Get Well Soon!!!

Sorry I've been a little slow in getting more pictures up as well as the mailing list of everyone that signed up at the reunion. I'm hoping that as I have some time off around Christmas that I'll be able to get that done. Please bear with me!

As some of you may (or may not know), Jason Hollifield had surgery this morning (Tues. Dec. 13th) on his foot and will be out of commission for a few weeks while he recovers. I know that he will be at his parents house during most of this time.

Hollifield, we hope the surgery went well and wish you a speedy recovery! Please feel free to drop him a get will wish here on the blog, or I'm sure he wouldn't mind a visit or telephone call (after all, we all know how being around your parents for a few days can be).

Thanks again for everyone that was able to make the reunion. Hope to see you all sooner than 5 years from now!

A Few Pictures

Thought I would post a few of the pictures that I have received at this point. If you have pictures, please email them to bpayseur@thejacksongroup.com.

A few details about the pictures. Feel free to comment on what your thoughts are:

Picture one: Shane "The Great Watuse" Grigg attempts boxing with a rum and coke!

Picture two: Haley, Jennifer and Tanisha

Picture three: Marie "Red" (Millwood) Mackie

Picture four: Chad Porter, Ben Payseur, Lance Hoover, Jason Hollifield, Shane Grigg and Brandon Huffman at the Pre-party at the Holiday Inn!

More to come in the near future (when I have time)!

What a Night!

WOW, what a night! I don't know about the rest of you, but Saturday night turned out better than I ever imagined it would. It was great to see all of you that was able to make it to Tyber Creek and for those of you that couldn't, you missed a great time. Hopefully, you can make it next time.

I was very curious as to what everyone would look like and to see what people were doing with their lives. I have to admit that everyone looked great and it seems that everyone is happy with what they have chosen to do. Who would have ever thought that everyone would turn out as good as they did. I did get a good laugh out of all the proud parents showing off pictures of their kids. I think I saw most everyones pictures and I have to say that there are some good looking families out there, ones you should be proud of.

I know the cameras that were floating around have been returned to Jason Hollifield and he is planning on posting the pictures on a website that people can purchase. I know there were personal pictures taken as well. Once I get some of these pictures, I'm planning on posting a few on the blog. If you have some personal ones, please send them to my email at bpayseur@thejacksongroup.com. I won't be able to get all of them on there, but will post as many as I can over the next several weeks. Also, many of you filled out information when you came in. I will get that in Excel and send that to all emails that I have. If you didn't fill this out, please send me your name, address, telephone and email address to the address listed above and I will add you to it.

I know that everyone is busy and will return back to the normal pace of life starting Monday morning. I only hope that since we have all gotten back together and touched base that we can continue to correspond through the blog and personal emails. I plan on keeping this going as long as everyone is still interested in reading it. Please feel free to email me with ideas on things you'd like to read about. This can become the place for everyone to keep people updated about personal information/achievements/events as well.

With Christmas coming up, I know that people will be returning to Cherryville and would love nothing more than to catch up then. If there is something going on, please let me know and, if you want, I can let everyone know about it through here.

Thanks, CHS Class of 1995, for a great turnout and a great 10 year reunion. Once again, a HUGE THANK YOU goes out to Jason Hollifield. Without his work, this reunion would not have been possible. He did a lot of work that many people probably do not realize and without his efforts, we would not have been successful in getting everyone together. There were many other people involved that I have mentioned previously that contributed ideas and efforts. Thanks to everyone that helped and came.

I can say, without hesitation, that I am looking forward to a keeping up with everyone and to our next reunion!

Ben

About That Time!

After several months of planning, various emails and phone conversations the CHS Class of 1995 10 year Reunion is upon us. This has definitely been a group effort on getting this planned and all the details worked out. I think a special "thank you" is in order for Jason Hollified for all his work on securing a place, sending the evites and just keeping up with details in general. Kelly (Davis) Homesley deserves her own "thank you" for agreeing to keep up with the money, no small task in itself. Thanks to all the others that have contributed ideas and suggestions and to Chad Porter for fronting the deposit for Tyber Creek. Chad, from the sound of things you will be getting your money back. When you see these folks at the reunion, please tell them "thanks" and, if so inclined, buy them a drink!

From what I understand, it looks like we are going to have a great turnout with those that have RSVP'd and sent their money in already. I'm sure there are some that haven't done either but will still be there. If you plan on showing up, please bring money to pay at the door to help us cover expenses and have money for our next reunion, hopefully in 5 years.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am really excited about getting everyone together. There have been a lot of people resurface that I haven't talked to in years so I know it will be fun catching up and seeing what everyone is doing.

I do have to say that, unless there is someone that I don't know about, Shane, "The Great Watuse" Grigg will take the prize for traveling the farthest coming from San Jose, California. Shane, thanks for planning your holiday trip home around us. Now I know I won't be the baldest person there!

With all that being said, I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. I know many of you will be traveling in some capacity so please stay safe. Also, if you haven't thought about it, please make arrangements to have a designated driver or a hotel room for Sat. night. From what I understand, police are really cracking down this year on drinking and driving, especially around downtown Charlotte. Not only that, but we want to make sure everyone is around for the next reunion.Look forward to seeing all of you on Sat. night!

Ben

The Things We Miss

This morning as I was thinking of something to post on the blog the idea of the things I miss about Cherryville came to mind. It just so happened that as I read the Gaston Observer, there was an article about the 10 things the writer liked about Gaston County, which further inspired me to create this entry.

