I just wanted to say that I had a great time at this year's 25th reunion and have a revived attitude and positive feelings back in the real world because I was around good people all weekend.

The committee did a great job!

The hotel was in a perfect location, weather cooperated ( for the most part), band was fun on Saturday and most importantly it's a treat to have such fun and candid conversations with people who have grown up and achieved tremendous things both professionally and personally. What I noted most was that everyone has become genuinely interesting and likeable ( perhaps the best result of the hard work all of our teachers and administrators provided at Glenbard West!) The only glitch of the weekend was not putting some of us shorter people up at the front for the picture.

I keep thinking I'm going to grow taller and it's still not happening....bummer.

Good luck to everyone and I'm already marking my calendar for the 30th Reunion.

Sincerely, David

Chuck Guill - cguill@charter.met
What a blast ----- whooooaaaaa (oh the stories that could be told)

Pete Jones - pjones8404@sbcglobal.net
As life continues to go by,(faster than I expected)there are not many events that can halt time like a class reunion. No matter how much time goes by, we all share a past that connects us on one hand, yet still divides us on the other.

As I stated in the pre-reunion notes, it was my mission to try and make new friends and step out of my comfort circle and try to engage others who were not in my regular circle of friends. I have to say that while I did have some success, many were not excited about me stepping into their world. I was met with stares, rolling of eyes, and in some cases being out right ignored. Many didn't want any part of my trying to break into their world. That is both sad and disappointing. I expected more from individuals who for the most part, are between the ages of 40 and 44 years of age. It is attitudes like that that keep many of our classmates away from these reunions. One classmate told me that they would rather schedule a dental visit...it would be less painful. EVERYONE should feel welcome and if they don't, we (the ENTIRE CLASS)are doing something wrong!

For the rest of you, it was amazing seeing how you all have changed yet how you have stayed true to who you are at the core. I made many, many new friends and that will be what I remember most. Talking with people whom I had never had talks with. Learning about their lives and experiences and finding common ground, kids, work, hobbies etc., and the differences that make each of us unique.

I wanted to thank Jodi, and the rest of the planners for the great weekend. To my golf partners...

Joe Smith, Jim Tudor and Rebeca Gabric - I had a blast..next time I will have played more than once in the past five years and will warm up first!

To Kevin Burke..I and the rest of the class owe you and your band a HUGE thanks!! You were SO unselfish and gave your time and your talents to play music for us. I was SO humbled and honored that you asked me to play with your friends and fellow musicians. I have to admit that I was nervous...when everyone links you and your abilities like they do with me and music, I didn't want to disappoint anyone! I hope everyone enjoyed the music! I know I did!

Dan Slavin..it was GREAT talking to you and getting to know you better!
Troy Heidorn...TWO meals together...wow ..Red Lobster AND Barones...doesn't get any better than that!!
The CHURCHILL gang...I have known you all the longest and am SO proud of ALL of you! Next time let's get the rest of the team there!
Julie Harris...incredible energy!! Awesome!
Mr. Winch....KISS STILL RULES!!!
Jerry - See above!!
Kathy Short...you already know how I feel! Thanks again!
Muffin, Ed, Tracey, Lynn.... enjoyed the company!!

To the rest of you, I hope to continue to be someone that you can count on, respect and hopefully call a friend.

Finally, I wanted to take a moment and pay respect to the members of our class who are not with us anymore. We all miss you very much and each of us is better for having had ANY contact with you in your life with us. You are not forgotten!

So until the 30th...I wish everyone peace, heath and continued happiness!

God Bless. pete

Susan (Molin) Stears - S.Stears@comcast.net
It's hard to believe that we've celebrated our 25th reunion. We sure don't look that old!

There are so many people to thank.

Thank you John, Dan & Woody for making the golf outing such a success. (John we missed you and hope your flight was a safe one.) Thank you Sarah for all the generous prizes again.

Thank you Katy for finding our Friday night location. Thank you Eric for putting our fun and memories into print.

Rick - thanks for your entertaining speech and continued ability to make us all laugh.

Kathy and Peggy - the decorations were excellent. Thanks for making it memorable. Thank you Tammy for continuing to keeping the banner through the years.

Thank you Patti for the karoke machine and allowing us to dance the night away.

Mark, your support and help in the planning of the scholarship has been wonderful. Thanks for handling our future gift to future graduates.

Jodi -- thanks to you for keeping our records straight and balanced.

Amy -- Thanks for your parade support and plan. You are also a wonderful hostess to our meeting nights.

Dan, as always, we're in touch with the world wide web because of you. Great job and let's keep it going.

Kevin Burke - Saturday night would not have been so successful without the band at Curly's. Rick and Pete - way to go! It was great music and a great time.

Anne - we missed you. Thanks for all you do to put this together.

Candy, Barb and Paul - thanks for your support, ideas and laughs!

To the class -- thank you for being the best class to graduate from Glenbard. It was great seeing and hearing from you.

Stay in touch. Post a note. We're only 5 years away from our 30th!.

My best to you all.

