Is It SOS Reunion Time Again?

Just a few weeks ago, The UP WITH PEOPLE Alumni Association held its annual Reunion weekend in Arizona, with a special emphasis on the 45th anniversary for those who were members of the first five years of the cast (1965-1970). By my count from the UWP Alumni web page close to 100 former Sing-Out and Up With People cast members from that era were present, including those with ties to Sing-Out South and Tennessee such as Cabot Wade, Ken Smith, Lindy Short and the current UWP Alumni President Vickie Henthorn Law, who is a University of Tennessee-Knoxville graduate.

From what I can see and tell from the photos and comments posted on Facebook, it looks like everyone had a great time, and from the photo above you can see it had a bit of a Tennessee flavor with Cabot (center) and Ken (left) performing with their band (Smith-Wade Band) during the event.
So now the question is: Is it time for another SOS Reunion? Our founding was in late January,1966 and our premiere shows were in March of that same year, so we will hit 45 years old ourself next year in 2011.

This is a large part of the group that joined us for Reunion Weekend in Nashville for our 40th Anniversary back in 2006. We had a Friday night reception at the Holiday Inn-Vanderbilt, followed by a Sing-Out Retrospective at the Metro Archives the next afternoon, followed by a dinner at Belmont University (where the cast held its first practices). We closed out the weekend with a brunch at a local Shoney's which was one of our favorite cast hangouts back in the day.

At the time, the consensus was we wanted to get together before we hit the big 50 in 2016. The only other time we had organized an official reunion was back in late December, 1989.

Here's a photo from that evening when we had close to 100 cast members returning for a night together at Nashville's Millenium Maxwell House.

By the way on the groups photos, just click on them for a larger view and it will help you see who was with us in 2006 as well as 1989.

So how about it? Who is ready to help us organize a 45th Reunion? Who can help us find lost alums? By the way, I have contact information now for close to 75 former members. With Facebook, e-mail, this blog and rest of the internet, finding folks and getting people excited and informed ought to be easier than in years past.

We also need your help with ideas and suggestions about when to hold the Reunion and what to do. We will also need help in helping us line up the logistics of whatever we decide to do. That includes any ideas about us getting together to practice and have some kind of SOS Reunion show. The national cast did one several years ago, along with the new show Cabot Wade organized in Branson next year which now may be going to Jamaica soon.

We probably won't get nearly that ambitious.

Let me know what you think, either by leaving your thoughts and ideas below or by contacting me by e-mail, pat.nolan@dvl.com. It's already late summer. If we want to have a good event in 2011, we need to start planning! Thanks for your help!