises, you can be assured your request will be kept confidential and I will do everything I can do to ensure that you are able to join us during our 50ish Reunion. On that note, if any of our classmates are willing to make donations, which would only to be used to cover the costs of any of our classmates who don’t have the funds to attend, please let me know.  

Vince (Vinny) Rusinak, President, HHS Class of 1964 (vince@rusinak.com)