Jerry McWherter - jmcwherter@hlmsteel
Well, it took a few days but I have recovered from laughing and talking so much I pulled a muscle. What a great time, you all rock! Thanks for filling my cup with laughter. A big thanks to all, my wife enjoyed spending time with you as well. Hope to hear from you soon class of '81

Jerry

Rick Barnes - rlb1025@netzero.com
It was great to see everyone at the reunion. It was fun catching up with old friends and making new ones too. Thanks to my best bud Kevin Burke for the jam session at Curly's....we will have to do it again at the 30th. Jerry McWherter will have to join us the next time. Can't wait for the 30th.

Rick

Mark Russell - markwrussell@hotmail.com
Greetings from Lexington, Kentucky.

Our class reunion was great, and it was nice to be in Glen Ellyn for the weekend. More than twenty-five years later, I still feel Glenbard West was the best Chicagoland high school from which to graduate.

Thanks to Susan Stears for coordinating the events and answering my emails, and thanks to Dan Marks for this great website.

A couple of greetings to Susan S., Pam S., Jerry and Denise, Scott S., Dave M., Sharon N., Dave F., Barb R., and Paul M. Please have a safe trip to China, Anne.

An Bettina Keienburg --- hoffentlich sehen wir uns das naechste Mal.

Somebody asked about my brother Craig because they had seen him on the Bloomberg Report and the Kudlow show. On Friday I failed to remember the name of the firm for which he works. It is ODL Securities. Hope that helps.

I hope that by the next reunion we can endow that scholarship in honor of our class. I couldn't think of a better legacy.

Any possibility our next reunion could be at Glen Oak Country Club? If anyone is a member and could book it for us, this would keep us in Glen Ellyn the entire weekend.

Looking forward to the 30th. Gail des Lauriers, please pack your bags now because you will be attending.

Dave Frank - frankdjma@hotmail.com
To Sue and all the rest of the reunion committee -- I've been meaning to write to *THANK YOU* for organizing our 25th. I know it involved long hours and real work, and we all owe you our gratitude.

You know, there really is something unique about the people you've known since childhood -- a very basic level of insight and understanding and an empathy that's almost impossible to reproduce in other relationships. And it's incredibly grounding and gratifying. I had a *blast!* Thank you all. xoxo, David

Melanie (LeBrecht) Wesa - mwesa@comcast.net
Let's get these class notes started again. Dan M. said it's been dead for quite awhile now. So seeing how I'm guilty too of not sharing my thoughts about the reunion I will now. It was really great! I laughed a lot with some very dear friends and some very old acquaintances which was really cool. I really enjoyed the conversations from old stupid stuff we use to do to the horrors of what's going on in Washington. I wish I'd had more with more of you! Dave Frank is right; there is something very real and cool about the connections you make in High School when in reality it's only a few years some of us spent together but apparently very important life changing years.

Watching my own boys go through it now I remind myself to stay in touch with what it was like for us so I can help to understand what they will go through. We were lucky though, war was not such a huge part of our lives as it is for them at least not in HS. My son said to me just the other day (the nine year old) "so WWI was one year, WWII was 2 years and now that we're in WWIII or close to it will that last 3 years?" Huh, that makes sense in some weird way, interesting how their minds work. Pretty interesting conclusion. The very fact that it's on their minds saddens me. Lets hope the next few years lead to peace here and overseas. A lot to ask but isn't it possible? At any rate it's good to know for a few hours or even a couple of days we can sort of put it aside and enjoy some laughs, drinks and each other's company. Take care everyone and hope to see even more of you at our 30th. Keep in touch in the meantime. Thanks to Dan for keeping up the website, lets utilize it while we have it! Oh and Dennis? Thanks for the dance...I think. I'm just glad the fish tank was still in tact when the song was over! Great music by the way, you guys were really good! Maybe next time you'll let me sing?
Peace, Melanie

Brian French - btac@comcast.net
I just happened across this GBW website and think it is great. Eric, what a great job with the pictures. Although I left GE after the sixth grade it is exciting to see some old (pardon the pun) classmates from Hawthorn. Dan Marks, Danny Slaven, Marc Woodcock, Kevin Fox, Nancy Severyns, Muffin Goodman, Pete Goodhart, the Cone brothers, and of course Eric Friedemann as well as others. Very sad to see that Walter Erikson passed away. If any of you see this feel free to drop an email. Since graduation from Valparaiso University in 85' I have been living in Marblehead, MA. with my wife Trish and two daughters Ali & Caitlin. Best Regards, Brian

Terri Benson - krystn75@hotmail.com
I missed the reunion and decided tonight to finally take a look on the website for the class pictures. Looks like everyone had a great time. I would like to share with all of you what constitues a great friend. I learned resently that while I was away from home Gina Hess quietly sat by my fathers side in the hospital for days on end and never told me she was standing in my place. My father was ill for years and while I came home often I could not be home each time he fell ill. Gina stayed with my father's bed and held this secret for years and years. How do I ever repay this? This is a true friend.

Kathy (Bowles) Cipriani - kmciprian70@verizon.net
i was just looking at john winan's page and laughing at the pictures from the reunion. then i read pete's note. it sure was great seeing everyone at the 25th. thanks to all the hard work of the planning team again. it had to believe that the 30th is fast approaching. i think it would be great if we all tried to get a few of our missing classmates to attend! pete i admire you for trying to step out of your comfort zone and applaud you! hope to see you at the next even!