'It's neat to catch up'

CRESTVIEW — Crestview High School’s class of 1997 kicked off their 20-year reunion Saturday morning at Davidson Middle School with family activities that included rock painting, a 100-meter dash for kids and adults, and a slip-and-slide.

“Our class was a really tight knit class,” said Debbie Tuggle, the event’s main sponsor and organizer. “It’s been very interesting to see this dynamic and see it continue. At our 10-year reunion, I wasn’t expecting a lot and we probably had at least 100 people and they were just dancing and having a good time.”

After “family day” events wrapped up around noon, the adults spruced up and met that evening for dinner and drinks at Azteca Mexican restaurant on North Ferdon Boulevard. Tuggle kicked off the dinner with a prayer while attendees mingled, marveling at how their classmates have changed over the years.

“So far it’s weird because most everybody doesn’t look the same,” said Barbara Todd, who now goes by Jean. “It’s neat to catch up with people who experienced the same things you did in life because we are all the same age so went through all the same era together — the same music — and I think it’s very interesting just hanging out with that ‘pod’ of your age group.”

After dinner, the alums played bingo and a music mash-up game to see who could name a song in the first five seconds; they then took to the dance floor (after stretching, of course).

And although the reunion went along swimmingly, the hardest part of putting it all together, according to Tuggle, was simply “getting a hold of people.”

“We had just under 300 people in our class, and honestly, I think I got a hold of maybe a hundred of them personally. It’s just very difficult to track people down.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'It's neat to catch up'