For some of you, you still live in Cherryville and probably take for granted some of the things that the rest of us wish we still had. Those of us that have moved out of town and only get home for the occassional visit can only think back to the days and remember the things about a small home town that most people can not comprehend. I'm sure I'm not the only person to tell someone where I'm from and some of the unique things about it only to have them look at me like I'm crazy.

So here goes!! The question is, what are the things you miss most/love about Cherryville? It can be anything and everything that you think of, as much or as little as you want. Here goes my attempt at a few things I miss the most.

1. Lottaburgers - What more needs to be said! I have eaten cheeseburgers all over this country and can say that I've had none finer that a messy Shake Shop lottaburger with cheese, slaw and tomato with a big cup of sweet tea. While I've found a few to curve my cravings, there are still times when I have dreams of them. Add the ambiance of the building and Duck Jarrett and you can't beat it.

2. Baseball - There is nothing like going to a baseball game in Cherryville, whether it be little league, high school or legion. I was home and attended a legion game a couple years ago and had to laugh. I had forgotten how tough a place Cville is to play, but with the likes of Hoover Quinn yelling from the third base bleachers, who wouldn't be intimidated. I can almost smell the hot dogs and peanuts right now. There is something about a hot dog at a ball game.

3. Knowing Everyone - While there were times that you wish you could go somewhere where no one knew you, looking back, it is nice to walk into an establishment and be able to spend a few minutes chatting with everyone in the room. Of course the flip side is everyone knowing everything you have ever done your entire life. Is it just me or do some of you run into someone from Cville or someone that knows someone from Cville everywhere you go?

4. Traffic (or lack thereof) - How nice was it to be able to get anywhere in town you wanted to go in 5 minutes or less? While Hickory, NC isn't the worst place in the world for traffic, you still have to know how to get around in order to avoid the major congestion areas.

5. Things never change - You never realize how things tend to remain the same until you aren't there all the time and go home. Many of our traditions have remained in place for years. For instance, I had never realized how "different" our homecomeing tradition is. I was home several weeks ago and went to the football game. My girlfriend could not believe that our court wore white wedding dresses! In thinking and talking with my parents, this tradition has gone back well before they were even around. It was funny to walk into the game and see many of the same people that were there when we were in school, standing or sitting in the same spots. I think the conversation was nearly the same as well. Also, how many places allow men with 200 year old muskets to roam the city on New Year's. I've often wondered what someone who just happened to be traveling through town at midnight on New Year's would think at this spectacle.

I'm sure that I could come up with many other things if I really sat and thought about it, but I want to leave something for you to respond to. Let's hear it. If you still live in Cville, please let us know what has kept you there all these years, or maybe what drives you crazy about the place.

As a reminder, please RSVP to the evite for the reunion and send your money to Kelly (Davis) Homesley. Looks like we are going to have a great crowd. I know it is going to be a good time.

Ben

Reuniting

After many months of talking back and forth with various people, it looks like the CHS Class of 1995 10 year reunion is finalized!!! In case you don't know, the reunion will be held at Tyber Creek Restaurant and Pub in Charlotte, NC on November 26th from 7 - 10pm (don't worry, we aren't leaving at 10).

I think this is a good time to thank all those that have been involved in planning and making sure the details are worked out. A special thanks goes out to Jason Hollifield for getting the place arranged and sending out the evite (if anyone is planning a wedding, I hear he's a great coordinator), Chad Porter for generously putting the deposit for the place, and to Kelly (Davis) Homesley for agreeing to handle the money. There have been many more people that have contributed in various other ways so thanks goes out to you as well.

Hopefully, many of you reading this have received the evite with the details of the reunion, but we do need help gathering emails and addresses of many of our other classmates. We want to notify as many as possible about the fun. Please let us know if you have information on any classmates.

Also, Dennis Bradford has just returned from a deployment in Iraq with the US Marine Corps. I know that Frank Harmon has been or will be deployed for Iraq as well with the US Army. Guys, from all of us, thank you, for what you are doing and for your sacrifices! Please keep Frank and his family in your prayers, as well as the rest of the guys that our in harms way!

It's going to be great seeing a lot of you for the first time in years and hopefully keeping up with you from this point forward.

Feel free to comment on the blog at anytime!

Time's a Ticking

Sorry that it has been a while since the last post, but a week at the beach and then a few days in Memphis on business have kept me hopping here at work. I'm sure all of you find that work gets in the way of your social lives as well! I did manage to catch up with Leslie and her husband for a beer while out there. If any of you ever happen to go to Memphis, make sure to check out the Peabody Hotel and see the famous duck walk, walk down Beale Street and hit the Rendevous for some world famous ribs (and yes, they are great).

Since the last post, there have been more names added to the list as more and more people have started finding out about the reunion. It's been great to see some names that I haven't heard in literally 10 years! As time rolls closer, I think everyone is getting more excited about getting together.

As has been mentioned, we need to have someone volunteer to handle the money aspect of things. Not only does this ensure that Chad Porter gets his money back, but also helps us determine what type of food we want, if any. I think there is someone already taking care of creating the master list of names and address, but we probably need to get some form of invitation out as soon as possible.

Now that the business aspect of this post is out of the way, how about a little fun, since this is what a reunion and this blog is meant for. Let's stir the memory pot a little! What is your favorite memory from the years at CHS? Let's hear it!