Class of 1984 - 2024 Reunion

We started our reunion on June 1, 2024, where it all began. At the front door of 675 Green Street. Waiting for us was the current Principal, Mervin “Skip” Hunter. Many of us are familiar with Skip as he was part of the CCHS Class of 1987. There were over 20 people in attendance and we all felt welcomed. Skip had done his homework. He had old yearbooks available to look at, he knew what teachers had taught in most rooms back in the 80’s. He toured us around the new areas, the old, and discussed with us the new Reach facilities that are to be built on the school grounds, and explained how/why CCHS is now SLI. There was a school art vernissage and a fundraiser for Up with Adam planned for later in the day and we were impressed with the displays. Very talented students. Adam Taylor was a St. Lambert International student, back when it was Chambly Academy, with Down Syndrome. He was diagnosed with leukemia just before his 13th birthday.

He passed away in October 2005. The "Up With Adam" foundation was started by the school to make a difference and to raise awareness about childhood cancer at the school and in the larger community. The Class of 1984 quietly passed an envelope around and we were able to make a small donation to the event. Time was spent reminiscing about teachers and events that had transpired during our years at CCHS. The streaker that ran through the front hall one day in June, the great food fight of June 1982(?) that closed the cafeteria for the rest of the school year, the sounds of the race cars as they went around the track, the list goes on.

After the wonderful tour, the group made their way to Café Ricardo, located at 310-B Rue Arran, St. Lambert, across the street from IGA off of Sir Wilfrid Laurier Boulevard. Café Ricardo is owned by Chef Ricardo Larrivée and he is often referred to as just RICARDO. Ricardo hosts a self-titled television show on Radio-Canada and previously hosted Ricardo and Friends on Food Network Canada. He has a monthly magazine and has a line of prepared food items carried at IGA. We were able to secure the entire Café for our event and it proved to be an excellent choice. The perfect venue. The menu was a gastronomic experience, beautifully presented and tasted amazing as well.

Meet and Greet started at 5:00 p.m. Within minutes people were gathering and the years melted away. Hard to believe it has been 40 years. During the evening, we took time to remember our teachers and our classmates who are no longer with us but will live in our hearts forever.

Our MC, Eric Lamoureux, ran an incredible trivia game, based primarily on our yearbook and popular culture of the day. Our classmate, Jennifer Morehouse, performed two songs for us which had many of us thinking about past variety shows and plays from yesteryear, and Mr. Praw made a small speech to top off the event. Derek Kolthoff took photos the entire evening to ensure the event could be enjoyed long after we had gone home.

I am more than happy to attend an Alumni Association meeting in person at St. Lambert International if you would like to discuss how the Facebook group came to be and how I used social media to connect the Class of 1984. Having a class coordinator is key to a successful event. It does help that the Class of 1984 have remained close within their own smaller units and a large number of my classmates are still in and around the Montreal area. These two elements alone make it very easy to plan a reunion. The 2025 All School reunion was mentioned and many folks were saying they are going to plan to come. Now, I need to keep momentum up.