Internet Site Lists Community Events

Imagine a billboard of community events free of thumbtacks and tattered index cards, a sleek, stylish resource available 24 hours a day all over the world.

In fact, it already exists. Known as the Event Center, it’s the creation of a Chatsworth computer consultant, a cyberspace place where community groups can advertise their activities on the World Wide Web. The site is located at https://www.pacificnet.net/reunions/

Owner and operator Mike Gunn said the project grew out of preparations for his wife’s high school class reunion.

Recognizing the difficulty of contacting long-lost classmates, Gunn wondered if it would be possible to create a list of all San Fernando Valley high school reunions on the Web.

“I thought it would be a good community service,” he said. Within weeks, the site boasted a list of more than 300 reunions from more than 100 campuses.

Launched in early June, Gunn’s creation has grown to include listings of other activities such as family reunions, banquets, charity events and sorority and fraternity functions. Although the listings are free, Gunn said he hopes to recover his costs through the sale of advertising on the site.

Currently, the Event Center lists activities in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and San Bernardino counties and plans to expand into Santa Barbara and Riverside counties as well.

“There’s so much going on,” he said, marveling at the number of events happening at any moment throughout the Southland. “I was pretty amazed.”

A longtime computer enthusiast and Valley native, Gunn said the Internet is a useful tool for exploring distant corners of the world without leaving home but that it’s also an excellent--and often overlooked--source of neighborhood news.

“It has a real value as a local source of information,” he said. “I think you’ll see a lot more of that.”

For information or to submit events, send e-mail to reunions@events-la.com