Committee members — thank you for your time on Monday. The meeting ran long on other business and the films never got their moment, so here is the whole presentation on one page, to watch at your own pace: two short films, what your classmates have already told us, and exactly what we would build for you.
Both films have sound — narration and music are half the story. Speakers or headphones on, and give the memoriam film a quiet few minutes.
Start here · Film one of two
The short version of everything on this page: the reunion website we would build for Taft ’77, the four signature pieces that come with it, and the classmates who are already asking for it.
Player not loading? Watch An Offering for the Class of '77 in its own tab →
The questionnaire
The questionnaire at taft77.com has drawn 122 responses — and the class answered the committee’s biggest questions itself. This isn’t a cold start; it’s a reunion already in motion.
Of the 98 likely attendees, 64 say definitely and 34 probably; another 20 say maybe. Figures from the taft77.com questionnaire, updated November 3, 2026. Every answer — names, memories, memoriam submissions — carries straight into the full site. Nothing your classmates have already given you gets asked for twice.
What we would build
We build the complete Taft ’77 reunion website at taft77.com: RSVPs and ticketing, event details, the memory portal, the photo gallery — everything the questionnaire site started, carried into one polished home for the reunion. Around it, four pieces made only for your class:
A cinematic opening moment built for the Class of ’77 — the first thing every classmate sees when they arrive at the site. Not a stock template; a film made for you.
An original song written for the Class of ’77 — yours to keep, from the first announcement to the final slideshow on reunion night.
Our signature piece, and the heart of this page — each departed classmate’s name rendered inside a living landscape. No portraits, no dates, no slideshow. The next film below shows you exactly what that means.
After the reunion, a custom film cut from guest-submitted photos and video plus professional coverage — collected by QR code at the event and a post-event call for clips — so the night lives on long after the last dance.
One builder for all of it — not five vendors and five bills, and not a volunteer’s phone ringing with every classmate’s question. At Niles West, the committee’s answer to every inquiry became four words: “check the website.”
Film two of two · The signature piece
Every reunion has a page of names — the classmates who are gone, read once and put away. We don’t make lists. For every classmate, we create one beautiful scene and place their name inside it: engraved on driftwood at the water’s edge, carved into a river stone among the ferns, painted on a sign above a still lake at dawn. This short film shows the tribute we made for Niles West — and what yours would be.
Player not loading? Watch the memoriam film in its own tab →
“Fifty years on, some of your classmates can only be there one way. We make sure they’re there beautifully.”
Each name gets its own landscape, chosen and art-directed one by one — never a template, never a slideshow.
Music composed for the Class of ’77, written for this film — not library tracks.
Spellings checked with this committee before a single frame is made. Your classmates are already helping: 41 names have come in through the questionnaire.
The film premieres on reunion night, then lives on taft77.com, where classmates and families can return to it anytime.
Player not loading? Watch the story behind the film in its own tab →
Proof, not promises
In October 2026 we ran the Niles West Class of 1976’s 50th reunion end to end: the website, the anthem, the memoriam film, the weekend itself. Taft ’77 would be our next showcase. Here is that weekend, and the committee’s verdict in their own words.
“It was an Epic weekend and all the accolades belong to you. What you created with our website was truly remarkable and was the ‘talk of the town’ all weekend long… You won us over with the original theme song, personalized perfectly. It set the tone for everything.”
“And a special shout out to you for what you created for our dear departed classmates. Everyone mentioned how creatively and meaningful you captured the memories.”
— Greg Sprague, Steven Nagelberg & Don Schmidt, Niles West Class of 1976 committee
The post-event montage, in miniature: the main night at Old Orchard, cut to the class’s own music.
A free resource for the committee
Whichever way the committee decides on the website, this one is yours to use: how to open a bank account in the reunion’s own name and take ticket payments online, so no volunteer’s personal account ever holds the class’s money.
Player not loading? Watch the guide video in its own tab →
The full written guide — account options, ticket payments, and the fee math — is on the Rewind Reunions site.
The next step
Your classmates have already answered. The site builds directly on what they told us: 98 people planning to be there, 64 volunteers ready to help, 41 names to honor. All that’s missing is the committee’s word.
I’m asking for the opportunity to build it for you.
— Max Ellis, Rewind Reunions
Questions before you decide? Call or write — I’m glad to walk any committee member through any part of this page.